Fastnet Short Film Festival

Overview

The Fastnet Short Film Festival is West Cork's most beloved short film event. Founded in 2004 and held annually in August in Schull, a picturesque fishing village on Ireland's southwest coast, the festival presents international and Irish short films in one of the most beautiful and intimate festival settings in Europe.

The Fastnet Rock lighthouse, visible from Schull harbor, gives the festival its name and its emblem. The festival's small scale -- Schull has a permanent population of only a few hundred -- creates an intensity of community that larger festivals cannot replicate. Filmmakers and audiences are genuinely together in a small place, sharing meals and pubs alongside screenings.

The festival has developed a reputation for the quality of its Irish programming and for the warmth of its welcome for international filmmakers, who consistently describe it as one of the most memorable festival experiences available.

Key Sections

• International Short Film Competition -- short films from around the world competing for prizes
• Irish Short Film Competition -- new Irish short films
• Animation Program -- animated short films
• Documentary Shorts -- nonfiction short films
• Special Screenings -- outdoor screenings in the harbor setting

What Filmmakers Should Know

Fastnet accepts open submissions. The festival's intimate scale means individual films receive exceptional attention from audiences and jury. For Irish short filmmakers, the festival provides an important platform in a beautiful and culturally rich context.

Major Awards

• Best International Short Film -- jury prize
• Best Irish Short Film
• Audience Award

Festival History

Fastnet Short Film Festival was founded in 2004 and has operated annually in one of Ireland's most distinctive small communities.

See Also

For Irish cinema, see International Film Markets. For the Cork Film Festival, see Cork International Film Festival.