The Austin Comedy Film Festival is a seasonal (Spring, Summer, Fall) on the Film Festival Circuit for comedy filmmakers, series creators and screenwriters from all over the world to showcase their creative works in Texas. This event was founded by author and retired filmmaker Mikel Fair who worked on location in the Film and Television industry from 1999-2015. The Austin Comedy Film Festival judges are searching for funny and engaging films to entertain a comedy loving audience. All types of comedy submissions are selected and screened including Funny Music Video, Series Episodes, Dark Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Mockumentary, TV Pilots, Commercials, Micro Films, Animated Comedy, Horror Comedy, Stand-up Comedy, Sketch Comedy, and any other type of Comedy that you can think of. We want our audience to laugh non-stop  in a fun, fast paced program at a great venue. This event was formerly known as the Austin Comedy Short Film Festival.

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Awards & Prizes

Short and Micro Film Awards

Best Acting Performance
Best Animated Comedy Film
Best Cinematography
Best Comedy Film
Best Dark Comedy Film
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Ensemble Cast
Best Found Footage Comedy Film
Best Horror Comedy Film
Best International Film
Best Mockumentary Film
Best Picture
Best Proof Of Concept
Best Romantic Comedy Film
Best Sketch Comedy
Best Stand-Up Comedy
Best Texas Film
Best Series Episode
Funniest Music Video
Most Original Concept

Feature Screenplay and Short Screenplay Awards

Best Comedy Screenplay
Best Dark Comedy Screenplay
Best Horror Comedy Screenplay
Best International Screenplay
Best Romantic Comedy Screenplay
Best Texas Screenplay
Best Teleplay

Rules & Terms

All films are eligible, regardless if they have distribution or not. All films are eligible even if they have been accepted to other film festivals. All films and videos are eligible, regardless of when or where they were produced. Even if your film or documentary series is publicly available on YouTube or Vimeo, it is still eligible for submission.

The submission fee does not include an event ticket fee if selected. Submission fees and event ticket fees are separate. There are no filmmaker passes.

The judges read and rate scripts for this specific competition only. Submitting to this film festival does not affect the ownership or copyright of your screenplay or teleplay.

DCP Screening Format and Requirements (for film and video submissions, not screenplays)

Our film festival screens films in a commercial theater that requires the DCP (Digital Cinema Package) format. Please note:

DCP is not required for submission or evaluation. You can submit your film in any standard video format for review.
DCP is only required if your film is selected for screening. If selected, you must provide a working DCP file to ensure smooth playback in the theater.

To handle DCP files efficiently and reliably, we partner with AutoDCP.com for quality control and delivery. Here's how it works for selected filmmakers:

We will provide you with a Dropbox link to upload your DCP file directly to AutoDCP.com.
AutoDCP.com collects the files, checks them for integrity (to confirm they're complete and error-free), and tests playability.
They also generate a projection report that includes key details like frame rate, file size, runtime, and other relevant information to support the screening.

Costs and Trial
AutoDCP.com charges a fee of $10 for their e-delivery service.
First-time users get a 7-day free trial, which you can cancel after your file is delivered.

Why We Use This Process
Sending DCP files via email, shared links, or other methods often leads to issues like incomplete downloads, untested files that may not play correctly, or other workflow problems. Using AutoDCP.com ensures everything is verified and ready for the theater, avoiding last-minute surprises.

Encoding Your DCP
You do not need to use AutoDCP.com for encoding your film into DCP format, only for e-delivery and quality checks.
Free or built-in options for DCP encoding include:
DCP-o-matic (free software available at https://dcpomatic.com/).
Adobe Premiere Pro.
DaVinci Resolve Studio.
Converting your video to DCP is your responsibility as the filmmaker, and any associated costs are not covered by the festival.

If you are not comfortable with these requirements, including providing a working DCP if selected and using AutoDCP.com for e-delivery, please do not submit your film to this event. We want to ensure a positive experience for everyone involved. By submitting, you acknowledge that you understand and accept these conditions.

188 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mike Madigan

    Thank you for showcasing independent filmmakers' works to audiences in such a friendly and accepting venue! Keeping filmmakers very informed during the whole process shows the commitment to film!

    December 2025
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  • Benjamin James Smith

    I am thrilled that my screenplay "The Dragon in Denim" was a Best Comedy Short finalist at the Autumn 2025 Austin Comedy Film Festival. Festival Director Mikel Fair was extremely communicative and kept me in the loop throughout the process--which was much appreciated. Thanks, Mikel!

    October 2025
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  • Lara Hickman

    Attending and participating in the Austin Comedy Film Festival was so much fun and a fantastic experience overall for myself and my group. I was thrilled to have my project Let Me Fix You Baby selected as a finalist for Best Comedy Series Episode and was doubly thrilled to receive Best Acting Performance for my performance in the project! Mikel Fair is absolutely lovely. He not only knows how to organize a festival, which was so superbly run, but he clearly loves filmmakers. He makes a podcast intro for each participant and introduces all the contenders at the event. I appreciated that the intros and awards were at the start; it was easier to identify and meet the other filmmakers. Mikel gave a lovely intro and was very approachable and encouraging. He communicated clearly throughout the process, which was very helpful as a first time filmmaker. Overall, so happy I was invited to participate in this festival and would absolutely participate in any of Mikel's events again.

    October 2025
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  • Laurie Sanii

    The Austin Comedy Film Festival is fantastic. Mikal Flair is great with communication and truly loves filmmakers, going out of his way to showcase the selections, even giving 2-minute judges' summaries videos of all award finalists' films that they can, in turn, use to advertise their work.

    Great space too - screened at an actual movie theater, the Southwest Theaters Lake Creek 7 in Austin.

    Highly recommend!

    October 2025
    Helpful
  • Alex Tomić

    It was a great pleasure to participate in the festival and I'd love to thank Mikel and the whole organization, and all the festival staff, and especially the judges for nominating my screenplay for the comedy short award. It was my first time ever writing a script and my first time ever applying for a film festival. Considering this, getting nominated for an award is unbelievable. My dream was always to work on film one way or another, and this experience has pushed me so much to go and achieve my goals. Thank you once again to everyone and I can't wait to be back with something new and improved that will hopefully bring some laughs to everyone reading/watching.

    October 2025
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