Screening your Short Film

Filmmakers are often very excited to screen their short film as soon as it is completed. Guessing you're one of them? When you have made sure you have all the rights (music and otherwise) cleared and are ready to go – congratulations, you will finally be able to experience the reaction of an audience!

Now, you may have heard the terms “theatrical screening” and “non-theatrical screening” and wonder what the difference is?

The official definitions sound in the UK and the US something like this:

Theatrical short film screening: Showing your short film to a paying audience, a public display of your work.

Non-theatrical short film screening: Showing your short film without charging payment from your audience, and your audience is usually a closed membership group such as an academic class or society.

Usually though, if someone asks you if you have had a “theatrical screening” they simply mean to ask if your short film has been shown in a cinema. And, the same goes for “non-theatrical screening” – the term is usually used for any screening at any place that is not a cinema, such as a bar or other venue.

Got questions on screening your short film? Why post a question for your fellow filmmakers and industry folk here at The Smalls? Or, if you have had a successful screening – let us know, we’d love to hear from you!

Good luck!