Voted in 2025 as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World by MovieMaker Magazine, the Annapolis Film Festival takes place in the capital city of Maryland on the banks of the Chesapeake Bay less than an hour away from Washington D.C. Annapolis is best known for its rich colonial and naval history. In addition to being the first capital of the United States, Annapolis is also home to St John’s College (the third oldest college in the U.S.) and the U.S. Naval Academy. As the sailing capital of the U.S. and a vacation destination, it charms tourists with many restaurants, museums, and galleries.

Our screening venues are walkable within the city center and provide filmmakers with a high-quality digital presentation. We are seeking an approximate total of 90 films to be shown April 1 - 4, 2027. This will be our 15th Anniversary Festival!!!

Our festival is known for its quality slate with a line-up of both documentary and narrative films (short and feature-length) from emerging and established filmmakers. We present a balanced program consisting of films with a common emphasis on storytelling excellence and/or innovative vision and cinematic artistry.

In addition to our commitment to screen the newest acclaimed films and premieres, we are also interested in films with nautical and environmental themes, films highlighting diverse cultures including African American, Asian, Latine, and Jewish experiences as well as LGBTQ+ and women-centric perspectives.

For next year's festival we are continuing to give cash prizes to our Jury Award-winners for Best Feature and Short in both Narrative and Documentary Categories. A select number of films will be nominated and judged by a jury of industry professionals. Films will be judged for displaying exceptional creativity, originality, and skill in script, direction, acting and production. Audience Awards will also be presented to Narrative and Documentary Feature and Short Films. The Audience Award-winners will be screened in the Best of Fest program on Sunday evening, April 4, 2027.

This year's Jury Award-winners were "Power Ballad" (directed by John Carney) for Best Feature Film, "Carolina Caroline" (written by Tom Dean) for Best Writing, "Run Amok" (directed by NB Mager) for Best Ensemble Cast. "This is Not a Drill" (directed by Oren Jacoby) won Best Feature Documentary. "Ado" (directed by Sam Henderson) won Best Short Film, "The Baddest Speechwriter of All" (directed by Stephen Curry & Ben Proudfoot) won Best Short Documentary, "Beyond Measure" (directed by David Ferrier) won Best Animation, and "Last Resort" (directed by David R. Kramer) won Best Student Film.

Previous Jury Award-winners include

"Emily the Criminal", which received four nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards winning Best First Screenplay; "Fire of Love" which received an Oscar©-nomination for Best Feature Documentary and "Night Ride" which received an Oscar©-nomination for Short Film. "Flamin' Hot," (directed by Eva Longoria) which received an Oscar©-nomination for the song "The Fire Inside."

Past guests have included iconic actor/director Rob Reiner (The Bucket List, LBJ), esteemed documentarian Albert Maysles (Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter), Emmy Award-winning actress Edie Falco (The Sopranos, Nurse Jackie), Emmy-nominated actor Vondie Curtis-Hall (Chicago Hope, ER), Tovah Feldshuh (Nobody Wants This), Dominic Fumusa (Nurse Jackie), Tony Award-winning actress Joanna Gleason, (Into the Woods), actor Jeffrey Donovan (Burn Notice), actress Jennifer Esposito (Fresh Kills, Blue Bloods), actress Emily Bader (My Lady Jane), actor Rory Culkin (Gabriel), actress Miriam Shor (Younger), actress Joanne Froggatt (Downton Abbey), Nazanin Boniadi (Homeland), Kevin Sorbo (Hercules: The Legendary Journeys), Independent Spirit Award-winning filmmakers Matt Spicer (Ingrid Goes West), Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace), and John Patton Ford (Emily the Criminal), Oscar©-winning screenwriter David S. Ward (The Sting) and noted speaker/writer/producer Ambassador Shabazz.

We continue to strengthen our reputation by bringing top films to this beautiful city and to invite filmmakers to showcase global perspectives and independent thought to a community that truly embraces the art of filmmaking. Visiting filmmakers have been thrilled with the community's response. One filmmaker claimed, "this festival has the smartest audiences and the most community engagement we have seen on the festival circuit".

The mission of the Annapolis Film Festival is to encourage and grant the development of all aspects of the creative arts in and around Annapolis through the cinema experience. With independent films, panels and special showcases that will inspire, enlighten and entertain diverse audiences on a variety of topics, the festival will ensure the promotion of Annapolis as a cultural arts center.

