Anaheim Film Festival is a quarterly film, television, and screenplay competition for filmmakers worldwide.

Four times per year our jury of industry professionals will award the best in film, writing, acting and more through private screening events. We will publish interviews with the director of the winning Best Picture, as well as other winners at our discretion on our website. We will screen a selection of the winners at our live red carpet event at a beautiful venue in Orange County, California-one of the top vacation destinations in the United States. In addition, the short film winners will automatically become semi-finalists in our sister film festival, SoCal ShortFest, and be considered to screen at this prestigious annual event which takes place live in Hollywood at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and features a celebrity jury.

All winners receive a free certificate to print.

Awards & Prizes

We award certificates in the following categories:

Awards & Prizes
Best Picture
Best Short Film 10 minutes and under
Best Short Film 10-20 minutes
Best Short Film 20-30 minutes
Best Short Film 30-45 minutes
Best Narrative Feature
Best Narrative Short
Best Drama
Best Comedy
Best Horror
Best Thriller
Best Action
Best Sci-Fi
Best Fantasy Film
Best Crime Film
Best Mystery Film
Best Musical
Best Parody
Best Western
Best Film Noir
Best Women's Empowerment Film Under 30 minutes
Best Women's Empowerment Film Over 30 minutes
Best Social Issue Film
Best Political Issue Film
Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short
Best Animation
Best Web Series
Best TV Series
Best Music Video
Best Experimental Film
Best Inspirational Film
Best Director
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Teen Actor
Best Teen Actress
Best Child/Young Actor
Best Child/Young Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress
Best Ensemble
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Original Score
Best Original Song
Best First Time Director
Best Student Director
Best Student Film
Best TV Series
Best Sound Design
Best Visual Effects
Best Trailer
Best Screenplay Short
Best Screenplay Feature
Best First Time Screenwriter
Best Drama Screenplay
Best Comedy Screenplay
Best Thriller Screenplay
Best Horror Screenplay
Best Fantasy Screenplay
Best Action Screenplay
Best Sci-Fi Screenplay

Rules & Terms

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
You may submit multiple entries (with different films), but you must complete a separate entry form and pay the fee for each film. Each film may be submitted in multiple categories.
Films must have been completed after 2012.
You must own the rights to your film, the music included in it and have permission from everyone appearing in your film to show their work.
Non-English films will be accepted but must have English subtitles.
WE DO NOT SCREEN ANY FILMS ONLINE. This is a real festival that takes place live and in person.
We will award all categories that we receive entries for.
Please note that, by submitting your film you agree:
The festival may use parts of your film for promotional purposes. These may include: trailer/scenes/poster/stills etc.
Entry fees are nonrefundable.
We do not accept X-Rated material/porn, extremist propaganda, etc.
SELECTION
All films will be screened by working industry professionals. The semi-finalists will be reviewed personally by the festival director.

16 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Brad Cooper

    Highly recommend the Anaheim Film Festival to all filmmakers and screenwriters. They were very responsive and supportive throughout the whole process. The festival director, Amanda, was also great and she really wants to promote and support indie film. Was also very grateful for the screenplay award for my script, The Last Creation. Thank you Anaheim FF!

    October 2019
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  • Lisa Ovies

    We had a great experience. Amanda is wonderful and I would happily play with them again. Thanks so much for the beautiful awards and hospitality!

    October 2019
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  • Alex Miarli

    The festival was a great experience and I loved every second of it! I am honoured to have won an award and it was lovely to head out to SoCal for the event! Amanda is a wonderful person and she should be commended for all the hard work she does for organising such a great festival. I hope this festival gets the recognition it deserves!

    October 2019
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  • Ken Glaser

    Great festival. Amanda (herself a filmmaker) treated us like royalty. Photo op and refreshments beforehand; comfortable seating, and most importantly, the slate of short films that my music video OCD appeared in consisted solely of well-made films of various genres. No filler!

    October 2019
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  • Andretti Dante

    Great fun festival that puts on a wonderful festival! They give an amazing award to all the winners and they have purely great communication keeping you in the loop on what’s happening. I recommend this festival and will be submitting to it again in the future!

    October 2019
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