Fastnet Short Film Festival

Overview

The Fastnet Short Film Festival is a short film event held annually in May in Schull, a fishing village on the southwest coast of County Cork, Ireland. The 2026 edition runs from Wednesday May 20 to Sunday May 24, featuring 123 free short film screenings across 27 one-hour programs, 19 feature screenings with Q&As, and nearly 200 events total. The festival has operated annually since 2004 and has built a reputation as one of Ireland's most distinctive short film events.

Schull has a permanent population of only a few hundred people. The festival transforms the village into a film hub for five days, with screenings in venues ranging from the local community hall to outdoor garden cinemas. The Fastnet Rock lighthouse, visible from Schull harbor, gives the festival its name and its emblem. The small scale of the village creates an intensity of community that larger festivals cannot replicate. Filmmakers and audiences share meals, pubs, and screening queues in a concentrated environment.

The 2026 edition featured over 70 special guests including Frank Miller, John Crowley, Niamh Algar, Pom Boyd, Eanna Hardwicke, David Wilmot, and Robert Sheehan. The festival also hosted a special live event celebrating Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck. Masterclasses, panels on AI and inclusion, and free outdoor screenings for all ages rounded out the program.

The festival accepts open submissions through FilmFreeway across seven competition categories. All competition short films selected and screened at the festival receive a screening fee of EUR 25, a feature introduced in 2026. The festival's intimate scale means individual films receive exceptional attention from audiences and jury.

Submission Details

Fastnet accepts submissions through FilmFreeway. Key details for the 2026 edition:

Submission Fees by Category and Deadline

Best Irish, Best International, and Best in Cork (18-minute maximum):

Student and Young Filmmaker Categories (15-minute maximum):

Best Irish Language and An-Sophie Fontaine Human Rights Documentary Award (18-minute maximum):

One entry fee per category. The same film can be entered into one or more categories, but each category requires its own fee. The submission fee is non-refundable under all circumstances. Films may not be withdrawn once the selection process is complete.

Competition Categories

• Best International Short Film - open to international filmmakers aged 18 and over on December 31, 2025. Prize: EUR 5,000
• Best Irish Short Film - filmmaker must be Irish or have worked with an Irish production company, aged 18 and over. Prize: EUR 5,000
• Best in Cork - only films written, shot, or produced in County Cork. Prize: EUR 2,500
• Best Irish Language Short Film - open to all age groups. Prize: EUR 1,000
• Tom Clancy Jnr. Award for Best Irish Student of Film and Media Studies - student category, 15-minute maximum
• Best Young Filmmaker (U19) - under 19 category, 15-minute maximum
• An-Sophie Fontaine Human Rights Documentary Award - documentary category focused on human rights, 18-minute maximum. Free entry

Awards and Prizes

• Best International Short Film: EUR 5,000
• Best Irish Short Film: EUR 5,000
• Best in Cork: EUR 2,500
• Best Irish Language Short Film: EUR 1,000
• Tom Clancy Jnr. Award for Best Irish Student of Film and Media Studies
• Best Young Filmmaker (U19)
• An-Sophie Fontaine Human Rights Documentary Award

The shortlist in each category is announced late on Thursday May 21, 2026. Winning films are chosen from the shortlist and announced at the prize giving ceremony on the evening of Sunday May 24, 2026. Shortlisted films are shown on Sunday at various venues.

The festival reserves the right not to award a prize in any category if the judges deem the entered films do not meet the required standard.

Eligibility Requirements

Films completed on or after January 1, 2024, are eligible for entry into the 2026 festival competitions. Films entered in the Irish Language category may have been completed on or after January 1, 2023.

All submissions are screened and evaluated by the FFF Preview and Selection Committees, appointed by the festival steering committee. Their reports are final and confidential. Due to the volume of films received, only the top-scoring films proceed to competition. Selected films are screened in the festival's Distributed Cinemas and main venues in Schull.

Entrants must upload their film to FilmFreeway at the time of entry, along with a press kit including still photos and a 20-word synopsis for the festival program. The festival only accepts final cuts. Films must be ready at the time of entry.

Festival History

The Fastnet Short Film Festival was founded in 2004 in Schull, West Cork. The festival emerged from the local arts community and has grown over two decades into one of Ireland's most distinctive film events. The festival's location in a small coastal village with a population of only a few hundred has defined its character from the beginning, creating an intimacy that larger urban festivals cannot replicate.

Over the years, the festival has attracted increasingly high-profile guests from Irish and international cinema. The 2026 edition featured over 70 special guests, including graphic novelist Frank Miller, director John Crowley (Brooklyn, We Live in Time), and actors Niamh Algar, Pom Boyd, Eanna Hardwicke, David Wilmot, and Robert Sheehan. The festival also hosted a live event celebrating Oscar-winning composer Stephen Warbeck (Shakespeare in Love, 1998).

The festival's commitment to free short film screenings (123 in 2026) makes it one of the most accessible festivals for audiences, while the screening fee of EUR 25 introduced in 2026 ensures that selected filmmakers receive compensation for their work. The festival's program has expanded to include masterclasses, panels on AI and inclusion, and free outdoor screenings for all ages.

What Filmmakers Should Know

For Irish Short Filmmakers

Fastnet is one of the most important short film platforms in Ireland. The Best Irish Short Film prize of EUR 5,000 is among the largest short film cash awards at any Irish festival. The Best in Cork category (EUR 2,500) provides an additional opportunity for filmmakers based in or working from County Cork. The Irish Language category (EUR 1,000) has a more generous eligibility window (films completed on or after January 1, 2023) and is open to all age groups.

The festival's intimate scale means selected films receive exceptional attention from audiences and jury. Filmmakers who attend in person consistently describe the experience as one of the most memorable festival experiences available, due to the village setting and the concentration of filmmakers and audiences in a small space.

For International Short Filmmakers

The Best International Short Film category is open to filmmakers worldwide aged 18 and over. The EUR 5,000 prize is substantial for a short film festival of this scale. The submission fee ranges from EUR 20 (early) to EUR 50 (late), which is in line with comparable European short film festivals.

The 18-minute maximum runtime is stricter than many short film festivals that allow up to 30 minutes. Verify your film's runtime before submitting. The festival only accepts final cuts, so ensure your film is fully completed at the time of entry.

The screening fee of EUR 25 paid to all selected competition films is a welcome feature that few festivals offer. While the amount is modest, it acknowledges the value of the filmmaker's work and is paid for one screening in one main venue in Schull.

Practical Considerations

Schull is approximately 90 minutes by road from Cork city. The nearest airport is Cork Airport (ORK), with direct flights from London, Dublin, and selected European cities. Accommodation in Schull is limited due to the village's small size, so filmmakers should book well in advance if attending in person.

Tickets for festival events go on sale in early May. Many events are free of charge and operate on a first-come, first-served basis. Ticketed events are nominally priced and heavily subsidized. There is no facility to reserve seating for free events.

The festival does not have an attached film market. Its value is in the competition exposure, the networking with Irish and international filmmakers, and the unique festival experience of screening in a small coastal village.

See Also

Calculate your total festival submission costs and projected return using the Festival ROI Calculator. For Irish cinema and European film markets, see International Film Markets. For festival circuit planning and premiere strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. For the Dublin International Film Festival, Ireland's major international film festival, see Dublin International Film Festival. Submit through Fastnet on FilmFreeway or visit the official website. Read the full rules and regulations.