The Philadelphia Film Festival is an annual eleven-day event featuring Philadelphia premieres of international, domestic, and local films, as well as retrospective tributes, Q&As, and parties.

Over the past several years, the Festival has grown to become not only a local gem that Philadelphians look forward to every year, but also an important festival within the industry as a whole. The quality of the programming has been stellar, known for scouring submissions and Festivals year-round for the perfect lineup for Philadelphia audiences. Past Festivals have featured some of the most highly-anticipated and eventual award-winning films, including Drive My Car, Nomadland, Sound of Metal, One Night in Miami, Jojo Rabbit, Lady Bird, La La Land, and Best Picture Winners Parasite, Moonlight, Birdman (or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance), 12 Years a Slave, and The Artist.

Every year, the Festival also welcomes a large number of guests, bringing filmmakers, actors, distributors and industry professionals to experience the Festival and Philadelphia. We are excited to continue and expand this year. Past guests have included: Bruce Willis, M. Night Shyamalan, Damien Chazelle, Alex Winter, Rian Johnson, Jason Reitman, Paul Dano, Karen Gillan, Todd Haynes, Lee Daniels, Jonathan Demme, Alexander Payne, Paul Rudd, David O. Russell, and Robert Zemeckis, as well as representatives from distributors or sales agencies such as: Cinetic Media, The Film Sales Company, IFC Films, Kino Lorber FIlms, Magnolia Pictures, Music Box Films, Paramount, Preferred Content, Radius-TWC, Roadside Attractions, Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisition Group, Strand Releasing, and Submarine Entertainment.

In total, the Festival will consist of over 100 films, screening in person across the city and online. In addition, we look forward to the return of special events: Opening and Closing Night parties, VIP receptions, and a festival lounge open daily, where ticket holders, badge holders, and special guests can relax between shows and talk movies with patrons & guests.

The Philadelphia Film Festival was named one of 2016’s Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee in 2020 by MovieMaker Magazine.

Awards & Prizes

The Philadelphia Film Festival gives out the following awards:
Audience Award
Best Narrative Feature
Best Documentary Feature
Best First Feature
Pinkenson Award for Best Local Feature Film
Best Short Film

Rules & Terms

- Works in progress can be considered; but submitter should note that it is a work in progress
- Students can apply for a discount by emailing submissions@filmadelphia.org. Please provide information about your film and proof of your student status in order to be considered.
- PFS does not offer criticism on submissions, nor is it our policy to notify submissions of their of acceptance or rejection before the official notification date.
- Submitters will be notified on September 30, 2022 (subject to change)
1 Review
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  • Space Camp

    Had a fantastic time presenting our film at the Philadelphia Film Festival! The communication was excellent from the day we got notified of the selection all the way to the screening. The whole festival experience was great, thank you PFF!

    November 2021
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