Shortsfest 2025

March 31 - April 5, 2025

Browse past programs


Shortsfest

An Oscar®-qualifying festival

Aspen Shortsfest is recognized as one of the premier short film festivals in North America. Each April enthusiastic audiences, filmmakers and special guests from around the globe gather to participate in public screenings, panels, workshops, and other festivities that spotlight the art and craft of short form cinema. Aspen Shortsfest has a long tradition of Oscar® success, which continued this year with HOW WE GET FREE, directed by Geeta Gandbhir and Samantha M. Knowles. This film had its World Premiere at Shortsfest 2023 and is now shortlisted for Best Documentary Short at the 2024 Academy Awards. Prior to that, THE MARTHA MITCHELL EFFECT directed by Anne Alvergue and Debra McClutchy, which screened at Shortsfest 2022, was nominated for Best Documentary Short at the 2023 Academy Awards. Other recent Shortsfest selections that have garnered Oscar® nominations include AFFAIRS OF THE ART– the jury prize winner for Comedy at Shortsfest in 2021 – directed by Joanna Quinn and Les Mills; DAUGHTER by Daria Kashcheeva; SISTER by Siqi Song; BROTHERHOOD by Meryam Joobeur (also a jury member at Shortsfest in 2020), and NEFTA FOOTBALL CLUB by Yves Piat.

The festival is an industry-recognized destination for discovering breakthrough talent. Reinaldo Marcus Green (King Richard), Destin Daniel Cretton (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Short Term 12), Damien Chazelle (La La Land, Babylon), Jason Reitman (Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Up in the Air), Sarah Polley (Women Talking) and the late Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club) are among the notable alumni whose short films first screened at Shortsfest before they became household names.

Voted one of “the 25 coolest festivals in the world” by MovieMaker magazine.

Screening Venues

The Wheeler Opera House

Since 1889, the Wheeler Opera House has been Aspen’s community performance venue. From The Eagles, Jerry Seinfeld, Oprah Winfrey and Sheryl Crow to locally-curated performance experiences, the Wheeler offers a remarkable movie-viewing locale that we’re proud to provide to our film festival audience.

320 E Hyman Ave, Aspen, CO 81611

Aspen Film Isis Theatre

The Isis Theatre opened in 1915 in the heart of downtown Aspen, in the same building where it remains today. Featuring four-screens, concessions, and diverse programming, the Aspen Film Isis Theatre is the only full-time movie theater in Aspen. The theater screens a mix of Hollywood Blockbusters, Independent, Music and Art-House films, and also serves as the home for many of Aspen Film’s Festival screenings, Q+As and filmmaker conversations.

406 E Hopkins Ave, Aspen, CO 81611

The Crystal Theatre

The Crystal Theatre is a single-screen, 125-seat, independent movie theatre housed in the historic Dinkel building in downtown Carbondale, Colorado. We’re proud to partner with The Crystal Theatre during our festivals to screen select programming down valley.

427 Main St, Carbondale, CO 81623


A taste of shortsfest

In the news

LIVESTREAMS WITH GRANDMAPUZZLES Doc Lands at Switchboard | Peter White, DEADLINE

Apr 29, 2025

EXCLUSIVE: A documentary about a senior citizen who started livestreaming her jigsaw puzzle sessions on Twitch after facing loneliness in her golden years has found an interesting home. LIVESTREAMS WITH GRANDMA PUZZLES has been picked up by Switchboard magazine, a digital publication founded by Celia Aniskovich that combines long-form journalism and documentaries. Aniskovich has produced […]

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Emily Everhard ’24 Earns Comedy Commendation at Aspen Film Shortsfest | Andrew Bryan Scott, Columbia University School of the Arts

Apr 17, 2025

The Aspen Film Shortsfest announced its winners across nine categories, and Emily Everhard ’24 received the Jury’s Special Mention in Comedy for her film, No Experience Necessary. From a pool of 68 shorts spanning 29 countries and playing over 10 programs at the festival, Everhard’s standout film made a lasting impact on the jury, earning distinction as the […]

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Aspen Film announces 2025 Shortsfest Oscar-qualifiers, award-winning films | The Aspen Times

Apr 10, 2025

Aspen Film, the year-round film arts and education organization, announced the winning films from its 34th Aspen Shortsfest in an awards presentation held Saturday, April 5. One of only five Oscar-qualifying festivals in the U.S. strictly dedicated to short films, Aspen Shortsfest is recognized as one of the world’s premier short film festivals. This year’s edition featured 68 […]

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