"The Florida Film Festival gets it right by every metric you can think of." - John Wildman, Festworks

Regarded as one of the finest film festivals in the U.S., the Florida Film Festival is an annual showcase for the best in American Independent and Foreign Cinema.

This 10 day celebration of filmmakers and their art includes an Oscar® accredited American Independent Film Competition for features, docs, shorts, and animation, along with an International Showcase, Spotlight Films (those already with distribution), Midnight Movies, Music Films, Food Films, Florida Films, VR/AR, New Media/Web, Secret Screenings, Tributes, Special Guests, Panels & Forums, parties, and more.

Hosted by the historic Enzian Theater in Maitland (Orlando), Florida. The Florida Film Festival has been named "one of the top 50 festivals" by indieWIRE, and one of the top 10 festivals in the world by festival guru Chris Gore in his book, The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide, 2nd Edition. Nestled in at number eight (alongside such prestigious events as Sundance, Toronto, Cannes, Berlin, and SXSW), the Festival continues to showcase the best in American independent and foreign cinema.

MovieMaker Magazine named the FFF one the "50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" in 2014, 2018, 2019 and 2022, and one of the "Coolest Film Festivals in the World" in 2013.

In October 2022 FFF was also named "40 Great Festivals to Find Your Film a Home" by MovieMaker Magazine.

In October 2023 FFF was named "20 Great film Festivals in Vacation Destinations" by MovieMaker Magazine

The Florida Film Festival is a qualifying festival for the Oscars® in all three shorts categories: Live Action, Animated, and Documentary.

The winners of the Grand Jury Awards for Best Short in those categories will qualify to enter the Live Action Short Film, Animated Short Film, and Documentary Short Film categories of the next year’s Academy Awards®*.

* For more information about the Academy's qualifying and eligibility rules please see https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility

In recent years, special guests and forum hosts included Natasha Lyonne, Clea DuVall, John Cleese, Lori Singer, John Cusack, William Shatner, Isabella Rosselini, Karen Allen, Joe Bob Briggs, Richard Dreyfuss, Joshua Leonard, Cynthia Wade, Jennette McCurdy, Ellen Burstyn, Pam Grier, Blake Jenner, Don Mancini, Romany Malco, Billy Crudup, Lea Thompson, David Zucker, Robert Hays, AnnaLynne McCord, Sissy Spacek, Mark Duplass, Sam Rockwell, Bob Balaban, Susan Sarandon, Giancarlo Esposito, Paul Sorvino, Tippi Hedren, Zoe Bell, Cary Elwes, Barry Levinson, Cloris Leachman, Glenn Close, Ken Russell, Jon Voight, Emma Stone, Edward James Olmos, Allison Anders, Gabriel Byrne, Jason Lee, Joe Pantoliano, Ed Burns, Campbell Scott, James Caan, Alan Rudolph, Leelee Sobieski, Peter Falk, Judy Greer, Peter Bogdanovich, Chazz Palminteri, John Waters, Joan Chen, Anthony Bourdain, Jennifer Tilly, Malcolm McDowell, and Mary Stuart Masterston. Past years' guests include Oliver Stone, Gena Rowlands, Christopher Walken, Dennis Hopper, Steve Buscemi, and William H. Macy. Festival seminars have included such film industry notables as Bingham Ray, Victor Nunez and Blair Witch creators Dan Myrick and Ed Sanchez; cinematographers Haskell Wexler and Bill Butler; animators Bill Plympton and Corky Quakenbush; screenwriters Shane Black, Mike Werb and Guinevere Turner; distributors Bob Berney and Tom Prassis; and producers Gale Anne Hurd, Mike Medavoy, and Roger Corman.

Grand Jury Award - Best Narrative Feature
Grand Jury Award - Best Documentary Feature
Grand Jury Award - Best Narrative Short*
Grand Jury Award - Best Documentary Short*
Grand Jury Award - Best Animated Short*

*The Florida Film Festival is accredited by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS). The Grand Jury Award for Best Narrative Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short qualifies* the winner for the next year's Academy Awards® in the categories of Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short. For more information about the Academy's qualifying and eligibility rules please see https://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility

The Florida Film Festival requires films in competition for the Grand Jury Award be at least a Florida Premiere.

Special Jury Awards are bestowed in the categories of Narrative Feature, Documentary Feature, Short Film

Audience Award - Best Narrative Feature
Audience Award - Best Documentary Feature
Audience Award - Best Short Film
Audience Award - Best Midnight Short
Audience Award - Best International Feature
Audience Award - Best International Short
Audience Award - Best Florida Film
Audience Award - Best Florida Short

American Independent Competition requires that the feature film have at least 51% U.S. funding and that the film NOT be financed, produced or initiated by a major motion picture studio. However any film conforming to all guidelines and purchased by a studio after completion is eligible.

Films eligible for competition Grand Jury Awards should be at minimum, Florida Premieres.

Films may not have been completed and/or publicly screened in the United States prior to January 1, 2024

Feature Films (Narrative/Documentary) may not be streaming or commercially released (theatrical) prior to April 2025.

Films are scheduled at the discretion of the Florida Film Festival. The Florida Film Festival retains the right to make changes to the published schedule at any time and for any reason. Films may be screened more than once.

Films that have not been accepted may not be officially notified until early March.

Print Shipping Information:

The Florida Film Festival will pay for one-way, regular shipping within the U.S. of exhibition copies for accepted films.

The Florida Film Festival will not accept C.O.D. shipments.

Exhibition Formats:

All short films are ONLY exhibited from ProRes 422, ProRes 4444 or DNxHD files.

All digital exhibition files (including DCP downloads) must be received no later than February 21, 2025.

Feature films on physical DCP must be received by March 17, 2025.

Films which arrive early stand a stronger chance of receiving a press screening.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Steve Collins

    Love this one. The best

    October 2024
  • brian carlson

    FFF is warm, inviting, and filled with great people and awesome films. Tim and his team do a wonderful job of programming the fest. Communication with filmmakers and the audience's passion for film is spot on. I'm proud to have had Gill premiere here and I can't wait to see what they've got up their sleeves for next year.

    May 2024
  • Surf Monkey

    Our experience at the Florida Film Festival was outstanding. They really take care of film makers and the local community is supportive and engaged. The quality of films programmed was excellent, and we were impressed by so many of the films we watched.

    I hope we have the opportunity to come back!

    May 2024
  • Lee Eddy

    Great communication from the programming team. Wonderful perks for selected filmmakers. Excellent community engagement with eager and supportive audiences. Thoughtful and entertaining curation. And the Enzian Theater is filled with so much dang charm! So happy our short YOU'RE INVITED TO TUSCAN'S 5th BIRTHDAY PARTY! had its North American premiere here (and went home with a Special Jury Award WHUHT!?) Thanks for a fun 2024 fest, FFF. I look forward to returning!

    April 2024
  • The Florida Film Festival was so welcoming and the perfect place to have our world premiere. The entire team showed us so much hospitality and kindness, plus we had so much fun!

    April 2024