The Ultimate HollyShorts 2025 Festival Guide

Introduction

Just finished your short film, and debating, what's next? Maybe you're looking for an opportunity to dive head first into the short film festival circuit. Maybe you're hoping to attend a prominent film festival for a better understanding of the short film scene. Or maybe you're a festival programmer looking to learn more about the industry and what makes HollyShorts the best of the best. In any case, The HollyShorts Film Festival is sure to give you a festival experience unlike any other.

The HollyShorts Film Festival is an Oscar-qualifying celebration of short-form cinema based in Los Angeles, hosted at the iconic TCL Chinese Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard. Founded in 2005, the festival marked its 21st edition this year with a vibrant program of curated screening blocks, educational panels, and industry networking events—all designed to create a holistic and meaningful experience for the filmmakers behind the selected work.

Over the past two decades, HollyShorts has established itself as one of the most prestigious short film festivals in the world. Situated in the heart of Hollywood and deeply embedded in the industry, HollyShorts bridges emerging voices with established professionals in a way few festivals can. For a deeper look at its origins and evolution, see our Meet the Festival Founders article.

This guide offers a comprehensive overview of the HollyShorts 2025 experience—intended for filmmakers considering submitting, first-time attendees navigating the festival, and anyone curious about how to make the most of what HollyShorts has to offer.

Why This Festival?

While many film festivals position feature-length films as the central attraction, often relegating shorts to a secondary status, HollyShorts unapologetically champions the short film as a fully realized art form. Here, short films are not treated as stepping stones, but as works that represent the very best of cinematic craft.

With an expansive range of genres and thoughtfully curated screening blocks spanning nearly every category imaginable, HollyShorts ensures there is a platform for every kind of storyteller. It is rare to encounter a festival that affords short films the same prestige, scale, and audience typically reserved for features, yet HollyShorts does so with intention and consistency.

Additionally, as an Oscar-qualifying festival, selection into HollyShorts carries weight beyond the event itself. Not only does HollyShorts offer industry visibility and meaningful accolades, but it also grants a film eligibility for consideration in the Academy Awards’ short film categories. For many filmmakers, HollyShorts offers a gateway to the highest levels of the industry.

At a time when the film industry continues to decentralize from its historic base in Los Angeles, HollyShorts’ commitment to the city affirms that Los Angeles remains a vital hub for cinema, community, and collaboration. That energy – rooted in history and energetic for the future – is palpable throughout the week. When much of the industry seems to be scrambling desperately to settle new land, HollyShorts stands as a backbone and reminder that there truly is no cinema city like Los Angeles.

The Festival Experience

HollyShorts is primarily hosted at the TCL Chinese Theatre, and the larger Ovation Center, right on Hollywood Boulevard. Surrounded by the stars of the Walk of Fame, and neighbored by some of the most historic theaters in cinema history, this festival lives in the heart of the action. More precisely, for ten days every August, HollyShorts is the action.

Attendees can expect a full-house for screening blocks, morning-to-afternoon educational panels, VIP lounge events, fireside conversations, nightly receptions, and curated networking meet-ups. HollyShorts strikes a rare balance between prestige and accessibility, creating an experience that is both celebratory and deeply practical for filmmakers at every stage of their careers. Whether you are premiering a directorial debut or showcasing a culminating work, HollyShorts provides a platform where bold voices are championed and careers are propelled forward.

Parking & Arrival

Upon your arrival, the Ovation Hollywood parking garage can be accessed via Highland Avenue or Orange Drive. After parking, take the escalators to the third level to enter the TCL Chinese Theatre from inside the complex. The theatre’s main entrance is not street-facing, but if you find yourself out on the Boulevard, the TCL's iconic exterior—with its cemented handprints of Hollywood legends—is a must-visit photo opportunity.

*Pro Tip: Parking validation from the TCL box office covers three hours at a time. If you plan to spend a full day at the festival, you’ll need to self-monitor your time and briefly exit and re-enter the garage for revalidation. While slightly inconvenient, the process is relatively painless and worth planning around.

Inside Ovation and the TCL Chinese Theatre

Ovation Hollywood itself is a tourism hub filled with shops, restaurants, and attractions. This greater complex is home to the Chinese Theatre– the host theater of HollyShorts– as well as The Dolby Theatre, where the Academy Awards have taken place since 2002. There is also a Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf on the first floor of Ovation, worth noting as a reliable festival lifeline for caffeine (or gelato) between events.

The TCL Chinese Theatre lobby functions as the festival’s central nervous system. Concessions serve popcorn and candy as any movie-going experience deserves, red carpets are rolled out before each screening block in front of the HollyShorts backdrop, and festival photographers capture pre-screening anticipation.

