Valve announces details for annual short film contest at TI9

This year’s top ten short films created featuring Dota 2 will be promoted in The International 2019 Battle Pass for final voting.

Submissions for the 2019 Dota 2 Short Film Contest are now open. Valve announced the latest contest guidelines and the new deadline in a recent blog post.

Since 2015, the game developers included the Short Film Contest as one of the highlights of annual Dota 2 tournament The International. This year, Valve has remained true to its tradition as it releases new information about the contest.

Filmmakers are invited to submit their entries until August 7, 2019. The films should be no longer than 90 seconds, and the main topic should always pertain to Dota 2.

Any form or combination of animation and live action techniques are allowed. Entries must look the part as well, as all recordings must be in at least 1080p.

Community members are encouraged to champion the film entries by participating in the voting and discussion process on the Steam Workshop page. Valve will consider the community vote in selecting the top ten entries, but it will not be the only factor in determining the finalists as the developer reserves the right to make decisions based on its own criteria.

The top ten entries will then be showcased in The International 2019 Battle Pass for the final voting period. Battle Pass owners will decide the top three winners in the contest.

The finalists will receive $500 each for making it to top ten. Valve will award $25,000 to the first-place finisher, followed by $10,000 and $5,000 for the second-place and third-place finishers respectively.

Winners will be announced on the main stage of The International 2019 in Shanghai, China.

During The International 2018, “On the Cliff” by Keller Max won the Short Film Contest.