OVERVIEW
Visit www.aChristmasFest.com for tickets and additional festival information.

The Altadena Gift Card Foundation (AGCF), a 501(c)3, presents our 2nd Annual Christmas Fest. A film festival and photography awards competition.

Our call for film entries is both local and around the world while our call for photographs is specific to uplifting the local stories that document the 2024 Christmas season and decor which remained throughout homes and neighborhoods following the Eaton Fire and Santa Ana winds.

BACKGROUND
Altadena is one of Los Angeles’ premier destinations during the Christmas season. It has been so for many generations. Our community is known for our historic Christmas Tree Lane, our community has celebrated the tradition of lighting the trees which line Santa Rosa Avenue, since the 1920s. Remarkably, the trees survived the Eaton Fire and Santa Ana winds of 2025 with minimal impact.

Our community is heavily rooted in Christmas and holiday traditions. For 56 years STATS Floral Supply, a store focused on Christmas decor and craft supplies was a staple in building family traditions for the holidays.

The Upper Hastings Ranch neighborhood lights which covers miles within the community goes back as far as 1951. Every year families come from miles around to walk and drive through the neighborhoods which share coordinated themes, from block to block.

The Pasadena Rose Parade is a time treasured tradition for millions around the world; enriching the holidays from our community since 1890.

Considering the devastating loss our more than 6,000 homes during the holiday season, AGCF was founded on March 25, 2025, by a 4th & 5th generation natives to both support households displaced by unforeseen circumstances and to grow our town’s Christmas traditions.

One of the most significant devastation in Altadena was the timing of the fire. Many kids and their families lost the Christmas gifts they had just received. Countless homes were left with Christmas trees and decorations in and around their home.

Our festival embraces the strength of the spirit of Christmas in our town through the generations, with an intention on magnify our holiday impact. Our celebration of the holidays defines us as a resilient community. It is our hope to remind our community we area still here and that you have a reason to return home.

INVITATION
Join us in growing the Christmas Spirit in our town in through the 2nd Annual ChristmasFest & Award Celebration of community artists.

We invite submissions from around the world to share your Christmas stories and traditions to help brighten our Altadena, Pasadena, Sierra Madre and South Pasadena community. Through still and moving images we look forward to giving a community who has lost so much a reason to come home, for Christmas, every Christmas.

AWARDS
Best Short Film
Best Feature Film
Best Student Film
Altadena Spirit Award

PRIZES
Film Audience Prize Award: $250
Photography Audience Prize Award: $250
Dena Creative Community, Audience Prize Award: $500

2025 FILM & PHOTOGRAPHY RULES & TERMS
-Submissions must have a Christmas element, message or theme
-Multiple entries from the same submitter are accepted
-Submissions must be the entrant’s original work and not infringe on any copyrights or any third party rights.
-Festival reserves the right to add, change, cancel or re-schedule the dates, venue, awards & categories without consent or information to contestants
-Festival reserves the right not to award or to adjust the amount of any or all prizes
-Selections are final

ADDITIONAL 2026-27 RULES & TERMS FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS
***if the word "Christmas" is not in your title, your film description must identify how "Christmas" is used as a theme, element or message***
-English subtitles are required for non-English films
-Excerpts from films submitted can be shown through our on and offline networks
-Submitters agree they have obtained all required copyright permissions regarding music, sound & images. etc presented in their film

ADDITIONAL 2026-27 RULES & TERMS FOR PHOTOGRAPHY SUBMISSIONS
-Photographs must reflect Christmas and have been taken before November 1, 2025
-a JPG or PNG file is recommended for uploads. Size 10MB or smaller with a high resolution of at least 300 DPI.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Matthew McKinney

    Wonderful. The team did a great job and chose some wonderful films.

    January 2026
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much Matthew! It was a pleasure having you!

  • Great communication and great festival! I appreciate it!

    January 2026
    Response from festival:

    For a new festival we really appreciate this comment and hope to continue to get amazing stars in communication!

  • Балтийское телевидение

    We sincerely thank you for including our film in the film festival program. Best wishes and God's blessing in your endeavors! The team of the Balt-TV animation studio.

    December 2025
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much! We were so honored to have such an amazing submission. We look forward to continually sharing you great work! Thank you for lifting the Christmas Spirit for the Altadena Community!

  • Lori Cassels

    ChrstimasFest 2025 was the best and most organized film festival I have experienced. But more than that, it was festival with heart and soul, as its mission was to try heal the wounds of the Altadena Fires of January 2024. Altadena's Christmas Tree Lane began in 1920's and even the fires did not stop it. ChristmasFest was born to keep the joy of Altadena's Christmas spirit and spark that joy with an International film festival. It was a privilege to be selected a finalist and receive the Audience Prize for our Tap Dancing Christmas Trees-3 Generations on Parade documentary the first made by Alameda's Students on the Set. ChristmasFest will be a holiday tradition going forward. Lori Cassels, Executive Producer

    December 2025
    Response from festival:

    We can't get enough of the joy film's journey and watch the growth of your film since the festival!! Glad to help boost support-that's why we're here!