Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival

With a pandemic racing though the country, including Chicago, this years festival will take place online.

There will be a two week judging/voting period (11/14/20-12/05/20), where audiences can vote for a variety of awards and categories. Each viewer will be able to vote for multiple categories per purchased pass. At the end of the two weeks the awards will be announced. After the voting period is over, audiences will continue to have access to the films to stream until 12/14/20.

The 2019 Chicago International REEL Shorts Festival was help at 'ChicagoFilmmakers' Firehouse theater located at 5720 N. Ridge in the city of Chicago.

BEST SHORT FILM Minor Accident of War

AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARDS

Pageant Mom, Down Dickie & Bea Ballhawks Just Give Me a Minute to Change The Sweatshirt

Programmers Awards

Best Foreign Rock On, Dude!

Best Drama Broken

Best Animation King of the House

Best Comedy Dickie & Bea

Best Musical Short The Odyssey of Cleve Eaton

Best Documentary Uncaged: A Stand-In Story

Best Horror Keep Looking

Best Action Vicarious

Best Sci-Fi Dissidence (2084)

Festival dates: September 17–19

• Best Short Film: Directing Rye
• Best Cinematography: Just Like You Imagined
• Best Animation: The Lester Show
• Best Comedy: Unemployed
• Best SciFi Short: Untitled 003: Embryo
• Best Documentary: The Harvest
• Best Music Video: Drunken Liar
• Creepiest Short: Victim
• Audience Choice Awards:
  • Two To Tango
  • Robot Boy
  • Untitled 003: Embryo
  • Rocketscience
  • Reservations
  • Very Proud House
  • The Fridge
  • Unemployed
  • Victim
  • Fly Away
  • Notes from the Space Time Continuum
  • Fishing For Trauster
• Honorable mention:
  • Edmund
  • Consideration
  • SPIN
  • Sunday Morning Stripper
  • The Next
  • Gay By Dawn
  • Euro American

Festival dates: September 30 - October 2

• Best Short Film of 2005: SKYLAB
• Best Sci-Fi: Alliance
• Best Horror: Short Shadow Man
• Best Documentary: Kings of Christmas
• Best Comedy: Dating Tips for Seniors
• Best Youth Film: My First Kiss
• Best Animation: Emilia
• Best Music Video: High Speed Scene
• Best Action Film: Lucky (Australian)
• Best Foreign (tie): Hamoudi & Emil / Le Carnet Rouge
• Best Experimental (tie): Allison / Jane Lloyd
• Audience Choice Awards:
  • Totem Pole
  • Skylab
  • Alliance
  • I Spy With My Little Eye
  • Pumpkin of Nyefar
  • Wishtaker
  • You're Breaking Up
  • Flatbush
  • Gopher Broke
  • Mr. Dramatic
  • Lucky (Australian Action Film)
  • Roadkill
  • Breaking into Bollywood
  • Poet of Canis
  • I Killed Zoe Day
  • Good Vibrations
• Honorable mention:
  • TOXIN
  • Duct Tape + Cover
  • MJD
  • SHOES
  • 13 Waffles
  • Wishtaker
  • Detroit: Not for Wimps

Festival dates: September 29 - October 1

• Best of Fest: La La Land
• Best Animation: Dry Sky
• Best Horror Film: Recently Deceased
• Best Documentary Short: Rising Above the Wave
• Best Music Video: Melody Nife
• Best Youth Short: Winter Attack
• Audience Choice Awards:
  • Get Me Brenda Vaccaro
  • Keg of the Dead
  • La La Land
  • An American Revolution
  • Nowakowsky
  • Like Father Like Edison
  • The World's Most Dangerous Polka Band
  • Imbroglio
  • Snoozer
  • The Life and Death of a Pumpkin
  • Searching for Mr. Stupendo
  • Great American Youth
• Honorable mention:
  • Nowakowsky

Festival dates: September 21–23

• Best of Fest: The Trainee
• Best Comedy: The Planning Lady
• Best Music Video: 1992
• Best Scifi: D-I-M, Deus in Machina
• Best Chicago Film: The European Kid
• Best Documentary: Ghost Town: 24 Hours in Terlingua
• Best Animation: I Met the Walrus
• Audience Choice Awards:
  • The Meter
  • The Planning Lady
  • Land of the Free
  • Two Days Notice
  • Dog Jack
  • The Trainee
  • W.O.R.M. - Worldwide Organic Replicating Molecule
  • Call of Nature
  • Unraveling
  • Release
  • The Von
• Honorable mention:
  • Mommy! Mommy! There's a Monster on the Stairs!

Festival dates: September 11–14

• Best of the Fest: Science Fair
• Best Comedy: Home Cooked Meal
• Best Music Video: The Life Here
• Best Chicago Film: Greg's Leg
• Best Documentary: Baby Face
• Best Animation: The Flower
• Best Youth Film: Super Kitten and the Power Pets
• Audience Choice Awards:
  • Small Comforts
  • Looking Up Dresses
  • Near Miss
  • Living with Landmines
  • Find My Way
  • The Un-Gone
  • Miracle Investigators
  • Mallow
  • Last Dance
  • Directors Cut
  • PUSH
  • A Man's Image
• Honorable mentions:
  • Y Not
  • Terminus
  • Piñatas Revenge
  • Verboten

Festival dates: September 10–14

• Best of the Fest: Sky People
• Best Break-Up Film: L.O.V.E.
• Best Romantic Comedy: True Love
• Best Youth Entry: Sparks in the Night
• Best Artistic Movie: Stringing in the Streets
• Best Romantic Movie: A Time of Flowers
• Best Revenge Movie: Alessandra
• Best Music Video: City of Noise
• Best Horror Movie: Tinglewood
• Most Disturbing Movie: Grandma's House
• Best Foreign Film: Stella
• Best Political Drama: October Surprise
• Best Comedy: A Small Silent Film About Death
• Best Demented Movie: Fish & Chip
• Most Profane Statement: James K. Polk was @#?!ing Awesome
• Honorable Mention:
  • Melt Down
  • Max & Helena
  • More Than You Can Chew
  • CAMFBH
  • Ex-Bully
  • WoW! What A Great Question!
  • My First Experimental Film
  • The Only One
  • The Disconnection of Cyrus Bent
• People's Choice Awards: Under The Table In Barcelona, At Last, Okemah!