Butte Film Festival 2025: The Premier Student Film Festival for Northern California

We’re back for our third year! The Butte Film Festival returns on December 6th, 2025, in Chico, CA (venue TBA), continuing our mission to be the premier student film festival in Northern California.

What started as a small festival for Butte County students has quickly grown into a must-attend event, drawing student filmmakers from across the region. Last year, we expanded beyond Butte County and brought incredible student films to a packed house at the Oroville State Theatre. This year, we’re bringing the festival to Chico for an unforgettable day of film, creativity, and connection.

BUFF is all about celebrating student filmmakers, providing a platform to showcase their work, and fostering a strong creative community. Join us for a day filled with inspiring films, engaging discussions, and networking opportunities with fellow filmmakers and industry professionals.

Submit your short film and be part of a growing tradition that honors the next generation of storytellers. We can’t wait to see you in Chico this December!

📅 Event Date: December 6th, 2025
📍 Location: Chico, CA (Venue TBA)

The Butte Film Festival is proud to recognize and celebrate the exceptional talent of student filmmakers with a variety of prestigious awards and prizes. This year, we will be awarding trophies and cash prizes across multiple categories, honoring the best in student filmmaking from Northern California.

Best of Category: Trophies for the top film in each category
Top 5 Best Films: Trophies for the five best films across all categories
Best Director: Trophy for outstanding direction
Best Writer: Trophy for exceptional writing
Best Actor: Trophy for the best leading actor
Best Supporting Actor: Trophy for the best supporting actor

Cash Prizes:
In addition to trophies, we will be awarding varying levels of cash prizes. The exact amounts will be announced soon, so stay tuned for more details!

To ensure a fair and exciting competition, all participants in the Butte Film Festival must adhere to the following rules and terms:

Eligibility:
- Entries must be made by students or student-level filmmakers.

Film Length:
- Submissions must be no shorter than 3 minutes and no longer than 20 minutes in length, including credits.

Submission Guidelines:
- All films must be submitted through FilmFreeway.
- Each filmmaker can submit multiple entries, but each film must be submitted separately.
- Entries must be original works created by the submitting filmmaker(s).

Format:
- Films must be submitted in a digital format compatible with standard screening equipment.
- High-definition quality is preferred for optimal viewing experience.

Content:
- Films must not contain any content that is obscene, defamatory, or otherwise offensive.
- Submissions must be suitable for a general audience.

Rights and Permissions:
- Filmmakers must have the necessary rights and permissions for all content, including music and other media used in the film.
- By submitting a film, filmmakers grant the Butte Film Festival the right to screen their film at the festival and use clips or stills for promotional purposes.

Entry Fees:
- Entry fees are non-refundable.

Judging:
- All entries will be reviewed by a panel of judges composed of industry professionals.
- Decisions made by the judges are final and binding.
- By submitting your film to the Butte Film Festival, you agree to abide by these rules and terms. We look forward to showcasing your creativity and talent at our festival!

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • John Angelo Serrano

    Very charming festival, fun skits, awesome selection of films, my family had a good time! Thank you for featuring my film, "The Cool Film Idea.mp4."

    December 2025
  • +1Studios Team

    It was an amazing experience attending the Butte Film Festival. Everyone involved did an amazing job, and being part of their screening and ceremonies was an honour.

    December 2024
  • Shivlink Torres

    Overall a great experience at this festival. There was a wide array of genres along with great acts. The Oroville State theatre was a great choice and I enjoyed the screenings. I would recommend that you should take on a video camera and start a project for you could then enter your film into this festival. This was a grand time and I hope there is one next year. Butte Film Fest was amazing!

    December 2024
  • Jean-Pierre Pitre

    I had a wonderful experience attending the Butte Film Festival. The energy each day during the screenings was truly electric! I was able to meet so many fellow creatives as well as learn much about the industry as a whole through the various workshops hosted during the festival. I am so grateful to Butte for setting up such a festival, truly an unforgettable experience!

    December 2024
  • Bean Emerald

    Amazing festival! They have outdone themselves both years that we have attended!

    December 2024