Cut Short

Glasgow11–17 Nov 2026

  • International Competition
  • Scottish Shorts
  • Animation
  • Documentary
  • After Dark

An international festival of films under twenty minutes: seven nights in three Glasgow cinemas, forty-two films in competition.

We open the doors to stories that know when to stop, from first-time filmmakers and old hands alike.

Get a festival pass See the programme

[14th edition]

A figure half hidden in a cloud of orange smoke, lit like a film still

Every film here ends a moment before you are ready for it to.

[Every November since 2013]

We programme films the way you tell a secret: quickly, in the dark, to a room that leans in. Twenty minutes is enough to break a heart, start an argument or change a mind.

Ruaridh Bell, the festival director, looking up in the dark

Cut Short began as one night in a borrowed church hall with a bedsheet for a screen. Fourteen years on it fills three cinemas, but the rule hasn't changed: nothing over twenty minutes, and every film gets a full house.

Ruaridh BellFestival director

We watch every submission to its last frame. What reaches the screen is the work that made us forget to check the time.

How films are chosen

In competition

[Four of forty-two]

Forty-two films from twenty-six countries compete for the Cut Short Prize. These are four the selection committee still argues about.

  1. Last Orders at the Lucky Star

    14 min

    Dir. Niamh Kearney · Ireland

    A night-shift waitress has one hour to decide whether the man at table six is the father who left.

    [Wed 12 Nov · 20:15 · The Grand Hall]

    A roadside diner glowing under its neon sign at night

  2. Whiteout

    9 min

    Dir. Jonas Aaltonen · Finland

    A ski patroller follows a line of footprints that stops in the middle of an empty field.

    [Thu 13 Nov · 18:00 · The Dome]

    A small figure in a red jacket crossing a white snowfield

  3. Hold Your Breath

    18 min

    Dir. Carmen Ruiz · Spain, Mexico

    Two sisters train for the free-diving record their mother never came back up from.

    [Fri 14 Nov · 21:00 · The Grand Hall]

    Two hands reaching up through blue water towards the light

  4. The Long Way from Fintry

    12 min

    Dir. Calum Reid · Scotland

    A driving instructor and his last pupil take the back road home one more time, in fog.

    [Sat 15 Nov · 16:30 · Trongate Night Cinema]

    A country road disappearing into fog under a single street light

Strands

Eight ways into the programme, one rule for all of them: nothing over twenty minutes.

[Pick a night, or all of them]

  • International Competition[Tue–Sun]
  • Scottish Shorts[Wed, Fri]
  • Animation[Thu, Sun]
  • Documentary[Wed–Sat]
  • After Dark[Fri, Sat · 23:00]
  • First Films[Sun]
  • Music Video[Sat]
  • Rescued Reels[Sun matinee]

Opening Night

A woman looks up into red stage light, a still from Red Hour

[Tue 11 Nov · 19:30 · The Grand Hall]

Red Hour

Dir. Amaya Ortiz · UK, Spain · 17 min. A lighting technician spends the hour before a premiere searching the theatre for the star who has stopped answering. Followed by a conversation with the director and the festival party until late.

Book opening night

The jury

Four people who make films for a living will watch all forty-two and give one prize: £5,000 and the closing-night slot.

Made something under twenty minutes? Send it to us.

Fiction, documentary, animation and everything in between, finished after 1 January 2026. Entry is free for students and first-time filmmakers.

Submit a film
A small film crew in silhouette, filming under red light

  1. Step 1 · by 1 August

    Send a private link

    A password-protected link, one still and a two-line synopsis. English subtitles for any other language.

  2. Step 2 · August

    Watched to the last frame

    Two programmers watch every film from the first second to the end credits. Nobody skips to the middle.

  3. Step 3 · by 15 September

    Hear back from us

    Everyone gets an answer. Selected filmmakers get a pass, two nights in Glasgow and a seat at the awards.

Venues

Seven nights, three rooms, all within a ten-minute walk of each other in the city centre.

  • Rows of red velvet seats in a warmly lit auditorium

    The Grand Hall

    2 Example Street, G2 0ZZ

    Opening and closing nights and the International Competition, in 640 red velvet seats under a painted ceiling.

  • An audience sitting under a curved dome screen

    The Dome

    3 Example Street, G51 0ZZ

    Animation and Rescued Reels on a curved screen that hangs right over your head.

  • A cinema front with its sign lit above the street at night

    Trongate Night Cinema

    4 Example Street, G1 0ZZ

    After Dark, Music Video and the festival bar, which stays open until two in the morning.

Questions

[Before you come]

Are the screenings accessible?

All three venues have step-free access and hearing loops. Every programme has one captioned screening, and the Thursday matinees are relaxed screenings with the lights half up.

Is there an age limit?

Most programmes are for 15 and over. After Dark is 18 and over, and Sunday morning Animation is open to anyone aged eight or older.

Are films subtitled?

Every film not in English has English subtitles. Captioned screenings are marked in the printed programme and on each ticket.

Can I get a refund?

Passes can be refunded until 1 November. Day tickets can be moved to another day up to an hour before the first screening.

Will the filmmakers be there?

Most screenings end with a short conversation with the people who made the films, and the festival bar at Trongate is where everyone ends up afterwards.

Passes

Concessions for students, under-25s, over-65s, job seekers and carers. No booking fees, ever.

Write to us

Got something short to say? We read everything, usually within two days.

Press and partners
press@cutshort.example
Office
1 Example Street, Glasgow G1 0ZZ
+44 141 000 0000