Submissions are now open for the 2026 Small Town Shorts Film Festival! Community members from North Hastings and surrounding participating communities are invited to create and submit an original short film (up to 6 minutes) based on this year’s theme, “New Beginnings.”
Selected films will be screened at the Aron Co-op Theatre on October 1, 2026, with jury and audience prizes awarded across multiple age categories. Films must be collaborative projects involving two or more people, suitable for all ages, and must not have been previously shared publicly or on social media.
Early bird submissions are due August 20, with the final deadline on September 8. Submission forms and full guidelines are available through the North Hastings Public Library.
The Small Town Shorts Film Festival will feature short films made by membrs of the communities of Trent Hills, Marmora & Lake, Stirling-Rawdon, Madoc, Asphodel-Norwood, Tweed, North Hastings, North Kawartha, and Brighton.
The festival will include jury prizes and audience prizes based on age level categories. Small Town Shorts is designed to encourage collaborative creation, to give members of the community the opportunity to see what they have created on a big screen, and to encourage community members to move away from just consuming content to creating.
Create a new short (under 6 minutes in length) never screened publicly, or shared on social media, on the theme of ‘New Beginnings.’
Submit the short film to Small Town Shorts and your short could be selected to be screened at the Aron Co-op Theatre on October 1, 2026. You also might win the prestigious Scrappy Award!
Pick up a submission form from North Hastings Public Library, or via the Small Town Shorts website. You can submit your short film via email or drop it off on a USB stick with a completed form at one of the participating libraries. Submissions open March 1, 2026.
