About the Festival

Taos Shortz is dedicated to featuring quality juried short films from around the globe.
We bring global, world-class cinema to Taos and keep the cinematic arts thriving in our eclectic community. We provide filmmakers with a venue to showcase their work, participate in workshops, panels, and network with fellow filmmakers, media companies, producers, and distributors.

Mission Statement
We are a forum that unites short films and filmmakers with the community, with the belief that films have the ability to change peoples lives.

Vision Statement
Our festival strives to exceed in quality. We select short films that have compelling and thought provoking subject matter and are of a technical excellence.

Taos Leads the Way… Our History
Taos has a long history of supporting the visual and performing arts. Taos Shortz Film Fest, begun in 2007 and successful every year since, is the only juried film festival in Taos and the only shorts film festival in New Mexico.

2016

  • Taos Shortz screened 170 Global short films from 33 countries over a 4 day festival, 16 programs including  World Premieres and North American Premieres
  • Taos Shortz was the “World Premiere” for Academy Award Winner for Best Live Action  “SING” by Kristóf Deák from Hungary.
  • Keynote Speaker, Luke Matheny, who won an Oscar for his short film “God of Love” in 2010, attended and spoke about his film and his path to go on to direct a feature film and a current children’s series on Amazon Prime
  • Iranian Program/ Persian Perspectives/ A look into the closed cultures of the Islamic Republic of Iran. 10 short films from Iranian filmmakers
  • A  “Drones in Cinema” demonstration was held in Kit Carson Park. Lecture about the rules and regs of drone flying for the movie industry, and 4 flying drones.
  • Native American Showcase, curated by James Lujan, chair of the Institute of American Indian Arts in Santa Fe. Ten visiting  NA filmmakers onstage.
  • New Mexico Filmmakers Showcase/ Highlighting the best of NM filmmakers
  • Movie Maker Magazine reporter Adam Goldstein attended to cover the festival and write an article in Movie Maker for the June issue
  • Local Taoeseño screening of 11 short films
  • Saturday Morning Spring , A free program screening works from four high school film and media classes in New Mexico

2015

  • Voted one of the “top 50 film festivals worth the entry fee” by Movie Maker Magazine.
  • The 2015 festival was held March 19th to the 22nd at various venues in Taos, primarily the TCA Auditorium.
  • We screened 150+ global and regional short films from 32 different countries. Ninety ( 90) filmmakers from around the globe came and made our festival a 4 day extravaganza of movie mayhem.
  • Kicking off the was a 2 hour Native American program. James Lujan, director of the Institute of American Indian Arts ( IAIA) in Santa Fe hosted the show, screened global NA short films and talked about IAIA’s role in promoting indigenous filmmaking worldwide.
  • “Behind the Middle Eastern Veil”, another 2 hour program, journeyed through the diverse lifestyles of Afghanistan, Syria, Iran and Tunisia.
  • The Tamalewood Zia Showcase featured a spotlight on the best New Mexican filmmakers. We featured a High School film student program and a free drone seminar and workshop that explored aerial cinematography, hosted by one of our premiere sponsors, AEROCUS AERIALS.

2014

  • Voted one of the “top 50 film festivals worth the entry fee” by Movie Maker Magazine
  • The 2014 Festival was “over the top” amazing!! With packed houses and a multitude of visiting filmmakers, Taos was honored to host such an amazing array of short films. 150 short films were screened during our 4 day festival… which earned Taos Shortz the honor of being “One of the top 50 film fests worth the entry fee” by Movie Maker Magazine. In-kind contributions from local businesses and individuals donating their time amounted to $44,000.

2013

  • TSFF screened 88 short films from 17 countries, 30 of which were US and/or world premieres.
  • Our 10 juried programs, each comprised of 10 or more global short films and running 2 hours, packed the Taos Community Auditorium.
  • Ticket sales increased by 40%, to 1,700 individual attendees, not including pass purchasers. 75% of online ticket sales were to out-of-state attendees.
  • Festival pass sales indicate at 50 least out-of-town visitors stayed for the weekend

2012

  • TSFF screened 70 global short films, representing over 15 countries, and introduced a “Locals Night” showcasing Taos and New Mexican filmmakers, including several Native American films.
  • The International 48 Hour Filmapalooza competition, whose directors chose Taos to be their host city, brought 200 international filmmakers to
  • Taos during the Taos Shortz festival.
  • Our four-day festival brought an estimated $400,000 in revenue for Taos.
  • Attendance was up by 30% from 2011.

2007 – 2011

2007 marked the inception of TSFF. It comprised of a one day festival, screening 28 short films. Following years, 2009 and 2010 the festival grew with community support, number and quality of films. In 2011 TSFF became a four day festival. The 48 hour International Filmapalooza chose TSFF to be their host festival and this brought over 250 International filmmakers to Taos. That year TSFF screened over 70 global short films and achieved worldwide recognition. The town received $200,000 in revenue from visiting filmmakers lodging, eating and shopping, and put Taos on the map as a cinematic destination.

TSFF is supported financially by our local community

The Taos Shortz Film Fest is a program of the Indie Community Project, a 501(c)3, established in 2011
EIN # 45-2426045