FilmFore is a structured pathway from short film to film career. Submit, get scored by professionals, reach the shortlist, screen on Encounters, and sell to a global network of distributors.
Submit via a Vimeo link — no file uploads required. You provide the link, basic metadata (title, director, runtime, genre), a short synopsis, and make your rights selections. The whole process takes around ten minutes.
We offer two tiers. The Standard tier (AU$35) assigns one professional reviewer and includes summary feedback. The Premiere tier (AU$55) assigns three reviewers, includes full written notes with a public testimonial if shortlisted, and gives you priority processing and eligibility for a free re-submission.
Films are accepted year-round. We review on a rolling monthly cycle, and you'll hear back within the cycle in which your film was received.
Your film is assigned to one or more professional reviewers — working filmmakers, festival programmers, distributors, and industry practitioners. They review independently, with no knowledge of other scores.
Each reviewer scores across five weighted criteria: Story & Concept, Direction & Craft, Originality, Emotional Impact, and Audience Potential. Scores are weighted by category, and a composite score out of 10 is calculated from the individual reviews.
Every filmmaker receives their composite score and written feedback, regardless of outcome. If your film is not shortlisted, you still get the evaluation. That's the point — even a rejection from FilmFore should be useful.
Films that score above the shortlist threshold are referred to our editorial team for final selection. The editorial layer exists because a high score is necessary but not sufficient — the film must also fit the current shortlist in terms of diversity of subject, form, tone, and geography.
The monthly shortlist typically includes 10–20 films. Each shortlisted film receives a public profile page on FilmFore — with title, director, poster, synopsis, score, and reviewer testimonials — and is made available for licensing enquiries through our market partner network.
Shortlisted filmmakers are notified by email. Channel publication on Encounters is offered separately, subject to rights confirmation.
Encounters is FilmFore's curated YouTube channel — a platform for short cinema that meets a single non-negotiable standard: it must contain a genuine human encounter. A moment between people that reveals something true about what it means to be alive.
Films selected for the channel are published with full creative credit, promoted across our social platforms, and made available on any FAST streaming channels operating under the Encounters brand. Publication on Encounters is opt-in — filmmakers retain full control over whether their film appears on the channel.
Every film on Encounters has been through the FilmFore evaluation process. The channel is not a submission platform — it is the endpoint of a rigorous curation pipeline.
Once shortlisted, your film's profile is visible to our network of verified market partners — distributors, commissioners, festival programmers, and streaming platforms. Partners can browse the shortlist, add films to a watchlist, and submit a licensing enquiry directly through the platform.
FilmFore manages the initial enquiry pipeline. When a partner submits an enquiry, you are notified and can choose how to proceed. We facilitate the connection — the deal terms are negotiated directly between filmmaker and partner.
Our current partner network spans streaming platforms, educational distributors, festival circuits, and broadcast commissioners across Australia, Europe, North America, and Southeast Asia.
Every film is scored independently across five weighted criteria. The composite score is calculated from all reviewer scores and returned to the filmmaker, regardless of shortlist outcome.
The quality of the narrative idea and how it is structured.
The technical and aesthetic execution of the filmmaking.
The distinctiveness of voice, subject, or form.
Whether the film lands — emotionally, intellectually, viscerally.
The film's likely reach and appeal beyond its initial audience.
Open to filmmakers worldwide. Standard evaluation from AU$35. Written feedback included on every submission.