Founded in 2008, the Houston Comedy Film Festival is a live theatrical screening event on the Film Festival Circuit for international independent comedy films, series and screenplays in the largest city in Texas. The first event was held in 2009 and has been ranked in the FilmFreeway Top 100. This event was founded by author and retired filmmaker Mikel Fair who worked on location in the Film and Television industry from 1999-2015 while based in Houston, Texas. The HCFF screens a program of short comedy films in a "back to back" format. All types of comedy submissions are selected and screened including Funny Music Video, Web Series Episodes, Dark Comedy, Romantic Comedy, Mockumentary, TV Pilots, Commercials, Micro Films, Animated Comedy, Horror Comedy, Stand-up Comedy, Sketch Comedy, and any other type of Comedy that you can think of. The judges are looking for films that generate laughter in a fun, fast paced program at a great venue. 30 minutes including credits is the maximum runtime for all submissions.

Looking for a FilmFreeway Waiver Code Discounts or Promo Code Discounts?
https://filmfestivalcircuit.com/blog/FilmFreeway-promo-codes

Short and Micro Film Awards

Best Acting Performance
Best Animated Comedy Film
Best Cinematography
Best Comedy Film
Best Dark Comedy Film
Best Director
Best Editing
Best Ensemble Cast
Best Found Footage Comedy Film
Best Horror Comedy Film
Best International Film
Best Mockumentary Film
Best Picture
Best Proof Of Concept
Best Romantic Comedy Film
Best Sketch Comedy
Best Stand-Up Comedy
Best Texas Film
Best Series Episode
Funniest Music Video
Most Original Concept

Feature Screenplay and Short Screenplay Awards

Best Comedy Screenplay
Best Dark Comedy Screenplay
Best Horror Comedy Screenplay
Best International Screenplay
Best Romantic Comedy Screenplay
Best Texas Screenplay
Best Teleplay

All films are eligible, regardless if they have distribution or not. All films are eligible even if they have been accepted to other film festivals. All films and videos are eligible, regardless of when or where they were produced. Even if your film or documentary series is publicly available on YouTube or Vimeo, it is still eligible for submission.

The submission fee does not include an event ticket fee if selected. Submission fees and event ticket fees are separate. The cost of attending this event is $50 for the entire day. Every attendee must have a ticket. There are no filmmaker passes.

The judges read and rate scripts for this specific competition only. Submitting to this film festival does not affect the ownership or copyright your screenplay or teleplay.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Charles Featherston

    Thank you, Mikel Fair and Roselyn Omaka, for putting on a great festival. Not only was it my first award nomination, but also my first win! Excited for next years fest!

    February 2024
  • Annette Evans

    My Houston Comedy Film Festival experience was phenomenal and Director Mikel Fair was outstanding! His enthusiasm, talent for promoting comedy writers and their projects, his responsiveness and tireless work ethic. Grateful to HCFF for selecting my original TV comedy pilot, BSMT, as a finalist. A thousand thanks! Highly recommend.

    February 2024
  • Awesome Festival!
    So much fun; growing and
    brimming with fantastic energy

    February 2024
  • Brock Young

    Wonderful festival, can't wait for next time.

    February 2024
  • A big thanks to Mikel Fair and Roselyn Omaka for putting on a fine festival. The energy level was high and encouraging. People flying in from all over the country. Plenty of networking. And the short films were funny as hell! The next morning I woke up inspired, made some coffee, started writing, and I haven't stopped. That's what festivals are all about.

    February 2024