One of MovieMaker Magazine’s 2019 & 2020 “Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee,” the Omaha Film Festival celebrates the artistic, educational, and historical importance of motion pictures. It gives independent film artists a platform for sharing their work and creating a dialogue with the community. It promotes the discussion and study of filmmaking.
Over the last 19 years OFF has made great strides toward becoming one of the most accomplished teaching festivals in the Central United States offering opportunities for filmmakers, students, and those who value the artistry of film to learn more about the craft of filmmaking through panels, lectures, and workshops taught by seasoned professionals at our annual OFF Academy.
The Omaha Film Festival includes a film competition and a screenplay competition. Time is provided after each film screening for filmmakers to participate in a Q&A session. All in-competition films are eligible for an Audience Choice Award. All screenplay finalists are eligible to participate in our annual Writers Theatre where local actors perform staged readings of their scripts.
A small selection of films that have previously screened at OFF include:
If Anything Happens I Love You (directed by Will McCormac & Michael Govier) – Oscar winning animated short film that world premiered at OFF’20
Collective (directed by Alexander Nanau) – 2021 Oscar nominated film that screened at OFF’20
Military Wives (directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Kristin Scott Thomas, Sharon Horgan, Emma Lowndes)
The Short History of the Long Road (directed by Ani Simon-Kennedy, starring Maggie Siff, Danny Trejo, Sabrina Carpenter, Steven Ogg)
Resistance (directed by Jonathan Jakubowicz, starring Ed Harris, Jesse Eisenberg, Edgar Ramírez, Clémence Poésy)
Dream Horse (directed by Euros Lyn, starring Toni Collette, Damian Lewis, Joanna Page)
Hotel Mumbai (directed by Anthony Mara, starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi)
The Tomorrow Man (directed by Noble Jones, starring John Lithgow, Blythe Danner)
Borg vs. McEnroe (directed by Janus Metz, starring Sverrir Gudnason, Shia LaBeouf, Stellan Skarsgård)
Beirut (directed by Brad Anderson, starring Rosamund Pike, Jon Hamm)
The Lost City of Z (directed by James Gray, starring Tom Holland, Charlie Hunnam, Robert Pattinson, Sienna Miller)
Personal Shopper (directed by, Olivier Assayas, starring Kristen Stewart, Lars Eidinger, Sigrid Bouaziz)
The Last Word (directed by Mark Pellington, starring Shirley MacLaine, Amanda Seyfried, Anne Heche)
The Invitation (directed by Karyn Kusama, starring Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman)
The Lobster (directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, starring Colin Farrell, Rachel Weisz, Jacqueline Abrahams, John C. Reilly)
TBD for 2025, typically software and other filmmaking equipment from our sponsors as well as cash prizes for all winners. OFF'24 prizes over $20k.
Best Narrative Feature Film
Best Documentary Film
Best Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Nebraska Short Film
Best Feature Length Screenplay
Best Teleplay
Best Short Screenplay
Best Nebraska Screenplay
Audience Choice Prizes:
Best Narrative Feature Film
Best Documentary Film
Best Short Film