Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

Celebrating its 38th annual festival in 2023, the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) presents American indies and studio films, international films, student films, special tributes, seminars and introduces filmmakers to South Florida audiences. The festival runs November 3 – 12, 2023, and screens 200 films in Fort Lauderdale, Sunrise, Hollywood, St Augustine, and The Bahamas. Considered one of the most important regional film festivals in the U.S., the Festival's commitment to first-time filmmakers and innovative programming make it the perfect test market for your film.

If you are entering a STUDENT film, please include the name of your school.

Once you are accepted, we will need an MP4 file of your film, plus a YouTube trailer.

FLIFF retains the right to program all accepted entries, into FLIFF's Saint Augustine Film Festival which follows FLIFF's November dates, in January.

Okay…enough of that…the important reasons you should enter your film:

a) With our year-round arthouses Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale and Cinema Paradiso – Hollywood, we often book festival films that have played in FLIFF for commercial runs following the fest. Furthermore, we will introduce you either in person or virtually to the programmers in Key West, Miami, Miami Beach, Daytona Beach, Orlando, Jacksonville, St Augustine, Tallahassee, Tampa, and St Petersburg. We will assist you in devising a Florida release schedule following your festival schedule.

b) FLIFF is FUN! We have a great variety of parties, receptions and galas…and as a filmmaker in the fest, you will have access to all, including: The Opening Night Party (held at Seminole Hard Rock Casino; The Brunch Cruise aboard the Savoir Faire; The Centerpiece Party; a Gala screening at The AutoNation IMAX; The Veteran’s Day Cookout; The Wrap Party at Bailey Hall; plus nightly/daily receptions held in the Savor Cinema Courtyard.

Venues
Gateway Cinema - Lauderdale
Built in 1951, Gateway is the most storied movie house in Fort Lauderdale. Originally built with one screen and a stage the cinema had 2,000 seats and hosted vaudeville acts as well. Today it has four screens, a renovated lobby and a full bar.

Savor Cinema – Lauderdale
Built as a church in 1926, CPL is one of the coolest theatres in South Florida. Capacity is just under 250 is blue velvet stadium seats (that cost us a bundle at the Cannes Film Festival). We project DCP, HDCam, 35mm, BluRay, DVD and computer files. The CPL Courtyard is a canopied patio with three separate tents that can do receptions for 25 – 50 – 100 – 200 depending on the size of your event. Press interviews can also be held in the back tent or inside in the Green Room. CPL has a free parking garage…and of great interest, it also has a Full Bar. The cinema is just across the river, a five minute walk, from trendy Las Olas Boulevard where out Host Hotel, The Riverside, is located.

Cinema Paradiso – Hollywood
A storefront building built in the 50’s, CPH was renovated and retrofitted as an arthouse cinema in 2013. It is located in the heart of the Arts & Entertainment District of Downtown Hollywood and surrounded by eighty-seven different restaurants representing forty-three countries. The intimate CPH seats 82 people and projects DCP, BluRay, DVD or computer files. There is free parking right on the street and CPH serves Beer & Wine. Our Hollywood Host Hotel is The Diplomat (Florida’s largest and grandest hotel) located on Hollywood Beach. A one dollar trolley ride takes ten minutes.

Hard Rock Live
The arena hosted our 2015 and 2016 Opening Night in their venue that can accommodate 5500 people and projects anything you want. Hard Rock Live has Full Bar, free parking and a variety of restaurants right outside the doors. Oh yeah, a casino too!

Past Guests
Over our three decades we have honored and/or featured a vast variety of industry leaders, including:
Ben Affleck
Shoreh Aghdashloo
Karen Allen
Jason Alexander
Claude Akins
Christina Applegate
David Arquette
Ed Asner
Armand Assante
Lord Richard Attenborough

Carroll Baker
Daniel Baldwin
Stephen Baldwin
Fairuza Balk
Steven Bauer
Jennifer Beals
Maria Bello
Jonathan Bird
Jaqueline Bisset
Karen Black
Shane Black
Claire Bloom
Zoe Bleu
Peter Bogdanovich
Michael Bolton
Ernest Borgnine
Beau Bridges
Matthew Broderick
Betty Buckley
Cara Buono
Edward Burns

