Welcome to Manhattanhenge Film Festival.

The Manhattanhenge Film Festival is a traveling celebration of cinema, bridging the creative energy of both New York and Los Angeles.
By hosting our festival in both cities, we provide filmmakers with unparalleled networking opportunities,
connecting the vibrant East Coast film scene with California's thriving film industry.

We are an IMDB qualifying festival.

We want the best worldwide film stories to promote filmmakers’ and help them to reach bigger audiences.

The Manhattanhenge Film Festival is an open door for independent filmmakers. It's a special jury formed by academicians, producers, and professional filmmakers.

The Festival offers you the chance to meet other filmmakers and industry professionals to exchange ideas and collaborate in a highly creative and inspiring atmosphere.

The festival accepts movies from all over the world under different categories such as Feature films 40 min +more, Foreign Films, Short films, , Student movies, Horror, Comedy, Web series/video, Documentaries movies, Best Director & Best Actor Projects.

In the end, our main aim was and still is to bring immigrant, foreign filmmakers together regardless of their experience.

If you’re an aspiring director, you will know that it is crucial for your work to be appreciated no matter the size of the audience or the budgets of the films you compete against. At Manhattanhenge Film we care about your skills and vision.

https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0011412/overview/?ref_=ev_sa_1

Awards & Prizes

AWARDS

Crystal Trophies for

-1rd Place Winner
-2nd Place Winner
-3rd Place Winner
-Grand Jury Winner
-Festival Winner
-IMDB Credits
-Certificate of Participation
-Laurels
-Social Media Promotion during year

Rules & Terms

AWARDS & RULES

All foreign-language works MUST be subtitled in English to be considered.

1. Submission Eligibility

All submissions must have been completed after January 1, 2023..
There is no premiere requirement.
2. Exhibition Format

h.264 Quicktime file.
3. Communication

Please disregard any automatic notifications from FilmFreeway. If you don’t hear from us directly via email, please bear with us as we carefully review all works submitted with great care and consideration.
4. Screening Policy

MHFF will not screen full films. We provide an award ceremony and screen short clips or trailers of the selected films.
Awards

Manhattanhenge Film Awards will present certificates, laurels, and trophies to nominated submissions in various categories for cinematic excellence.
Multiple trophies will be awarded for selected categories, and all nominated films will receive a laurel and certificate.
Additional Guidelines
→ All films must be submitted in English or with English subtitles.
→ Films must have been completed in the last two years.
→ Filmmakers are responsible for securing the necessary rights and copyright permissions for all materials in their films.
→ By submitting, you grant us the right to screen your film (trailer/short clip) in front of a live audience.
→ Nominations: All films are eligible for nominations in their respective categories.
→ We may promote clips from your film on the FilmFreeway platform or social media, based on the press kits provided.
→ We reserve the right to change the date or venue of the festival under special circumstances, with all filmmakers being informed through our online platforms.
→ There are no restrictions on premiere status or online availability of your work.
→ Filmmakers are responsible for resolving any technical issues with submitted films. If a file doesn’t work or lacks English subtitles (for non-English films), it will be automatically rejected without a refund. Please contact the festival team if there are any issues.
→ We do not offer refunds.
→ The award ceremony requires ticket purchase.
→ By submitting, you agree to our terms and conditions and to receiving marketing newsletters about film festivals. We will never share your information with third parties.
→ We reserve the right to update our terms and conditions.

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45 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Petra Terzi

    We are honored that our film was selected for this prestigious festival!

    January 2026
    Helpful
  • Akiko Matsumoto

    As a filmmaker, I deeply appreciate the platform your festival provides for independent voices. The opportunity to share my work with an engaged audience and fellow creatives means a great deal to me.

    January 2026
    Helpful
  • Light Streams

    Manhattanhenge Film Festival - a festival that respects filmmakers and winning projects. Too many so called “festivals” ask winners to pay for their trophies - which is absurd. Some “festivals” even have the guts to ask winners to pay for digital award certificates. Manhattanhenge Film Festival offers them both for free! Besides that - good communication, professional crew! I recommend!

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • Justin Hunt

    What an impressive, professional group of festival organizers. I wasn't able to make it to the awards ceremony, but they were extremely communicative, helpful, accommodating and friendly. Too many festivals will only disburse physical awards to attendees, which is not only inauthentic, it kills a festivals credibility. The folks at Manhattanhenge know how to treat filmmakers, how to communicate and how to run a professional show. They're doing it right!

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • Craig Webb

    So grateful to have "Be-Living in The Ocean" win the festival's Grand Jury Award!
    The festival team responded quickly to communications with an upbeat attitude, and managed a decent turnout considering the challenges of a rainy Los Angeles evening.

    November 2025
    Helpful