As filmmakers and audiences mingle before screenings—and debrief after Q&As—the lobby fills with the electric hum of conversation. HollyShorts Guest Services tables are centrally located in the lobby, ensuring assistance is always within reach. It is also here that badges are picked up for check-in on the first day of the festival.

Suite #411: Educational Panels

Before the theatre doors open each day, filmmakers can gather upstairs in Suite #411 to enjoy HollyShorts’ dedicated panel space on the fourth floor of Ovation Hollywood. Just one escalator ride above the TCL, this room becomes a daily forum for discussion, education, and industry insight.

Panels typically run from morning through late afternoon, and particularly scheduled during the first half of the ten day festival. Topics span the full spectrum of the modern film landscape, from creative development and intellectual property to entertainment law and emerging technologies.

Industry veterans, producers, attorneys, financiers, and creatives share practical wisdom earned through experience—while attendees actively engage in conversation. The result is not a lecture, but a dialogue. These panels are an exchange of perspective between professionals and emerging filmmakers alike.

Panel lineups will vary each year, but for an in depth glimpse at a few specific panel topics from HollShorts 2025, check out the the following League of Filmmakers articles: 

• Meet the Festival Founders
• What Makes Good IP?
• Entertainment Law 101 for Short Filmmakers
• Finance & Distribution Opportunities in Africa
• IMGN Walkthrough and AI discussion
• The Power of Women Directing
• A Conversation with Reece Feldman
• Accessing Institutional Finance (Though this specific article is from another festival, CFA partook in a similar panel regarding the same topic and talking points at HollyShorts 2025)

Filmmaker Lounge & Fireside Chats

Located upstairs inside the TCL Chinese Theatre, the VIP Filmmaker Lounge resembles a Golden Age Hollywood bar—intimate, polished, and quietly glamorous. Presented by Royal Cathay Tea, the lounge offers curated teas, champagne, and luxury hospitality, with custom champagne glasses designed by The Èlliance and gifted to VIP guests and award winners.

Here, fireside chats unfold in a more intimate setting than the larger Suite #411 panels. Conversations feel personal, candid, and unhurried, offering filmmakers direct engagement with established industry voices.

League of Filmmakers Interviews

In the TCL lobby, the League of Filmmakers hosts on-camera interviews throughout the festival. Two comfy pink couches mark the set, where filmmakers sit down for relaxed, five-minute conversations about their projects— hosted by friends of CFA, Jack Gibson, Ryan Neilson, and star of the HollyShorts selected film, Murphy's Ranch, Lee Puggsley. Participants book their own interview time slots through an email link to ensure their slot works with their schedule.

These interviews capture the raw excitement of the filmmaker's premiere and are later shared via the CFA Institute YouTube channel, preserving a snapshot of each filmmaker’s festival experience.

Screening Blocks & Q&As

HollyShorts is structured around curated screening blocks organized by genre and thematic programming. Categories range from Animation, Documentary, Drama, and Comedy to Horror, Sci-Fi, Action, Romance, LGBTQIA+, AAPI, Indigenous Stories, Student Films, Web Series, Shot on Film, and many more—including specialized spotlights such as “Made in LA,” African Spotlight, and UK Spotlight.

With ten days of programming and a remarkable breadth of categories, HollyShorts creates space for highly specific storytelling to find its audience—an opportunity few festivals can sustain at this scale.

Each screening concludes with a live, moderated Q&A. Filmmakers line up onstage to respond to questions from both moderators and audiences, creating immediate connection and visibility. For many, these Q&As become the most memorable and impactful moments of the festival.

Opening Night

Opening Night sets the tone for the entire festival. A red carpet unfolds outside the Ovation on Hollywood Boulevard, visible to tourists and passersby. Photographers gather, filmmakers pose, and anticipation builds!

Inside the TCL, the evening’s programming showcases standout talent and establishes the festival’s energy. Speeches, special honors, sponsor acknowledgments, and charismatic hosts elevate the screening into a celebratory event rather than a standard block.

Badge pickup begins this night as well—often accompanied by a line stretching through the theatre’s historic hallway, lined with framed Hollywood photographs.

Primetime

The second evening’s Primetime Screening sustains Opening Night’s momentum, often featuring high-profile premieres and notable guests.

Big names make for a primetime draw – like on-set content producer and first time filmmaker Reece Feldman, who debuted his film Wait, Your Car, and Black Panther star Letitia Wright, who made her directorial debut with Highway to the Moon. 

