AESTHETICA Short Film Festival is on the lookout already for Yorkshire film talent for next year’s event in York.

Organised by York cultural publication Aesthetica Magazine, the 2013 festival ran for four days in November, when 15 locations were transformed into pop-up cinemas, screening 300 independent films from across the world.

Preparations for 2014 are under way and the ASFF team is promising an even bigger event for the festival’s fourth instalment.

New venues have been chosen to add to the mix of the medieval and the contemporary, and as in previous years, festival-goers will have the chance to connect with industry figures and filmmakers.

ASFF is encouraging local filmmakers to participate in the 2014 festival, opening the call for entries this month. Cherie Federico, festival director and York St John University alumnus, is determined to represent home-grown talent in next November’s programme.

“We’re always proud to screen the work of local filmmakers at ASFF and are keen to source an even larger collection of films from the Yorkshire area in 2014,” she says.

“More than 300 films will be screened next year and the ASFF team is particularly keen to showcase local films alongside international offerings.”

Festival finalists from 1,500 submissions will present their film to industry insiders and thousands of festival attendees, and cash prizes will be awarded on the last night, leading to the opportunity to appear at other UK festivals through the ASFF guest programme tour.

ASFF 2013 films, for example, will tour to Bath Film Festival and The Hepworth Wakefield, and locations across Britain and abroad.

Films of any genre are accepted and full details can be found at asff.co.uk/submit

Kate McMullen, head of Visit York, was full of praise for the 2013 festival and its impact on the city.

“We were delighted to welcome visitors from across the UK and oversees during this year’s ASFF,” she says. “York’s short film festival is now one of the top three in the UK, bringing important economic benefits for the whole city and has the potential to grow and grow. We very much look forward to ASFF 2014.”

• The 2014 festival will run from November 6 to 9.