The Bay Area Indies Film Festival features diverse and unique voices in cinema. Selected films are mostly shot by Bay Area by production crews and include a range of genres and filmmaking styles (scripted and documentary). We embrace low-budget films and inclusion of minorities and under-heard voices in cast and creew.
Bay Area Indies is a San Francisco Bay Area-based filmmaking collective, originally founded under the name "Scary Cow" in 2008. We a group of 250+ screenwriters, directors,
cinematographers, editors, actors, and more, embracing the indie filmmaking spirit. In addition to volunteering as production crew, our members enjoy pitch sessions, writers' group meetings and networking events.
The 2025 Bay Area indies Film Festival will include BAI members' films as well as outside submissions via Film Freeway. The Bay Area Indies Film Festival in April 2024 was a sellout success.
The 2025 Festival on June 1st will feature members' films and outside submissions of films made in the inner and outer Bay Area (see counties listed in rules section).
We are looking for creative, nuanced short film stories (narrative and doc) that showcase fresh voices and original points of view in cinema.