NOW ACCEPTING SUBMISSIONS to the 16th Annual Celebration! A 5 star rated film festival and consistently ranked in the Top 100 on FilmFreeway. Lady Filmmakers Festival is a trend-setting and forward-thinking film festival known by veteran Hollywood insiders and rising indie filmmakers alike for screening outstanding films from around the world and having top notch speakers and networking events. Lady Filmmakers is dedicated to creating a classy, fun and fulfilling festival experience dedicated to enhancing personal, professional and creative growth while promoting women, diversity, equity and inclusion. All festival screenings and parties take place IN PERSON in the world-famous Beverly Hills, California. We screen at the beautiful and historic 400 seat Fine Arts Theater with the highest quality sound and projection.

We are a great springboard for talented seasoned and first-time directors and indie short and feature filmmakers. The festival directors are filmmakers too & understand what it's like on both sides of a festival and try to provide as many wonderful experiences and opportunities to our Official Selection Attendees and Cinephiles alike.

In 2021 & 2022 we hosted in-person screenings in Beverly Hills as well as virtual screenings available worldwide. We also launched the Lady Filmmakers Channel in Spring 2021 accessible online and through devices such as Apple TV, Roku, and more will be added to maximize availability to showcase alumni films from prior festivals.

Lady Filmmakers celebrates women in leadership roles and the men that hire, work with, and work for these talented female storytellers. The week long festival includes film screenings, script readings, musical performances, art exhibitions, industry panels, networking events and of course hosted parties with live entertainment!

Lady Filmmakers looks for great storytelling in any genre and length! At least one woman must fill the role of Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Production Designer and/or Editor to qualify to screen at our festival. Our main programming themes are:

*Ladies Illuminate- documentaries, social awareness, or family issue films
*Ladies Kick Butt- action, comedies, or experimental films
*Dance- music videos and dance films
*Family Friendly- films appropriate for families with children
*Halloween Teasers- horror, thrillers, scary, creepy, and/or freaky films

Short Screenplay finalists will get a staged reading in front of a live audience at the festival. One or more shorts may be optioned to participate in the Script 2 Screen Program.

1 Feature Screenplay and 1 Short Screenplay finalist will be offered a taped table read of their script. The festival will provide the space for the table read along with assisting the writer with finding a director for the reading and helping with casting.

Musician finalists are invited to perform at one of the parties during the festival. Art finalists are invited to exhibit art during one of the festival events.

Long after the festival is complete we continue to promote our "Alumni" filmmakers, cast, and crew throughout the year!

Best of the Festival and Best Short Film receive Tiffany gifts. All actress/actor winners will receive Tiffany gifts if present to receive award at Sunday ceremony. For in person ceremonies only.

Online Distribution offers will be made to award winning films and more.
Top awards will receive a copy of Final Draft.

BEST OF THE FESTIVAL (Feature)
BEST SHORT FILM

FEATURE FILM AWARDS
Best Documentary
Best Foreign Film
Best Ladies Illuminate
Best Ladies Kick Butt

SHORT FILM AWARDS
Best Ladies First
Best Ladies Illuminate
Best Ladies Kick Butt
Best Alumni
Best Animation
Best Comedy
Best Dance
Best Documentary
Best Experimental
Best Family Friendly
Best Foreign
Best Halloween Teaser
Best Music Video
Best Student
Best Webisode
Jury Awards

ACTRESS/ACTOR AWARDS
Best Actress (feature & short)
Best Actor (feature & short)
Best Supporting Actress (feature & short)
Best Supporting Actor (feature & short)

SCRIPTS
Feature Finalists
Short Script Finalists

FILM SUBMISSIONS- At least one woman must be credited in one of the following positions in each selected film: Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer, Production Designer, and/or Editor.

-Screeners: We only watch submissions visible through the FilmFreeway portal (no download files or Google Drive screeners.)

-Submission fee waivers: Lady Filmmakers does not offer any fee waivers at this time. Please submit during early deadlines for lowest fees.

-Selected Films: Official Selections will get a web page dedicated to their film and have an opportunity to participate in the online and theatrical festival trailer. Official Selections will also receive dedicated posts on social media prior to the festival

-Exhibition materials: All selected films must provide a DCP (Digital Cinema Package) or work with our sponsor Simple DCP to produce a DCP from their source files (for a fee).

MUSIC SUBMISSIONS - Send a maximum of ten minutes of a musical performance. Must be the actual selection that would be performed live and acoustically at the festival. Musical performances will be at festival events. Performances are LIVE only. No recorded music will be played.

ART EXHIBIT SUBMISSIONS - Art Exhibits include Photography, Paintings, and Sculptures to be displayed at a party venue. The Artist must be a woman OR the subject matter must include women. Artwork will be provided to the festival at the artists expense. Artwork will only be returned to the artist by request at expense of artist.

*venue, screening theater and date subject to change to meet the needs of the festival

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Palindrome Productions

    The Lady Filmmakers Festival was a very warm, encouraging, and worthwhile experience. They went out of their way to connect film makers - promoting the work thoroughly and communicating effectively in the lead up to the festival and during the festival itself.

    November 2023
  • Hollin Haley

    Cannot recommend this festival enough! It was so incredibly well organized and curated. I know the entrance fee is a bit expensive but I promise you can see every bit of that value in the festival. The events are wonderful and in beautiful locations, and they really foster networking connections that feel genuine and lasting. 5 out of 5 across the board!

    October 2023
  • Mirejah Cruz

    My short film premiered at Lady Filmmakers Festival and it couldn't have been more perfect. The festival was a dream and was so well put together. The networking events were so elegant and allowed me to meet all the other filmmakers. I'm so grateful to this festival and can't thank them enough.

    October 2023
  • Jacqueline Elyse Rosenthal

    We had a fantastic time at this festival. They really go above and beyond to foster a community of strong and inspiring women - both in the filmmaking content, the other filmmakers, and the panels led by Mother and Daughter Productions. The experience felt like a family - and we ran into some of our favorite filmmakers from the circuit. They wine and dine you in Beverly Hills, which the festival director conveyed to me is a huge portion of where they spend the submission fees they received throughout the year - but that's the kind of festival they are - they want you to enjoy. I felt honored to be a part of the event, and winning an award really only felt like a cherry on top. It was the caliber of films programmed, making new friends in the community, and the programmers love of filmmaking, and generous events that will bring me back each year.

    October 2023
  • A fantastic festival that offers a variety of networking opportunities, panels, and screenings! The team clearly puts in a lot of work to provide a worthwhile experience for filmmakers. I made so many wonderful contacts and saw a plethora of brilliant films! I highly recommend submitting to this festival and attending if you are able.

    October 2023