Nassau Film Festival

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL

The 11th Annual Nassau Film Festival will be held Saturday December 5, 2026 from 6:30-10:30 pm at the AMC MarketFair 10 in Princeton,NJ. Updated information about the 2026 festival can be located at nassaufilmfestival.org

Tickets: On sale starting October 1 and may be purchased by going to filmfreeway.com/nassaufilmfestival or at the festival website nassaufilmfestival.org

There will be a pre-festival party at Tommy's Tap and Tavern in the Princeton MarketFair on Route 1 on Saturday December 5, 2026 from 4-5:30 PM. Filmmakers, actors and their representatives are invited to attend. There will be food served and a cash bar.

FESTIVAL PROCEEDS

In keeping with Festival tradition over the years, we donate festival proceeds collected from sponsors, patrons and filmmakers to a different non-profit organization each year. The festival has raised and donated over $112,000 to various non-profits in the last six years.

Proceeds from the 2024 and 2025 Festivals wen towards Toys for Tots and the Salvation Army. We encouraged festival goers to bring unwrapped gifts or winter weather clothing or both for disadvantaged children up to age 12 to drop off at the collection site at the Festival. We believe that bringing a message of joy and hope is extremely important especially during the holiday season.

Proceeds from the 2023 Festival went to the Family Resource Network (FRN). FRN provides more than 50 services and programs for NJ residents living with epilepsy, autism, developmental disabilities and chronic illness and support for their caregivers.

In past years, we have supported Homefront, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the American Cancer Society, Womenspace, and the Trenton Area Soup Kitchen (TASK). In 2021, Community FoodBank of New Jersey and Mercer Street Friends were the recipients of the proceeds from the film festival and the monies raised provided over 12,000 meals to those who were food insecure.

In 2022, proceeds from NFF went to the Lisa Goldstein Education Foundation(LGEF) and two scholarships totalling $3000 were awarded in 2022. The foundation awards scholarships to high school seniors who want to study early reading education, math or science at college. College juniors enrolled as student teachers who are pursuing a career in elementary education or special education may also be considered. Please visit (LisaGoldsteinEducationFoundation.com) for more information on this non-profit.

FESTIVAL RECOGNITION AND AWARDS

The Nassau International Film Festival (NIFF) has received several recognitions since 2015 as one of the top comprehensive short film festivals. Filmmakers worldwide have consistently rated NIFF as one of the top short film festivals. The festival was voted the top comprehensive short film festival in New Jersey in the People's Choice Awards voting. NIFF has been selected as an iMDB qualifying film festival. iMDB is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, television and film festival content.

MORE FESTIVAL INFO

The Nassau Film Festival (NFF) screens only short films (30 seconds to 20 minutes) in the following categories for 2025: fiction, documentary, animation, horror and student films. The renovated AMC MarketFair 10 on Route 1 in Princeton will host the 2026 festival. In years past, the festival has screened films from filmmakers whose countries represent all six populated continents.

Best of Festival awards are given in each of the categories and attendees have a chance to network with filmmakers, actors, actresses, producers, directors and directors of photography at a special festival event.

Audience members will have the opportunity to participate in a question and answer session with filmmakers whose films are selected at the Festival.

FILMMAKER INFO

Filmmakers will be notified by November 5, 2026 as to their status after a review of all films by a panel of judges. Those filmmakers whose films are selected for screening at the festival will receive an official selection notice and will be expected to provide a screening copy of their film in the requested format.

Award winners will be notified after the conclusion of the festival but no later than December 12, 2026.

The Best of Fest Award is a judges award given to films which conveyed the message of their film in a superior manner. Recipients of this special award will also be able to access a laurel after the Fest on FilmFreeway.

The Princeton Tiger awards are voted upon by the audience who attend the Fest in each of the five categories. Princeton Tiger award recipients can access laurels on FilmFreeway recognizing their achievements.

The final schedule of films showing screening time on Saturday December 6, 2025 will be posted on the festival website (nassaufilmfestival.org) on or before November 20, 2026.