Volunteer Reviewer

Salary: N/A

Join the Sunderland Shorts Film Festival team as a Volunteer Reviewer!

Want to be part of the biggest film festival in the North East?

We’re looking for volunteer reviewers to watch through this year’s submissions and help us pick the line-up for our 10th edition of the festival in May 2025.

We are looking for passionate film lovers to help us curate an exceptional selection of short films from comedy and drama to horror and documentaries. If you love cinema and want to be a part of one of the UK’s most exciting film festivals, this is your chance!

Role Responsibilities

• Watch and review a range of short films submitted to the festival.
• Rate elements of each film out of 10 via our Filmfreeway website.
• Provide a brief summary of your thoughts on each film.
• All reviewers will undertake a short online training to understand our reviewing process.

Purpose

Our amazing team of reviewers helps sort through the numerous submissions we are sent and identify the standout films to include as part of our line-up. Each film submitted to Sunderland Shorts is shown to a minimum of 2 reviewers, their feedback contributes to a shortlist from which our programmers curate the final festival selection.

We don’t mind if you’re a film fanatic or a more casual fan, we want to hear from a wide variety of people on our content to make sure our selection appeals to a wide and diverse range of audiences.

Requirements

A passion for film, cinema and film festivals.
No prior experience is necessary, though familiarity with the Sunderland Shorts or other film festivals is a plus.
Ability to commit a few hours each month for the duration of the reviewing period.

Benefits

Gain industry experience for working in the festival circuit and the wider film landscape.
Your name is featured on our thank you screen at the festival and on our website.
We offer complimentary film tickets to special events at the festival (subject to availability, but we strive to accommodate all volunteers).

Time Commitment

Reviews are conducted online, so you can participate from anywhere.
The review period for this edition runs until April 2025.
Flexible commitment, with a recommended couple of hours per month and opportunities for those who wish to contribute more and gain

How to apply

Interested volunteers should email info@sunderlandshorts.co.uk with a brief introduction, preferred name and a short expression of interest.

Advice, training and further information on the reviewing process will be provided upon enquiry via email.

Find out more about Sunderland Shorts Film Festival at https://sunderlandshorts.co.uk

Availability: ASAP – April 2025

Who We Are

Sunderland Shorts Film Festival has been dedicated to showcasing the best short films from around the world here in the North East of England since 2015.

As an international film festival we’re passionate about bringing new short films and music videos to audiences, showing them work from around the Globe and across the country, while championing the homegrown talent from here in the region.

We are proud to be a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Qualifying Film Festival as well as becoming a “Top 100 Best Reviewed” event on leading industry site FilmFreeway.com from over 13,000 festivals worldwide in 2023.

The closing date for this position is 20/02/2025 at 23:59