The AFCC Film Festival is a showcase of innovative filmmaking from talented filmmakers, content creators, and screenwriters. AFCC International Film Festival is a division of AfroComicCon and our 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, that features contemporary and interactive works of visual art showcasing films in the following categories:

Best Picture
Best Animated Film
Best Student Film (must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program between 2019 – 2022)
Best Documentary
Audience Award

AFCCIFF will have a jury composed of media and filmmakers, scholars, curators, and archivists who will determine all awards, with the exception of the audience award winner.

These topic-related films and their filmmakers are focused on bringing about diversity and inclusion, with a special focus on women and POC. We are looking for short films that are a minimum of 3 minutes to 20 minutes in length, and animations that reflect and honor Afrofuturistic representation. Please note only films that fall into the broad category of Afrofuturism and in the genre categories of science-fiction, speculative Black fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Anime, superheroes, and comic books will be considered for inclusion in the festival. We are most interested in films made by filmmakers from historically underrepresented communities of color, but all are welcome to apply.

The AFCC International Film Festival highlights Action/Adventure, Animation, Comic Book Oriented, Documentary (Pop Culture Related), Horror/Suspense, Humor, New Villains, and Sci-Fi/Fantasy. These genre-related films and their filmmakers are focused on bringing about diversity and inclusion of all colors, with a special focus on women and POC, and animations that reflect and honor Afrofuturistic representation. We are most interested in fanfare, heroes/she-heroes, villains, and creative diversity, inclusion films made by and supportive of, underrepresented communities of color.

Awards & Prizes

Cash prize, awards, and possible apprenticeships with a screenwriter or major studio.

Rules & Terms

Your film should be 3 to 20-minutes. An Afro-futuristic theme is encouraged.

1) Projects/Films completed prior to January 1, 2019, are not eligible for the film festival.

2) Projects/Films that have been released via any distribution platform (Blue-Ray, DVD, Streaming, or Video on Demand) are ineligible.

3) Projects/Films that have been previously exhibited theatrically at one or more private screenings for which tickets were not sold to the general public retain eligibility for the AFCCIFF festival.

4) Projects/Films should not exceed a running time of 20 minutes including opening and closing credits for short films.

5) It is the sole responsibility of the Applicant to secure authorization and permission from the copyright owner(s) of any and all copyrighted content or materials included within the submitted Project/Film. Filmmakers/Producers MUST own or have licensed the rights to any images, music, or video included in the film. This statement includes all trademarked content, materials, or symbols. (Documentation must be provided before being screened online or via cable or theatrically).

6) AFCC reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Project/Film with any unauthorized inclusion of copyrighted or trademarked content or materials. AFCC has the right to waive selection criteria based on special circumstances.

7) Projects/Films submitted for previous AFCC film festivals can be resubmitted only if the current version of the project/film differs greatly from the previous submission.

8) Applicants submitting a Project/Film that contains significant non-English spoken dialogue must provide on-screen English subtitles. AFCC reserves the right to disqualify, without refund of any or all submission fees previously collected from the Applicant, any Project/Film that contains significant non-English spoken dialogue that does not include accompanying on-screen English subtitles.

9) All selected films may be excerpted for up to 2 minutes (max) for publicity purposes.

10) All projects/films must be submitted via the FilmFreeway platform. Do not send DVDs, drives, or files to AFCC Festival Team members.

11) All accepted films will be screened digitally via the FilmFreeway platform. Transmedia projects will live on the AfroComicCon site for a period of time not to exceed 1 year from the date of the AFCC festival.

12) Please note, that notification letters will be sent electronically. Acceptance letters will be sent electronically and accompanied by a phone call. Please make sure you submit a working email and phone number with each submission (s).
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Marcus Hamm

    It has been an honor to be invited to both the 2022 and 2023 film festival and to have our films The Black League of Superheroes and Triggered, a Cinematic Superhero Fan Film screened. We were honored to learn that we received an award for Triggered and thank all who played a part in selecting us for this honor. We look forward to submitting our future works!

    December 2023
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  • Chevy Douglas

    Great festival. It was such a honor to be apart of this amazing festival. I recommend this event for new filmmakers. Thank you afroComicCon. I will for sure submit again.

    December 2023
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  • Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez

    Great fest. We will submit again!

    November 2022
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  • Daniel Beals

    I wanted to thank Afro Comic Con for letting my film, Don't Be Afraid, into their festival and community. Though we could only take part virtually, we had a wonderful experience and hope to meet everyone in person soon. Check us out at www.bealsebub.com/dontbeafraid

    December 2021
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  • Hassan El-Amin

    I was thrilled my short film "The Strong Box" was selected for the 2021 film fest and floored when it won for Best Film. These folks really know how to do a well run event! Communication with Juan and the crew was outstanding and they did a great job promoting and get the film seen. Thanks and congrats on a successful festival!

    November 2021
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