What’s it all about?
Our History
In 2014 Sunderland City Council and Festival Director Anne Tye announced the creation of Sunderland Shorts Film Festival, with the first event taking place in 2015.
The event was was conceived in collaboration through Sunderland’s Friendship Agreement with Washington DC, where it was one of many creative industry initiatives developed through the partnership, which has seen creative professionals from both DC and Sunderland participate in exhibitions and academic exchange visits.
Historically Washington DC has a unique connection to Sunderland with George Washington’s ancestral home being Washington Old Hall.
Jon Gann of DC SHORTS worked with Anne and her team in Sunderland to support the development of the first festival, which took place in early July 2015.
Films from all over the world were featured, and although audiences were small in the initial year, they showed the potential of a film festival in the city and formed a strong base on which to grow.
In the following years the festival continued to bring a wide selection of films from a range of genres across a variety of pop up venues across the City Centre.
Alongside screenings the festival added a series of professional development workshops to further support and nurture the abilities of local filmmaking talent with various technical masterclasses.
In 2023 we were proud to be recognised as a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards)
Qualifying Film Festival as well as becoming a “Top 100 Best Reviewed” event on
FilmFreeway from over 13,000 festivals worldwide.
2025 saw the 10th edition of Sunderland Shorts Film
Festival with a 7 day event where the team welcomed our biggest audeinces yet to enjoy over 200 short films on the big screen.
Moving from Sunderland City Council’s International and Creative Industries team, the festival is now part of the offer as part of Culture House.
Culture House will be more than a new landmark building in Sunderland, it will recognise the city’s rich history and heritage, while inspiring a passion for learning and knowledge. It will sit at the heart of Riverside Sunderland, providing a vibrant, dynamic and engaging space for residents and visitors.
Our aims
- To deliver an annual Film Festival for the North East which celebrates the art of short film & music video from around the World.
- To provide a platform where diverse stories from different perspectives and experiences, across all genres can be shared.
- To offer unmissable screenings, events & networking opportunities.
- To make all events available and accessible to all of our audiences, regardless of social and economic circumstances or barriers.
- To generate opportunities for regional filmmakers to showcase and launch their work internationally.
- To increase the knowledge and skills of emerging filmmakers through workshops, masterclasses and development opportunities with experienced sector professionals.
- To operate with transparency and fairness in our screening and submission process.
- To cooperate with local, national and international partners to deliver the most beneficial experience for our community.
- To contribute to the developing screen industry in Sunderland and the wider North East region.
- To be an inclusive cultural hub, screening works from underrepresented communities and championing themes of equality, diversity and creativity.
Festival Vlog
Spotlight Sunderland
“Over the next three years (to April 2026) we are focusing on Sunderland as one of the largest districts in the North with little independent cinema provision since the closure of the City’s mainstream cinema. We are working with a number of partners in Sunderland, including Sunderland Shorts, Sunderland Culture, the University of Sunderland, and Sunderland Council, to develop an independent film-going culture across the city region, including community cinemas and pop-up screenings.”
Huttson Lo (Film Hub North)
Environmental Impact
We understand the profound need to consider environmental impact in all of our events and actions connected to Sunderland Shorts.
In a move to go paperless, for the 2021 and 2022 editions of the festival we moved all of our tickets, programmes and festival materials to online and digital versions. Utilising a variety of venues within the city centre makes sure that we are easily commutable by foot, and as such reducing any needed carbon emissions.
Additionally within Sunderland and surrounding areas there are various accessible public transport options including bus and metro services, as well as a rail link with the new train station in the City Centre. This year we are also currently looking at formalising a partnership with travel companies to further support this offer.
Near the venues there are also ample bike storage and electric car charging facilities available.
Sunderland has been named a ‘climate leader’ in the world’s environmental battle after receiving a top score from the CDP, and as an event supported by Sunderland City Council we strive to reflect these values. The council itself has committed to become a carbon neutral local authority by 2040, working with partners to shape its Low Carbon Framework, which sets out ways to reduce the city’s carbon footprint. You can read more about this at:
Chris J. Allan is a film practitioner from South Shields. Since 2020 he has been Festival Director of Sunderland Shorts, an event dedicated to showing the best filmmakers from around the World while championing National and Regional talent from established names to young, emerging and student creatives. Under his leadership the festival has received BIFA qualifying status as well as entering the Top 100 rated Film Festivals on Filmfreeway.
As a filmmaker with Wycombe 89 he has written and directed numerous projects, including short films and documentaries which have had international awards success. Chris received a Masters in Film Studies from Newcastle University and has taught on various film and media courses for over a decade. He is the current Secretary of the Royal Television Society for The North East & The Border regions, and is passionate about championing the next generation of screen talent and sharing stories from under-represented communities.