The 2025 edition of HollyShorts clearly featured notable star power, with other guests including Jean Smart, the Golden Globe and Emmy-award winning star of HBO's Hacks, Anna Camp, beloved star of the Pitch Perfect film franchise, and an ever-growing list of Oscar-nominated HollyShorts alumni in attendance. Industry presence is strong, with established talent and first-time directors sharing space on the same stage.

Keynote Conversation

Each year, HollyShorts hosts a marquee Keynote Conversation—an in-depth discussion reserved for an exceptional filmmaking story.

This year's Keynote was regarded as one of the highlights of the festival. Discssuing the film Becoming Led Zeppelin, speakers, Bernard MacMahon (Writer/Director) & Allison McGourty (Writer/Producer) discussed how the film became one of the best rock documentaries of the modern era, narrating its path from an independent film premiering at Venice Film Festival to its nationwide theatrical release five years later, eventually finding its streaming home on Netflix. 

The keynote slot is consistently one of the festival’s most anticipated events and is not to be missed when planning your personal festival itinerary.

Nightly Networking

From 7:00–9:00 p.m., Suite #411 transforms into a social hub where filmmakers gather for drinks, light bites, and conversation. After a day of panels and screenings, this window provides space to continue discussions without rushing to the next scheduled event.

After 9:00 p.m., networking shifts to the TCL VIP Lounge for the nightly Filmmakers Meet-Up. One of HollyShorts’ defining strengths is creating access—allowing filmmakers, industry professionals, and film lovers to mingle on equal footing, creating genuine opportunities for collaboration.

Off-Site & Special Events

Beyond the TCL, HollyShorts extends into off-site experiences, including the Film Summit at CFA Studio —a day of panels, delicious catering, sponsor activations, and hands-on exploration of filmmaking tools and technologies for festival attendees. CFA, a partner of Hollyshorts film festival, hosts this summit at their studio in the hills of Los Feliz, just a ten minute drive from the TCL.

The Film Summit takes place the day before the official start of the festival, allowing filmmakers and attendees to hit the ground running with a day full of opportunities to learn more about their craft and find like-minded creatives.

With a choice between two panels each hour on the hour, one in the first floor studio, and one on the CFA rooftop, and a pool deck speckled with tents and vendor demonstrations, the Film Summit serves as a self guided filmmakers’ funhouse. 

The vendors and sponsors on the pool deck offer filmmakers the rare opportunity to learn about some of the industry's newest tools and innovations; a level of hands-on engagement and access that is hard to come by for beginner filmmakers. Taking advantage of this opportunity is an absolute-must to ensure you're getting the most out of the HollyShorts experience.

An offsite morning field trip to FYI Studios is also an option for HollyShorts filmmakers. This excursion offers an exclusive behind-the-scenes visit to a production space for selected filmmakers who are seeking the opportunity to connect with studio representatives, and learn about gaining resources for their independent projects. This event is invite-only.

CFA Institute, friend and partner of HollyShorts, also hosted an off-site rooftop panel & reception as the official HollyShorts Closing Night Reception Party. With views of the twinkling Los Angeles skyline from the hills of Los Feliz, this event provides a refreshing new environment to reconnect with familiar faces and touch base new friends you may have missed over the course of the festival.

If you’re looking for that Hollywood glamour and LA filmmaking community that you can’t find at other festivals, the CFA reception is where you’ll find it. As you take rooftop photos beneath the Griffith Observatory, and overlook the city of cinema, you’re sure to feel like you’re experiencing a night straight out of La La Land. 

The 21st Annual HollyShorts Awards Show

On the final day of the festival, the Chinese Theatre hosts the Oscar-qualifying awards show—an hour of celebration and recognition. Industry presenters join hosts to announce winners across categories, culminating in the Grand Prix, awarded to the festival’s top overall short film.

The 2025 HollyShorts Awards Show was ushered along by hosts, Sandro Monetti and Taylor Popoola. The two were joined by familiar entertainment industry faces to introduce and present each award.

Each prize is awarded with different sponsors and prizes, including lucrative industry giants like Kodak, Panavision, BlackMagic and many others. Winners are also awarded a range of distribution opportunities from platforms like Bitpix, Short of the Week, The Documentary Channel and more. 

The awards ceremony is now available to watch for free on Bitpix. 

The ceremony closes the festival with both prestige and possibility. An outdoor after-party in the Ovation courtyard caps off the festivities—one final evening in the heart of Hollywood.

