Since Sydney Pollack helped found it 20 years ago, to our most recent festivals showcasing Eric Roberts, Nicole Holofcener, John Santos, Bill Plympton and Frieda Lee Mock, the Mendocino Film Festival has established a reputation as a showcase of artistic talent and independent film – all set against the backdrop of Mendocino’s stunning natural beauty and friendly hospitality in Northern California.

From the first filmmakers to draw inspiration from Mendocino’s breathtaking scenery a century ago to the trailblazers who filmed iconic pictures like East of Eden, Summer of ’42, and The Russians are Coming! The Russians are Coming!, Mendocino has a rich heritage of creative expression. Every year, the Festival invites independent filmmakers to join this talented community and become a part of that cinematic tradition.

Awards & Prizes

Audience Choice Award for Best Feature-Length Film (narrative or documentary)
Best Documentary Feature
Best Narrative Feature
Best Short Film
Special Jury Awards

Rules & Terms

For an example of previous years’ programs, please visit http://mendocinofilmfestival.org/films/

1. Submissions in languages other than English must be subtitled. Please note if your film has subtitles.

2. Multiple entries are allowed from a filmmaker and each entry may be entered in multiple categories.

3. Online screeners are preferred.
If you choose not to upload your project to FilmFreeway’s site, please provide an online link to your submission and be sure to include the password in an email correspondence sent directly to program@mendocinofilmfestival.org.

4. The Mendocino Film Festival does not download submissions or accept Dropbox submissions. Please only send links to your media hosted on 3rd party servers such as Vimeo or YouTube.

5. Written comments describing entries are beneficial.

6. EXCLUSIONS - Industrial and instructional films are not eligible for any of the sections of the Festival. The same applies to racist, obscene, excessively violent and propagandistic films.

7. FOR EXHIBITION - We require a copy of your master QuickTime file (Apple H.264 or ProRes 422 are the preferred codecs) as it was finished in its original frame-size and frame-rate.
Pre-rolls, slates, or color-bars are NOT necessary and should not be included.
You can send us an external hard drive, USB flash drive, SD card, or upload via cloud storage/transfer services such as Dropbox, HighTail, Box, GoogleDrive, etc.
We also require two backup copies of your movie on a Blu-Ray or DVD (Blu-Ray is the preferred medium).

8. Entrants will be notified of their acceptance or rejection to the festival by April 15, 2024.

9. Audience Choice Award will be given to the favorite feature-length film (documentary or narrative).

10. Directors of selected films are encouraged to attend the festival. Details to be provided in festival acceptance letter.

Rules & Terms
By submitting your film for consideration to the Mendocino Film Festival, you are telling us that you have full authority to do so, that the film is cleared for potential festival exhibition, and that you accept full legal responsibility for the intellectual property therein. Submitting your film to us constitutes permission to exhibit your work at the Mendocino Film Festival. The Mendocino Film Festival is also hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. You shall also indemnify and hold harmless the Mendocino Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Frances Chewning

    A beautiful festival in a beautiful location. The organizers were so welcoming and able to provide accommodation, which made it possible for me to attend the festival in person. It was well worth the trip. I saw great movies, both features and short films, had wonderful conversations with other filmmakers and community members, was refreshed by the beautiful environment, and left inspired. All of the screenings were well attended. This is a special place and festival, and it was an honor to be part of it.

    June 2026
    Helpful
  • Deborah Craig

    What an honor to screen at the Mendocino Film Festival! Our character, Sally Gearhart, lived in Willits for decades, so it felt great to show the film so close to her final home. None of the directors could be there, but we were so pleased that two of Sally's oldest friends in California could attend for the Q&A.

    July 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for this, Deborah! We loved having your wonderful film this year!

  • Elijah Sullivan

    What a lovely festival! The location is both breathtaking and cozy. I could have stayed indefinitely. The festival itself is well-run, communication is fantastic, everyone was incredibly helpful, the artist colony nature of Mendocino really allowed in the thoughtful, engaged Q&A... this is a real sleeper of a festival. I really hope I get a chance to come back! Thank you so much for inviting me!

    June 2025
    Helpful
  • Zack McCune

    Mendocino is rugged and inspiring. So is its film festival. With an emphasis on thought-provoking cultural works, the festival's programming offers lots of original films to see. As a filmmaker, you will have lots of communication from the organizers and a ton of audience engagement. With the town small and intimate, conversations about films continue to the coffee shops, bakeries, bars, and beaches after the show. Could not recommend this event highly enough!

    June 2025
    Helpful
  • Sy Rosen

    Mendocino is a wonderful film festival. They had a great line-up of films and we were honored to be a part of it. The team in charge of the festival were always friendly and quick to respond to any needs or annoying questions that I had (and yes, I have plenty of annoying questions). The city is beautiful and the community is made up of enthusiastic and knowledgeable film goers. The people in the city were so nice that at first I thought that maybe they were serial killers lulling me into some sort of complacency before they struck. However, I finally realized that they were just very nice. I hope we are fortunate enough to be there again.

    October 2024
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    We loved having you!