Lights, camera, action! The annual Bermuda International Film Festival (BIFF) narrative short film competition is open once again.The 17th annual BIFF, is scheduled to take place in March of 2014.Filmmakers from Bermuda and around the world are encouraged to enter the ‘Bermuda Shorts’ competition. BIFF is recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences as a qualifying festival in the category of Short Film (Live Action). The Bermuda Shorts Award is juried by a panel of esteemed industry experts.“BIFF remains committed to showcasing the best in independent cinema from across the globe,” said David O’ Beirne, Director of Programming at BIFF. “We are excited to once again launch the international search for the brightest emerging talent in the film industry. Our ‘Bermuda Shorts’ category is the festival’s sole competition section and we are proud of the reputation for quality of selection we have built since becoming an Academy qualifying festival in 2004.”Two Bermuda Shorts winners have done very well including Wasp in 2005 and Toyland in 2009 which both went on to win Oscars.Online submissions are preferred by BIFF via Withoutabox.com, a cost-saving secure paperless system used by many international film festivals.Entries must be under 41 minutes in length and have been completed after January 1, 2013, to be considered for selection. Previous television or internet broadcasts will disqualify a film for the Bermuda Shorts Award. The rules for eligibility for the Short Film (Live Action) category of the Academy Awards are available at: www.oscars.org/rules.The British 15-minute film, Indoor, directed by Adam Townley and Simon Atkinson, was selected as the winner of the 2013 Bermuda Shorts Award from over 30 contenders that screened in competition. The 2013 BIFF received over 500 entries from all over the world.For further details on how to enter a film, visit: www.biff.bm/filmmakers/entry-details.