The AFF will once again host the Shorts Challenge, a pitching competition where five finalists can pitch their projects on stage in front of a live audience and a panel of industry judges. The winner receives a production package to help make their short film which will screen at a future edition of the festival after the film is finished. For more information about the Shorts Challenge, see our website at www.annapolisfilmfestival.com

Awards & Prizes

Jury Award - Narrative Feature ($1000)
Jury Award - Documentary Feature ($1000)
Jury Award - Narrative Short ($500)
Jury Award - Documentary Short ($500)
Audience Award - Narrative Feature
Audience Award - Documentary Feature
Audience Award - Narrative Short
Audience Award - Documentary Short

Rules & Terms

I agree to the Rules & Terms as follows:

1.) The Annapolis Film Festival is accepting entries with a completion date of anytime after August of 2025. Submissions to the Annapolis Film Festival, Inc. must not be scheduled for theatrical release or broadcast on television prior to April 2027. Submissions must not have had prior public screenings in the Annapolis area (unless an exception is granted by the festival).

2.) All films submitted must be free from any legal disputes and third-party claims and filmmaker must have cleared all rights for music and public exhibition.

3.) Please note that for preview purposes the festival accepts secured online screeners through our online submission platform or via a password protected online link.

4.) Entries should be accompanied by any required materials (e.g. fees, press kits, student IDs, etc).

5.) Submissions must be in English or subtitled in English.

6.) Narrative and documentary feature films must have a run time of a minimum of 40 minutes. Short films must have a run time of under 40 minutes.

7.) Filmmakers will be notified by approximately Jan. 15, 2027, if their film has been accepted to the Annapolis Film Festival, Inc.

8.) Upon acceptance, exhibition copies and additional press materials will be requested. Selected films will be screened in the following exhibition formats: DCP (for select venues) or digital files (MP4 or .MOV) must arrive on hard drive or thumb drive. Please notify us in writing about any exceptions to the delivery date, otherwise you may forfeit your place in the program and the Annapolis Film Festival, Inc. is under no obligation to screen a selected film.

9) The individual or corporation submitting the film warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless the Annapolis Film Festival, Inc., Inc. from and against any and all disputes, arbitration, claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court), which may be incurred by reason of any claim, including but not limited to third party claims involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to or the inability to screen videos entered.

10) The festival will not pay screening fees for any submitted film that we program.
38 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Stan Bush

    Annapolis is an incredible festival. AFF was a wonderful opportunity for our documentary. The venues were top notch. The panels and Q&A sessions were thoughtful and expansive. This festival really knows how to host filmmakers and the conversations around their work. If you have the chance to go, you absolutely should. Filmmakers and the audience (and by the way - their audience is really smart) are enmeshed throughout the festival. You will leave here with a bigger community than you ever expected. I also really appreciated the variety of topics, narratives, and styles in this festival. AFF gave room for voices from every corner of the globe. I only wish I had more time to see everything else that played while we were there. There is a reason this festival is climbing the charts as one of the best in the industry!

    April 2026
    Helpful
  • Ken Arquelio

    Top notch festival from top to bottom. Great venues, parties were well attended, the opening night film and after party were above and beyond customary. I watched over 40 films-including the shorts and all were very entertaining and unique with wide variety of genres. The community support and volunteers help make this festival what it is today. And it all starts with Derek Horne-Director of Programming-who assembled an incredible slate of films. If you are fortunate to get into this festival and can make it, I highly suggest you attend as you will not be disappointed. All filmmakers are made to feel very welcome and appreciated and the city of Annapolis is an added bonus.

    April 2026
    Helpful
  • Dan Perlman

    Derek and the whole team really care about the filmmakers and the quality of the programming. They're very sincere and accommodating. Really appreciative that they have this festival, it's a special one!

    April 2026
    Helpful
  • David Usui

    Annapolis was the best! Patti and Lee are absolute gems—seriously, I don’t know how they do it. They’re both filmmakers themselves, and you can feel that in every decision they make. It’s like… every little detail is handled with this quiet care and thoughtfulness that only comes from people who’ve been in the trenches. They’re everywhere at once, somehow—introducing films, chatting with guests, making sure everything runs smoothly—and their heart just kind of trickles down through the whole thing. You feel it in the way the staff treats you, in the audience energy, in the whole vibe. Just a beautiful, filmmaker-centered experience.

    April 2025
    Helpful
  • Joe Wein

    The Annapolis Film Festival was a fantastic experience - thoughtfully organized, with high-quality films across the board, great panels and coffee talks, and an enthusiastic, engaged audience. The parties were a blast, and the whole weekend was wonderful!

    April 2025
    Helpful