The Poetry Film Festival is international and for shorts -- under 14 Minutes --Screening Official Selections in Los Angeles, California, near Venice Beach. The festival will welcome only poem-based short films in Narrative, Animation, Documentary and Experimental. NO AI films on humans. NO writing by AI. No AI Poems. For information and examples of a few Hollywood poem-based work, please go to our website. Screening will take place at Beyond Baroque, a physical literary and theater venue in Venice, California, Spring of 2027.

Awards & Prizes

Judges are from many backgrounds in the arts. They award in each category. These awards are limited to Best, Finalist, Semi-Finalist and Honorable Mention, depending on the number in the Official Selections in each category.

The Director will give an award -- The Director's Choice.

There will also be a Winner of Original Score. The words Original Score MUST be on the film freeway entry credits, not just "music composed by." What credits that are in the film are whatever you wish them to be listed. Not ALL credits need to be put on FilmFreeway -- but definitely more than ONE -- we like collaboration. .
There may also be a Student Winner. If you Pay under STUDENT price, then you will NOT be judged as a Professional, only as a STUDENT.
I.E. -- if you enter as a "student" to get a reduced fee, when you would rather be in with the professionals, we will not help you to change. If you enter as a student -- then you are reviewed as a student, listed as a student.

Director and/or judges may determine a fitting category, if it is not apparent, or it seems confusing.

All winners will receive a laurel. Certificates are available on request for foreign filmmakers if they need one.

Rules & Terms

Poems and music must be copyright safe/legal.
Visuals may not contain gratuitous violence, nor pornography -- director/judges will decide if it is ambiguous. Films may not be promotional in nature for a political or a religious party. However, this does not exclude spiritually driven poems or any political or climate issue deemed important for a culture or a country.

The director/judges will make all final decisions on Official Selection.

Short films must be under under 15 minutes. Credits may extend 30 seconds. Films may have been screened before at another festival or on a site, but they must have been created within 3 years -- including 2024 onward through 2027.

All films MUST have
ENGLISH SUBTITLES and be READABLE. Not too small; Not too light.

English Subtitles.
All poems should be included in the entirety on FilmFreeway's space for Description or
Overview. They do not have to be a whole poem, just what is in the film, or if you are alluding to a specific poem or poet and want to include them and the whole poem, that is fine. We need to know about the poem, for it is the "character" in your film.

Credits count! All music must be credited and legal in copywriter. Original Score, MUST say ORIGINAL SCORE and have the composer's name, for film freeway, not necessarily on your film. If you don't say Original Score you may get passed over for judging an original score. Just saying "Composer, or "Composed by" does not complete the task. If MUST say Original Score and be composed JUST for your film only, to be judged as such.