The Boston Film Festival is one of America's longest-running, industry-recognized events for films. The 42nd program takes place in September and will showcase cutting-edge indie films, top documentaries, shorts, animated films, fall-release studio films, and will feature an environmental focus, along with social impact, sports and wildlife/nature themes. Highlights from previous programs include: The Oscar winner for Best Picture, "Green Book," that premiered on Opening Night; the award circuit winner "Jojo Rabbit" premiered at the BFF and "Don't Worry Darling" opened the 2022 BFF.

Question & Answer panels with filmmakers and talent follow all live event premieres, in addition to nightly parties hosted by some of the region's top restaurants. Red carpet national press coverage of this exciting five-day event includes the Hollywood trades, entertainment shows, and a wide range of print and electronic media outlets, making the BFF a powerful platform for far-reaching visibility. The Boston Film Festival has a rich history of premiering many of Hollywood's most celebrated and breakout films.

Some of the filmmakers and actors who have participated include Sam Rockwell, Aaron Eckhart, George Clooney, Melissa Leo, Ken Burns, Tony Goldwyn, Chris Evans, Marc Abrahams, Giancarlo Esposito, Mike O'Malley, Ed Burns, Sam Mendes, Jerry Weintraub, Barkhad Abdi, Anne Heche, Bob Yari, Leslie Bibb, Uma Thurman, Dermot Mulroney, Jeremy Piven, Jeff Bridges, and Sir Ridley Scott, among many others.

Luxury accommodations are provided for featured filmmakers and actors. Exhibiting filmmakers enjoy all-access passes to screenings and the opportunity to network at events. Massachusetts is the origin of many of America's best storytellers and actors and is a hotbed of production. Boston provides an ideal setting to showcase a festival of films and television series during the spectacular fall foliage season. The BFF is impassioned about film and dedicated to supporting filmmakers by providing a forum to showcase their artistic vision. The festival is committed to mentoring students from the region's extensive university system annually.

Awards & Prizes

The Boston Film Festival presents awards for the following categories:
Best Film, Best Documentary, Best Short, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Ensemble, Audience Favorite, Best Story, Best Director for a short film, Best Performance in a short, and the Mass Impact Award for a film that illuminates social issues and the EcoFilm for a film that advances environmental health.

Rules & Terms

Films already in ANY VOD platform or For Sale on a streaming platform or any other company, location, etc. will NOT be accepted.

*Films must have been completed in the current or previous couple of years.

* The applicant holds the sole responsibility of copyright clearance of any copyrighted material in the film.

*Accepted films must be in Blu-Ray or DCP.

*Films not in English must be subtitled in English unleash dialogue is minimal and not necessary for the comprehension of the film.

*Acceptance of a film does not guarantee airline or hotel accommodations for talent or producing crew. The BFF does travel directors/actors for long form but reserves the right to designate attendees.

*The BFF requires the director and at least one actor of feature films to attend the festival to participate in the Q & A and red carpet. Documentary directors must also attend.

*The festival is not responsible for the shipment of the print, within the USA when leaving Boston.

*Some films accepted are press screened. You will be asked to send a link or DVDs for press viewing. The filmmaker and festival will jointly select possible critics and the filmmaker may elect not to provide their film to the press.

*All films are subject to possible reviews though we request it is run through the festival.

*The number of screenings, days and venues is at the sole discretion of the Festival.

*Due to high administrative and shipping costs, submission DVDs, videos and marketing materials will not be returned.

*We will not transfer PAL for viewing -- only forward NTSC format.

*It is cost prohibitive for the festival to insure individual prints. Make sure you have your own insurance.

*All submitted feature films MUST make their New England premiere at the Boston Film Festival to be included in competition. Films ARE allowed to have screened in other regions within the United States and internationally (but not in New England prior to the Boston Film Festival). In addition, films cannot have been previously released in theaters or broadcast on television and streaming platforms before the preceding the Boston Film Festival. Short films are the exception and can screen previously at other New England based festivals.

*Filmmakers will accept the decisions of the film festival including theater venue and position, red carpet, etc. when exhibiting as part of the Boston Film Festival. An overview of the elements set for the premiere will be provided by the festival and a mutual agreement will be signed off on by the BFF and producer.
23 Reviews
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  • Rajesh PK

    We’re deeply honoured that Blus was selected for the Boston Film Festival. For an independent animation studio from Kerala, India being welcomed by a festival with such a long history and lively program is truly meaningful.Thank you, Boston Film Festival team, for selecting us to share our film in your city.

    December 2025
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  • Jody Glover

    Thank you for the amazing experience at the Boston Film Festival and for honouring us with the Mass Impact Award for our film HIDDEN - The Kati Preston Story! Working with your festival team was such a pleasure, from beginning to end. The venue was perfect - the famous Boston Public Library. We met a lot of talented filmmakers at the party, and got to see their work! Thank you so much!!

    October 2025
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  • paymon shahbod

    I want to express my gratitude to the festival for including our feature in the virtual section. I made several attempts to contact various people in hopes of arranging my travel to Boston (which would be self-funded), but I only received a response indicating that they were very busy. They mentioned they might be able to provide me with a ticket if I wanted to see a film.

    I intended to attend mixers to explore distribution opportunities and potential co-productions for my next project. After two weeks, Molly responded, apologizing for the delay and offering me two tickets for films on Sunday.

    Unfortunately, the communication was poor—likely because we were part of the virtual festival, which ultimately prevented us from attending.

    September 2025
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  • Devon Kelley

    We love The Boston Film Festival!

    February 2025
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  • Martin Guigui

    Wonderful and Inspiring festival, lead by the exemplary Robin Dawson. BFF is all about the passion and vision of Independent Filmmaking. Was an honor to be a part of the 40th anniversary celebration. So grateful.

    December 2024
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