Contrast Film Festival highlights boundary-pushing, genre-defying, and forward-thinking filmmaking - with an emphasis on women, femme, trans and queer artists - Contrast truly is 'strikingly different'.

From established artists to emerging makers, Contrast showcases ground-breaking work via film screenings, performance, music, and more at venues throughout the city.

Contrast was chosen as a 2018 Austin Chronicle Best of Austin Critic's Pick for "Best Boundary-Pushing Fest". In 2019, Contrast featured the world premiere of Elizabeth Purchell's ASK ANY BUDDY, which was recently picked up for theatrical distribution by the Austin Genre Film Archive.

Rules & Terms

Works-in-progress and rough cuts are eligible for submission if the completed project is available by August 15, 2022. Please include a note to specify which part of the project is yet to be completed (temporary sound, color correction needed, etc).

By submitting your work to Contrast, you grant Contrast permission to use an excerpt of your project for promotional purposes. Stills from your project are highly recommended and may make a difference in the coverage of your project and its prominence in the printed program and promotional materials. Stills should be in JPEG, TIFF, or PNG format and 300dpi (dots per inch).

Work must be available in a digital form.