Short of the Week
It’s time for a change.
Short of the Week has been curating the world’s most innovative short films since the birth of internet streaming over 15 years ago. Over that time, a lot has changed. We’ve watched short films go from small, regional screenings to reaching millions of viewers online and landing massive development deals for emerging filmmakers.
The internet has made it possible. It brought us together and unlocked a new path for those outside the film industry. No longer is it required to go to film school, screen at the top film festivals, move to LA, or have a well-connected relative to be given a chance to have your voice heard.
Today you can shoot a short film in Mumbai, drop it online, and be talking with producers and distributors around the world within hours. By connecting with audiences directly, many who have been previously left out have a chance to validate their art and side-step a broken system. At our core, we believe that anyone with an original voice can be the creator of the next big hit that shapes our cultural landscape.
If you want to become a filmmaker, short film is the best way to express your voice, and the internet is your best platform to share it.
And yet, while the potential is bigger than ever, it’s never been more difficult to get your film truly considered.
Internet nomads
As a filmmaker, your biggest challenge is not making a film, but getting your film seen. This is no small task and requires numerous efforts largely unrelated to the craft of filmmaking. These include building a website, generating awareness, distributing screeners, conducting press outreach, connecting with peers, pitching collaborators, and promoting your film both online and off.
And the truth is it’s only gotten more difficult over the past years. Most filmmakers today are having to rely on a patchwork of tools and platforms to reach audiences. Vimeo is no longer the oasis it once was for filmmakers, having shifted to enterprise tools. YouTube is a battleground of click-bait thumbnails. Social platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok have massive audiences, but good luck getting anyone to watch your 15-minute drama.
Filmmakers have become digital nomads hopping from platform to platform battling algorithms that feed on virality, not storytelling.
The film community has been fragmented across tools that were never meant for them.
Something is missing—something to bring us together.
A new home for filmmakers
We’ve spent the last two years building a new platform we call Shortverse (not a metaverse thing, I promise). It’s where filmmakers, industry professionals, and fans of short film can come together in one place.
Why us?
Over the past decade, we’ve helped emerging filmmakers reach over 200 million views, and have learned a few things about how to reach an audience. We’re 100% independent with no ties to existing tools, platforms, or festivals. We’re also an experienced product team, having led the development of creative tools at Vimeo and WeTransfer—we know how to make great products. Most importantly, we’re filmmakers, and we’re excited to see what a true filmmaker-first platform can become.
Everything we’ve learned over the past decade about what’s needed to reach audiences, we’ve built into Shortverse. From the moment your film is completed, we offer the tools you need to build a film page, get your film seen, and connect with a community of filmmakers & fans.
Let me show you a little of what I mean…
Launch a film page
Every short film needs a home—a place to showcase your film and host stills, press kits, and other key info. We don’t think you should have to pay $150+/year for a website builder and spend hours building a website just to get your film online.
On Shortverse, we designed the perfect, beautiful short film homepage. It’s simple, clean and has everything a film website needs—festival laurels, full cast & crew (with links to profiles), a gallery of stills, links to articles & press kits, and contact info for easy outreach. Did I mention how simple it is?
Manage your film release
Shortverse is mission control for managing your short film release. For example, you can release your film as a Preview which will post a coming soon page where fans and industry members can follow your film and be notified once it’s released. It’s a great way to start building buzz for an upcoming release while you plan your premiere, or tour festivals, without jeopardizing your premiere status.
Get feedback from the community
One of the biggest challenges when starting out as a filmmaker is getting honest feedback. Did you just barely miss the cutoff or was there some obvious mistake in your submission? On Shortverse, we’ve added film reviews as a way to get honest feedback from professional filmmakers and producers.
Get seen by the right people
We know how challenging it is to get your work seen—and not just views, but by the right people. On Shortverse, your short film lives on the same platform as the best-curated collection of short films (all Short of the Week official selections) and the largest network of short filmmakers and industry professionals. Powerful tags and search make it easy to get even the most niche film in front of the right hunter.
The largest, searchable collection of short films
Short of the Week is a great place to find short films, but Shortverse is even better. We’ve added dozens of new fields that are searchable like age ratings, language, and duration. Looking for a sci-fi film under 10 min? We’ve got you. Not to mention the number of shorts is growing quickly. Looking for a short film from a recent festival? You’ll probably find it here. How about collaborators? You can search artists by role and location to find your next creative partner.
Profile pages on Shortverse
Special access for industry professionals
If you’re a producer, manager, programmer, or otherwise looking to connect with filmmakers, we offer special access to unlock additional features like access to private screenings for unreleased films, more powerful search options, and direct outreach to filmmakers. Apply for accreditation ›
And there’s so much more that I don’t have time to cover like our powerful new search tools, profile pages, and direct messaging. You’ll have to try it for yourself.
100% Member-supported
Shortverse is open to everyone, but to host a film, you’ll need to be a member. Why? We’ve seen what happens to communities without the right support. Shortverse is 100% member-supported, so fees go directly to supporting the ongoing development and improvement of the community. No ads, no shady data deals, no enterprise tools. We believe that strong, member-supported platforms like this are the future of online communities. We have big plans for Shortverse.
Join Shortverse
Sign up now to get the Early Explorer Discount.
If you’re a Short of the Week alumni and we’ve featured your film in the past, we have a special spot reserved for you and 1-year free membership if you join within the next 30 days! Reach out to us.
Don’t worry, Short of the Week will continue to curate the absolute greatest short films until the heat death of the universe. In fact, every film added to Shortverse is considered for Short of the Week!
Explore the universe of short film with us.
See you in Shortverse 🚀