Navigating the Festival

There are clearly a lot of moving pieces to HollyShorts. So the biggest challenge, you can imagine, is figuring out how to see and attend everything on your list! Luckily, Eventive.com makes it easier to plan your schedule around your must-see films and must-attend events. This film festival organizational platform is a tool that keeps all your HollyShorts info in one spot. Here you can explore passes, access your tickets, check out the festival event schedule, and even browse the festival film guide to make sure you don’t miss a thing, and explore the screenings you want to attend. As the festival draws closer, the schedule will be announced, and a film guide will be available for you to peruse. Here is the HollyShorts 2025 schedule for an idea of the system and layout. 

Planning Your Visit

Where to Stay

To remain close to the excitement of the festival, and even to maintain walking distance and avoid a parking fiasco, here are some nearby hotels that are walking distance – and one, a short drive– from the TCL Chinese Theater.

1. Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel - In 1991, this Golden Age Hollywood hotel was named a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument. The first Academy Awards ceremony was hosted in the Hollywood Roosevelt Blossom Ballroom. It's a little swept up in the hustle and bustle of the action, but it's sure to provide the trademark Hollywood Hotel experience.
2. The Prospect Hollywood - Another nearby option, possessing that old Hollywood charm with beautiful seclusion and courtyards, while still being steps from the action. 
3. Holiday Inn Express & Suites Hollywood Walk of Fame by IHG - For a budget-friendly option, the Holiday Inn Walk of Fame offers a comfortable stay with a free continental breakfast and proximity to the festival. 
4. Magic Castle Hotel - So close to Hollywood Boulevard, it's a crime to not mention the rare opportunity that is the Magic Castle. A visit to the Magic Castle Club is hard to come by. Typically, you have to be a year round member or receive an invite from a performing magician. But with the Magic Nights Package, you can visit the Magic Castle Club with your stay, as well as a $200 dining voucher. Explore the labyrinthian clubhouse with a night full of both close-up and full theater magic shows, fine dining, and surprises in every nook and cranny of the clubhouse.
5. Cara Hotel - If looking for something a little further removed from the tourism tornado of Hollywood Boulevard, just a ten-minute drive from the Chinese Theatre is the Cara Hotel, nestled in the foothills in Griffith Park. 

What to Bring

Attire ranges from casual to chic to fully done-up! On a filmmaker’s own premiere night, they usually dress to the nines, but attending a screening block as a guest means you can dress comfortably and casual.

Even if you’re not a filmmaker in the festival, have some fun with the festivities and dress in a way that makes you confident, as you never know when you need to seize the opportunity to make an impression with someone you meet!

Also be sure to bring business cards, postcards of your film, and stickers or other fun trinkets to make your film memorable. At cocktail tables all across the Ovation grounds, you’ll find mini film posters. It’s a good way to encourage people to attend your screening block! But feel free to get creative!

Food and Drink

It’s no secret– Hollywood Boulevard is the central cyclone of tourism, rivaled only by Times Square, NYC. Because of that, you’ll find standard tourist attractions intertwined with the film industry… and you’ll also find massive restaurant chains like of Hard Rock Cafe, Johnny Rockets, and Dave and Busters. 

BUT – there’s also a range of very notable and classy nearby restaurants as well as quick bites to have on your radar that might not immediately stick out in the hustle and bustle of the Boulevard. 

Firstly, Ovation Hollywood has an abundance of food and drink options all just a few steps from the hub of the festival at the Chinese Theater. Jinya Ramen and The Win~Dow burgers are great for casual and quick-service deliciousness. Multiple ice cream shops including Ben and Jerry's and Coldstone serve as easy desserts in Ovation. La Popular is great choice for high end Mexican food, and Lucky Strike is great for socialization as you bowl and eat, but it might be wise to book a lane ahead of time!

If you're looking for something more upscale, maybe to meet with a potential fellow collaborator or you're wanting some place more festive to celebrate your film with family and friends, there are some excellent options nearby.

Musso and Frank, the pinnacle of fine dining in Los Angeles since 1919, serves as its own historic Hollywood experience, and one of the most upscale restaurants nearby. Other nice options in Hollywood include Yamashiro, and Lantica Pizzeria Da Michele.

Walking Distance Attractions (Hint: They’re all theaters!)

