Launch a short film campaign and join a cohort of boundary-pushing, rabble-rousing, future-dreaming filmmakers doing the same.
There’s no better place to launch a short film than on Kickstarter. And there’s no better time for shorts on Kickstarter than in spring.
That’s because March 2023 sees the return of Long Story Short, Kickstarter’s annual celebration of short films and the visionary people who make them. Throughout the month, we’ll feature live short film projects from every genre—on the site, on social, and in newsletters. We’ll share new resources to help creators run successful campaigns, announce fresh opportunities from industry partners, and showcase some of the outstanding filmmaking and filmmakers we’ve worked with over the years.
Since the launch of the first Long Story Short in 2020 we’ve seen 400 projects go through our yearly open call, generating more than $4M in pledges. These films join more than 8,000 short films that have been successfully funded on the platform since our launch 13 years ago.
Short films have always found success here. Shorts funded on Kickstarter have been featured at film festivals (catch Pram Snatcher at this year’s BFI London Film Festival!), released on DVD and Blu-Ray (like Don Hertzfeldt’s World of Tomorrow), and selected as Vimeo Staff Picks (check out Matthew Puccini’s Lavender). What’s more, Kickstarter-funded shorts have picked up three Academy Awards: Hair Love won in the Animated Short Film category in 2020, Period. End of Sentence won in the 2019 Short Documentary category, and Inocente took home the award in the Short Documentary category in 2013.
An open call for creators
It’s never too early to start planning for Long Story Short. So, we’re inviting emerging and established filmmakers, film students, and other enthusiastic cinephiles to start thinking now about what they want to launch into the world.
Here’s how you can get involved with Long Story Short:
- Create a short film project on Kickstarter and select “Shorts” as your subcategory.
- Launch your project anytime between March 1 and 31, 2023.
- Read our guides for tips and best practices for running a campaign.
Between now and March 2023, we’ll share resources for short-form filmmakers and announce fresh opportunities from industry partners. Then, in March, we’ll promote shorts in Kickstarter newsletters, throughout the site, on social media, and more.
We’re excited to see what you come up with!