James Caan
Michael Caine
Irene Cara
Nestor Carbonnell
Leslie Caron
Joelle Carter
Veronica Cartwright
Seymour Cassel
Kim Cattrall
Lumi Cavazos
Richard Chamberlain
Charles Champlin
Candy Clark
Rory Cochran
Ethan Cohen
Jason Connery
Roger Corman
Bryan Cranston
Michael Crichton
Jon Cryer
Maria Grazia Cucinotta
Tony Curtis
Henry Czerny

Arlene Dahl
Stephen Daldry
Tim Daly
Matt Damon
Keith David
Beverly D'Angelo
Dana Delany
Artus de Penguerin
Joyce DeWitt
Fred Dryer
Keir Dullea
Charles Durning
Eliza Dushku

Giancarlo Esposito
Robert Evans
Shaun Evans

Peter Falk
Dennis Farina
Robert Forster
David Frankel
John Frankenheimer
Connie Francis
Laura Frazier

Bob Gale
Vittorio Gassman
Ben Gazzara
Alexie Gilmore
Adam Goldberg
Bobcat Goldwaite
Rob Goodman
Elliott Gould
Graham Greene
Ioan Gruffudd
Steve Guttenberg

Lukas Haas
George Hamilton
Ed Harris
Jared Harris
Guy Harvey
Dennis Haysbert
Audrey Hepburn
George Hickenlooper
Arthur Hiller
Gregory Hines
Celeste Holm
Ernie Hudson
Finola Hughes
Tab Hunter

Anne Jackson
Joshua Jackson
Victoria Jackson
Thomas Jane
Norman Jewison
Van Johnson
Aphrodite Jones
Davy Jones
Ashley Judd

Howard Keel
David Keith
Irvin Kershner
Ben Kingsley
Barbara Koppel

Jon Landau
Piper Laurie
Marc Lawrence
Spike Kee
Jerry Lewis
Christopher Lloyd
Jane Lynch

Bailee Madison
Ann-Margret
Lee Majors
Mary Stuart Masterson
Paul Mazursky
Andrew McCarthy
Kevin McCarthy
Christopher McDonald
Darren McGavin
Jack McGee
Kelly McGillis
Penelope Ann Miller
Edgar Mitchell
Michelle Monaghan
Michael Moore
Roger Moore
Rob Morrow
Stephen Moyer
The Munchkins
Michael Murphy

Leslie Nielsen
Nick Nolte

Donald O’Connor
Edward James Olmos
Patrick O’Neal

Joe Pantaliano
Michael Pare
Adrian Pasdar
Estelle Parsons
Arthur Penn
Hopper Jack Penn
Jo Ann Pflug
Michelle Phillips
Christopher Plummer
Bill Plympton
Benoit Poelvoorde
Pamela Poitier
Edward Pressman
Vincent Price

John Randolph
John Ratzenberger
Lynn Redgrave
Tim Reid
Jeremy Renner
Burt Reynolds
Alan Rickman
Doris Roberts
Eric Roberts
Alexandre Rockwell
Leonard Rosenman
Gary Ross
Tim Roth
Gena Rowlands
Saul Rubinek
Ingrid Rubio
Jane Russell
Mark Rydell

Eva Marie Saint
Mia Sara
John Sayles
Johnathon Schaech
John Schlesinger
Paul Schultze
Martin Scorsese
John Shea
Talia Shire
Kin Shriner
Wil Shriner
Elisabeth Shue
George Sidney
Jonathan Silverman
Gary Sinise
Tom Sizemore
Paul Sorvino
Kevin Spacey
Alana Stewart
Mel Stuart
D.B. Sweeney
Loretta Swit

Noah Taylor
Marlo Thomas
Lea Thompson
Mario Tosi

Frank Vincent

Eli Wallach
J.T. Walsh
John Waters
Lina Wertmueller
Fred Willard
Paul Williams
Treat Williams
Robert Wise
John Woo
Chuck Workman
Robert Wuhl

Ian Zeiring

We hope to add your name to this list!