The Main Competition (International competition)

The prestigious international competition produces the best of current short film. Typically, more than 1000 films from all over the world register for the competition. A three-member selection committee then picks 35–45 shorts.

The selected films are screened at the festival in front of an audience and two international juries – the international jury of the main competition which awards the Main Award of BRNO16 as well as the Honourable Mentions, and the International Student Jury, which awards the Student Jury Award.

The audience also chooses its winner via voting forms. All awards include cash prizes.

The Main Award of the 61st edition of the festival went to Tomek Popakul’s Acid Rain, while the Honourable Mentions of the international jury went to S P A C E S, Such a Beautiful Town, and Exam.

The Audience Award went to Ariane Louis-Seize’s film The Depths, while the Student Award went to Sonia K. Hadad’s film Exam.

The Czechoslovakian 16 (National competition)

Films submitted by authors from the Czech and Slovak Republic can also be selected for the Czechoslovak 16 competition whose 1st edition took place in 2019.

The selection committee chooses 10–15 shorts which are then evaluated by a 3-member jury consisting of experts from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and a chair from a different country.

In 2019 this award went to Lucie Kašová’s film Concrete Times, in 2020 this award went to the film Wild Beasts by Marta Prokopová and Michal Blašek.