GRRL HAUS CINEMA
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    • Best of Shorts May 2026 >
      • May 6 - Brattle
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    • July 16 - Brattle
    • Sept 3 - OBLOMOV
    • Sept 17 - Brattle
    • Sept 24 - IL KINO
    • Dec 17 - Brattle
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Submissions are now open for our 2027 season!

Submit your bold, weird, DIY, queer, feminist, experimental short film! 
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Our focus is on supporting women, trans, nonbinary, genderqueer filmmakers in low-budget, DIY filmmaking, providing a platform for diverse voices. 
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GRRL HAUS CINEMA is a 𝗻𝗼𝗻𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗳𝗶𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝗹𝗺 𝗳𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗮𝗹, 𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 dedicated to showcasing the short film works by 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀, 𝗻𝗼𝗻-𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗲𝗿 filmmakers in experimental, low-budget-, and underground cinema.
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By promoting creativity and diverse expression through film, we provide a platform for emerging filmmakers and those without easy access to funding, creating a space for underrepresented voices in cinema.
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GRRL HAUS is dedicated to inclusivity and celebrates 𝗗𝗜𝗬 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲, because we think it’s important to share works by diverse filmmakers across various audiences, from international museums to underground clubs.

Guide & FAQs

📽️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞?
GRRL HAUS CINEMA features experimental, low-budget, and underground cinema from women, trans, non-binary, and genderqueer filmmakers. We accept all genres and celebrate diverse works, with an emphasis on DIY spirit!

🎬 𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬?
Films should be directed or written by women, non-binary, genderqueer, or trans individuals (co-credits welcome). Submitters must be the director, producer, or writer — or have their permission. While we accept distributor submissions, we prefer working directly with filmmakers and do not pay distributor fees.

📝 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐥𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧?
We really appreciate when submissions are filled out completely with: film description, director bio, your location (city/country), film stills, trailer, poster, and website/social links. Please also let us know if there is any triggering content in the film so we can be prepared.
Make sure to use a long-term email address we can reach you at — avoid temporary ones like school emails. If your film is password protected, please include the password as well.

⏰ 𝐈𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞?
The deadline for the 2027 yearly program is January 2027. Our Best of Shorts screenings will take place in April–May 2027, followed by themed screenings throughout the rest of the year.
Unlike traditional film festivals, we host screenings year-round rather than one large annual event. This allows us to showcase a wider variety of styles, highlight a broader range of films, and connect with different audiences through more focused programming.
We begin with our “Best Of” festival, featuring open-genre screenings at the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, MA and at Il Kino in Berlin, Germany. Throughout the year, we present themed programs including a New England local showcase, horror and camp screenings, experimental shorts, and more.

⏱️ 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬?
• “Micro Short”: Up to 4 minutes
• “Regular Short”: 4–25 minutes
• “Long Short”: 25–45 minutes
• “DIY Venues: Berlin Local Films”: Up to 30 minutes; exclusively for Berlin-based filmmakers submitting to our Berlin DIY screenings only.

🇩🇪 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 “𝐃𝐈𝐘 𝐕𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐞𝐬: 𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐅𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬” 𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐲?
GRRL HAUS Berlin is a satellite of GRRL HAUS CINEMA with its own DIY screenings in bars in Berlin. The Berlin Local Films category is a free option exclusively for Berlin-based filmmakers who want their work shown in our Berlin-local DIY screenings only. These submissions will not be considered for our larger cinema or international events.

🌎 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬?
Our screenings take place at several venues, including:
• The Brattle Theatre (Cambridge, MA, USA)
• Il Kino (Berlin, Germany)
• Mobile Kino (Berlin, Germany – summer screenings)
• DIY screenings in Berlin at Oblomov
Additional venues may be added in the future.

🔞 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭?
Not a problem. Please let us know in the custom form.

📼 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐢𝐧?
We accept digital format submissions only.

💬 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐬 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐩𝐭?
All languages are welcome! However, non-English films must have English subtitles.

🎞️ 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦𝐬?
Yes!

♻️ 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐥𝐬𝐞𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞?
Yup, you may submit films regardless of prior screening status or year of completion.

🙋 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬? 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠?
Your film will be considered for all screenings. While you can indicate a preferred event in your custom form, we cannot guarantee specific placements.

📍 𝐈 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬. 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐈 𝐝𝐨?
We aim to feature at least 20% local films in our screenings. Please indicate your location (city, country) in the custom form — this will help ensure local representation for our events.

🎯 𝐈𝐬 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝?
While we'd love to show every film, we receive many submissions and can only select a small percentage. Submission does not guarantee selection, but we review each film carefully.

📅 𝐈𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐛𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐝?
We'll let you know about your screening date and time around two months in advance. We aim to give you as much time as possible to plan to attend, especially for international screenings.

📣 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐑𝐑𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐒 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤?
As well as being featured in our events, your film will be showcased through custom trailers, included in our newsletters, featured across social media platforms, and receive permanent credits on our website. We'll share your work with our network of 1,000+ international film industry professionals, including festival programmers and curators. We encourage you to spread the word through your own networks.

📸 𝐖𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐆𝐑𝐑𝐋 𝐇𝐀𝐔𝐒 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐦𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐥𝐦 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧?
Yes. When you submit, you grant us permission to use stills and clips for promotion across our website, social media, and marketing materials. Please ensure you have all necessary rights before submitting.

💰 𝐂𝐚𝐧 𝐈 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚 𝐫𝐞𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐞?
The submission fee is non-refundable as it supports our evaluation process.
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💌 𝐇𝐞𝐥𝐩! 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬𝐧’𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞.
Feel free to email us — we love hearing from filmmakers. We’re real people, so responses may take a day or two :)
submit on filmfreeway

Awards & Prizes

❥ 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 & 𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• Awards for Best of the Year screenings
• Winner prizes include gift certificates, sponsor gifts, and discounts
❥ 𝐄𝐱𝐡𝐢𝐛𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐄𝐱𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞
• Online screenings shared with 1,000+ international subscribers including curators, festival programmers, artists, and cinema professionals
• GRRL HAUS actively participates in jury processes for various film festivals, offering recommendations from our submission archives
❥ 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 & 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧
• Custom trailers promoting each event with featured filmmaker highlights
• Permanent listing of film and director credits on our website and social media
• Select artist interviews featured on our site
❥ 𝐅𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐥 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬
• Complimentary passes for filmmaker plus guest to live screenings
We’re seeking unique short films that encompass
unconventional genres like campy comedy, psychedelic horror, dystopian sci-fi, avant-garde music videos, mind-altering animation, dreamy analogue, documentaries championing political activism, genre-defying narratives, revolutionary video art, queer erotica, innovative dance and performance – all are welcomed and loved at GRRL HAUS CINEMA.​
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  • Home
  • Submissions
  • 2026 Events
    • Best of Shorts May 2026 >
      • May 6 - Brattle
      • May 7 - IL KINO
    • July 3-5 Lakeside
    • July 9 - IL KINO
    • July 16 - Brattle
    • Sept 3 - OBLOMOV
    • Sept 17 - Brattle
    • Sept 24 - IL KINO
    • Dec 17 - Brattle
  • About
  • GRRL HAUS AWARDS 2026
  • FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT
  • GRRL Telephone
  • DONATE
  • Merch
  • Past Events
  • Contact