About Southern Shorts Awards

"I started this film festival out of frustration from dealing with other festivals because there was almost never any feedback provided or there was an additional charge to receive it. I run a workshop to help screen-writers refine their scripts. Filmmakers need the same kind of critique, which is why we send everyone their scoresheet. Improvement requires assessment."
Stephen P. Sherwood - SSA Festival Director

Southern Shorts Awards is a seasonal competition in which each entry is judged on its’ own merits. Every film will be screened by three judges using a 10 point scale and you will receive the scores of all three judges whether you win an award or not. We are the only Film Festival that does this.

Your composite score will show where you excelled, as well as the areas which could be better. We feel that this is vitally important information because you can't improve if you don't know what needs improving.

Southern Shorts Awards offers a level playing ground for filmmakers to have their work judged by a panel of three industry professionals. All of our judges either have a page on IMDb or equivalent experience in video/film production. Scoring is based on the Judge’s score plus nine criteria: Originality, Screenplay, Direction, Actng, Cinematography, Sound Design, Editing, Music, and Production Design.

Individual Achievement Awards are given to films, cast and crew whether that film makes it into the festival or not. Awards of Merit are given to shorts which prove basic filmmaking competence, Awards of Excellence are given to films which exhibit higher levels of creativity and ability, Awards of Distinction are given to films of professional quality, and the Orson Award is given to those rare films which show true genius.

Another goal of Southern Shorts Awards is to raise the quality of short films by offering a professional benchmark. SSA is a great first-entry test for filmmakers who intend to enter their short film into festivals. Receiving an award from SSA does not guarantee that a festival will accept your entry, but those films which do not receive any award from us may be less likely to find success in the festival circuit.

SSA is also unique in that we score individual achievements at no additional cost. All major cast and crew members are graded on the same 10 point scale by each judge, and it is possible for an individual to receive an award even if the film doesn’t.

One last bit of advice:
"You can't make a good film from a bad script."
Stephen P. Sherwood