Celebrating its 39th annual festival in 2024, 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 7 – 17, 2024, and screens 200 films in Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood, Lauderhill 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, you must include the name of your school and city.

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.

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 many of the events. Among those select events, you may have access to 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; 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 - 2023 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
Michael Chiklis
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
Melora Hardin
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
Rod Lurie
Jane Lynch

Bailee Madison
Wendie Malick
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
Leland Sklar
Charles Martin Smith
Paul Sorvino
Brittany Snow
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!

Professional Film Awards
Best Film
Best Foreign Film
Best American Indie
Best Florida Film
Best Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best Florida Documentary
Best Short
Best Florida Short
Best Interactive VR/AR Experience
Best Cinematic VR/AR Experience
Best Director
Best Cinematographer
Best Editor
Best Musical Score
President’s Award
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Supporting Actress

Achievement
Lifetime Achievement Award
Career Achievement Award
Star On The Horizon

College Awards
Best Long Narrative (20 mins or more)
Best Short Narrative (under 20 mins)
Best Documentary
Best Experimental or Animation

High School
Best Long Narrative (20 mins or more)
Best Short Narrative (under 20 mins)
Best Documentary
Best Experimental or Animation
Best PSA
Best MusicVideo

1) Films must be Florida Premieres, unless they are Florida produced Films, then they only have to be South Florida Premieres.

2) Once submitted, a film cannot be withdrawn from consideration.

3) If a film is selected for acceptance into the Official Program, it cannot be withdrawn for any reason by the filmmaker.

4) If a film is submitted with incorrect, erroneous or false information, FLIFF reserves the right to disqualify the film from consideration and the entry fee will not be returned.

5) Entries will not be returned.

6) FLIFF will post the accepted entries on its Facebook page. This may constitute the only form of acknowledgment for those not accepted.

7) Entries must be received, not postmarked, by the dates outlined above to qualify for fees and/or acceptance of entry.

Entries submitted as OnLine FilmFreeway screeners.

Student Entries must list the School, City & State.

We do not require a press kit to be sent with your preview. If your film is selected, we will then request materials as described under "Check List" in each category. While you need not provide ALL these items, you may refer to this list for guidance.

Your entry through filmfreeway.com authorizes us to show clips on televison for marketing and/or news programs. If you receive early acceptance, all press material must be received by August 15th for professional categories only.

**NOTE TO STUDENTS** YOU MUST PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION WITH YOUR FilmFreeway ONLINE SUBMISSION:
-Student status
-Name of school & city
-School contact

We only notify of acceptance, but if at any time you want to inquire about the status of your film, please email info@fliff.com You must indicate FilmFreeway #, which competition, which category, and title of film in order for us to help you.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Charlie Smith

    Always a wonderful Film Festival with passionate filmgoers from the Fort Lauderdale and South Florida area

    February 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Charlie,
    Florida and especially The Bahamas, are so fortunate to have you chronicling life with your magical tales. Thanks for supporting FLIFF all these years with your beautiful films.

  • Thank you so much to Gregory and everyone at the Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival for an amazing festival experience! It was an honor to have my short film screened as part of this festival alongside a deeply moving documentary. It was truly a wonderful event.

    January 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you heather for coming down and showing your beautiful and moving film, GREAT WHITE LIES. It made a lot of people stop and think.

  • Paul Bonesteel

    The festival overall was well attended and supported! Nice hospitality and warm weather.

    January 2024
  • Thank you so much for the experience! It was a thrill to screen the film in Hollywood, FL -the subject of the documentary. Hal and Gregory were very helpful and I look forward to next year!

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Stephen! I was so cool to have a South Florida film (actually, two films) play in FLIFF, sharing so much history and beauty of Hollywood Florida. I will be in touch with future screenings of those two.

    Gregory

  • Ritu Singh Pande

    I had an incredible experience showcasing my short film 'Borrowed Plumes' at FLIFF alongside my team. Greg Von Hausch curated an outstanding selection of diverse and high-calibered films, demonstrating his incredible sensitivity and insightfulness for the content and its purpose.

    Throughout the festival, we encountered an exceptional team, moderators, hosts, and attendees - all of whom exuded open-hearted support for indie filmmakers. Their approachability and purposefulness were heartwarming. While it felt like a brief vacation amidst beautiful beaches and vibrant parties, the true highlight was engaging with the audience, especially the women and local attendees who eagerly anticipate this indie film celebration each year. It felt being celebrated. It's clear how deeply this event resonates within their community.

    The quality of films showcased was exceptional, and I'm immensely grateful to Greg for making our Florida Premiere possible at FLIFF. I eagerly anticipate continuing this journey with FLIFF in the future

    December 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Ritu,

    Your film, BORROWED PLUMES was beautiful and moving. I'm sure it surprised my audience as much as it did myself. Thank you for coming down and contributing to our annual event. So looking forward to your next film!

    Greg