Membership
How does the invitation process work?
Email join@filmzee.top with your name, how you heard about FilmZee, your connection to short film, and three short films you love. We read every application and reply within 5–10 days. If it's a good fit, we send an invitation link with a 7-day expiry.
Why invitation-only?
The archive quality depends on members contributing to it — submitting requests, writing curatorial notes, sourcing archive material, flagging errors. This happens reliably when people chose to be here. Open registration consistently produces a different kind of community.
How much does membership cost?
€9/month or €80/year (equivalent to €6.67/month). Both include full access to everything in the archive. See the pricing page for details.
Can I cancel at any time?
Yes. Email hello@filmzee.top and we'll handle it same day — at end of billing period or immediately, your choice.
Do you offer student or researcher discounts?
Yes — mention it in your invitation email. We offer reduced rates for film students and independent researchers. Festival programmers and critics can contact us about press or professional access.
Catalog & Content
What counts as a "short film" in your catalog?
We use a working definition of films under 40 minutes that screened in a festival context. We include fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental work. We exclude branded content, commercial commissions, and student exercises that didn't reach the festival circuit — not because they're bad, but because the festival context is part of what the catalog is about.
Can I request a film to be added?
Yes — this is the main way the catalog grows. Members can submit requests via the forum or by email. We work through requests in batches and try to respond to every one, even if the answer is that we can't source the film.
I'm a filmmaker — can I submit my own work?
Yes. Email hello@filmzee.top with a link to the film and a note about its festival history. We review all submissions and respond within two weeks. Films we add get a director page and a curator's note, and you can optionally contribute a note about the film yourself.
What's in the pre-2000 archive section?
About 600 films from before widespread digital distribution, sourced from broadcast digitisations, VHS transfers, and print scans. Quality varies and we grade every file clearly. Some material in this section is the only surviving digital copy we know of.
If you have tapes, prints, or knowledge of where pre-2000 short film material might be found, please contact us at hello@filmzee.top.
Does content ever get removed?
Occasionally, when a rights holder asks us to. This happens a few times a year at most. We always note when something has been removed and maintain the metadata even when the video is gone.
Technical
What resolution do you stream at?
Most contemporary material streams at up to 1080p. Pre-digital archive material varies — we note the source quality on every film page so you know what to expect.
Does it work on mobile?
Yes — the site works in any modern mobile browser. We don't have a native app currently.
Can I download films?
Not currently. Downloads would complicate licensing arrangements for some archive material. It's something we'd like to offer in the future with appropriate safeguards.
Community
What is the members forum for?
Catalogue requests, discussion about specific films and directors, archive sourcing, and occasional longer threads about short film as a form. Low-volume, text-only, no self-promotion from people who aren't already known to the community.
What are the director interviews?
We publish long-form written interviews with short film directors — typically directors whose catalog is underrepresented in mainstream film coverage. We've published 23 interviews since 2021. Annual members vote on upcoming interview subjects. All interviews are exclusive to FilmZee and archived on the relevant director pages.