What Is Shorttakes?
Shorttakes Student Film Festival is an annual student short film competition hosted by UCLA's Campus Events Commission. The festival is open to both current undergraduate and current graduate students from colleges and universities nationwide. We accept short films that are under 10 minutes long in live-action drama, live-action comedy, and animation/digital media categories. The top submissions in each category will be judged by a panel of notable members of the film, television, and entertainment industries, who will provide feedback on the films they see. The finalists will be screened at UCLA at the Shorttakes Festival Finale, where the winners will be announced and prizes will be awarded.
History of Shorttakes
The journey of a filmmaker is a difficult one, and finding a chance for industry professionals to recognize you and your talents can be tough. For this reason, the UCLA Campus Events Commission established Shorttakes in 1992 as a showcase of UCLA student work. Since then, Shorttakes has expanded to accept student work from all over Southern California, and now from all over the nation! This year, we are celebrating our 17th Shorttakes Student Film Festival, and we’re here to honor your efforts and put a spotlight on aspiring student filmmakers from across the nation.
Past Shorttakes
Past Winners
- Best Editing - "Arlington Heights"
- Best Actor - Zach McGowan as Kane from "Last Supper"
- Best Story - "Karma's A Bitch"
- Audience Favorite - "The Last Supper"
- Best Live Action - "Handle with Grace"
- Best Animation - "The Nest"
- Best in Show -"Thembi's Diary"
Past Prizes
Prizes for Shorttakes 2010 included:
- Best in Show: Flip Video Camera and a $150 check
- Best Live Action: Flip Video Camera and a $50 check
- Best Animation/Digital Media: Flip Video Camera and a $50 check
Past Judges
We're proud to say that for the past several years, finalists’ films have been reviewed by a panel of distinguished professionals in the entertainment industry. Past judges include:
- Steven Banks, head writer of Spongebob Squarepants
- Adam Rifkin, screenwriter of Underdog, Mousehunt, Small Soldiers, and Zoom
- Daniel Chun, writer on The Simpsons and The Office
- Andrew J. Cohen, associate producer of The 40-Year-Old Virgin and Talladega Nights; co-producer of Funny People
- Brendan O'Brien, co-producer of Funny People
- Erik Weise, exec. producer and co-creator of Nickelodeon's The Mighty B!
- Cynthia True, exec. producer, writer, and co-creator of Nickelodeon's The Mighty B!
- Jeff Probst, host of Survivor and writer/producer of Finder's Fee
- Rich Wilkes, screenwriter of xXx: State of the Union and Punk Like Me
- David X. Cohen, writer on The Simpsons and head writer/producer of Futurama
- Steve Evans, VP of Sundance Channel
- Peter Abraham, producer of I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
- Bob Dohrmann, production manager on Little Miss Sunshine and Thank You for Smoking
- Jared Hess, director of Napoleon Dynamite and Nacho Libre
- Roman Coppola, producer of The Darjeeling Limited and music video director
- Don Hertzfeldt, creator of Rejected and The Animation Show
- Isaiah Mustafa, actor from the Old Spice "I'm On A Horse" commercial
- Robert Roy Pool, writer of Outbreak, Armageddon
- Randy Cartwright, writer and animator for Pocahontas, Hercules, Aladdin, Princess and the Frog
- Nancy Cartwright, voicework for Bart Simpson and Ralph in The Simpsons