• The Dolby Theatre - A staple of the Ovation Hollywood and next door neighbor to the TCL Chinese Theater, the Dolby is home of the iconic Academy Awards. The ceremony has been hosted in this live-performance theater – once known as the Kodak Theater – since the 74th Academy Awards in 2002. With the possibilities provided by Oscar-qualification, maybe your HollyShorts film will bring you back to the Dolby, but for this visit, take advantage of the theatre's guided tours! Marvel at the columns lining the grand staircase entrance to the theatre, each one noting the names of every Best Picture winner in chronological order, permanently engraved in Hollywood history.
• The Egyptian Theatre - The red carpet, itself, was invented at the Egyptian Theater. One of the most iconic and tradition-forming theaters of the Hollywood Golden Age, the Egyptian established Hollywood glitz and glamour and celebrity culture as we know it. It was built in an era where movie palaces were the modern Sistine Chapel… demonstrating this sentiment with an elaborate and iconic Egyptian-inspired design. Restored and reopened in 1998, and now co-programmed by American Cinematheque and Netflix as of 2019, the Egyptian hosts an array of screenings, Q&As with the best of Hollywood’s filmmakers, as well as guided tours. In addition to its Dolby Atmos sound, 35mm and 70mm projections, it is also one of only five U.S. theaters capable of projecting nitrate film. Be sure to check the Egyptian Theatre and American Cinematheque calendars for can’t-miss screenings that are scheduled during your visit. 
• El Capitan Theatre - This Disney-owned theatre on Hollywood Boulevard screens exclusively Disney-property films. But regardless of whether or not you're a Disney adult, are bringing kids along, or typically have no interest in the family-friendly films, the miraculous two-story theater and pre-screening light show is worth the visit. Based on your ticket choice, you can also get convenient meal packages and film-themed merch upon entry and ticket scanning. The Disney store and ice cream bar next door brings the Disney magic to a post-movie debrief and treat.
• The Pantages Theatre - The Pantages Theatre, only a tad further down the street from the action, is also a historic Hollywood landmark and home to touring Broadway productions. Though you may not think of live theater when you think of Hollywood, The Pantages is its own industry mammoth. If you can’t get enough of sitting in a dark theater, head to The Pantages to see some real-life performances in the flesh!
• Jimmy Kimmel Live! at the Hollywood Masonic Temple - Attending Jimmy Kimmel Live! is another overlooked possibility of a Hollywood visit. Mostly because people don't know how easy it can be to snag a ticket. Tickets to be part of Jimmy's live studio audience can be requested on 1iota.com. There, you'll find even more live-show opportunities in Los Angeles. The further in advance you request tickets, the higher your chances are. On 1iota, you’ll be asked to select your requested date and write a short response about why they should choose you to be a member of their audience. If chosen, the show is free! Directly across the Boulevard from Ovation Hollywood, scoring these tickets might give you a refreshing, engaging change of scenery. Just think– all in one week, your film could screen in the iconic TLC Chinese Theatre and your face could be seen on TV across the country!

Upcoming for HollyShorts

There is plenty on the horizon for the future of HollyShorts, with each year offering new opportunities for its filmmakers, alumni, and aspiring participants. 

Beginning in 2026, HollyShorts is launching the Made in LA award which awards a $1000 cash prize to one LA filmmaker who created and produced their film in Los Angeles County in the last 2 years. To be eligible, filmmakers must be members of the First Entertainment Credit Union and submit their film by June 1, 2026. 

HollyShorts has also grown to host additional festivals. The 10th Annual HollyShorts Comedy Film Festival will be taking place in Los Angeles in May, 2026. Additionally, festival extensions are bringing HollyShorts to London and Dubai, making it possible for HollyShorts to reach an even wider pool of filmmakers and attendees.

How to Apply 

As is the method of most film festivals, you can apply to HollyShorts on Film Freeway, the film festival database website. Before applying, make a profile for your film and yourself as a filmmaker. Then, search in the browser for the HollyShorts Film Festival Film Freeway page, click submit now, and select the category you would like to submit to. 

Regular deadline application fees are $65.00 and student category fees are $60.00. 

You will notice there are fewer submission categories than screening block themes mentioned earlier in the guide. That is because after films are accepted, the films are meticulously programmed into additional categorical groups. 

The category options upon submission are: Television, Short Live Action, Animation, Documentary, Web Series, Student, Digital Microbudget, Commercial, Music Video, Shot on Film, Midnight Madness, Podcast, Super 8mm, Bollywood Shorts, Sports, Music, Made in LA, and Micro Drama. 

After submission and acceptance, your film may be programmed into a more specific screening block. 

The Regular Deadline is April 3, 2026, and the final extended deadline is June 1, 2026. 

The notification date for HollyShorts 2026 is July 13, 2026. 

See more details on the Hollyshorts Film Freeway page.

Tickets & Passes

• All Access Pass: $99
• Day Pass (Days 1–6): $80
• Day Pass (Days 7–9): $60
• Panels-Only Pass: $50

Festival Website: https://www.hollyshorts.com/

Festival Film Freeway Profile: https://filmfreeway.com/HollyShortsFilmFestival 

Festival Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollyshorts/