PUFF is more than a festival. It’s a community.

Once a year we gather in West Hollywood to celebrate and promote 50 of the world’s best up and coming filmmakers the best way we know how. By throwing a massive party and inviting all of our friends!

That means filmmakers, execs, agents, managers, casting directors, actors and actresses. Everyone that a filmmaker could be looking to meet.

We are filmmakers ourselves and we started PUFF because we were sick of festivals that seemed more interested in promoting themselves than filmmakers. So when the party is over, we’re just getting started!

AND as we enter our 5th year we are happy to announce that we are expanding into Feature Films!! We've added three screening blocks and will be accepting feature films of all genres that are making their Los Angeles premiere!!

WHY SUBMIT?

JUDGES THAT MATTER: PUFF has judges from all aspects of the entertainment business. From Managers, Producers and Studio Execs, to working Actors and Screenwriters. We want our filmmakers to have their work exposed to people who’ve been where they are now and can offer insight into navigating this business.

NETWORKING: In between screenings, filmmakers are invited to get a drink in the beautiful Theatre Lounge and get to know their fellow filmmakers. Blocks are 60 min and do not overlap so it's possible to come and see every film playing over the weekend!

The PUFFY’s Award Show: Every year filmmakers tell us that the highlight of the weekend is our closing night award show. We go all out as our founders host a night of clips from all the nominated films, laughs and tears as we hand out awards and gifts from our sponsors and hear speeches from our winners!

WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR!

We don’t care about genre. We don’t care about budget. We care about voices. We’re looking for filmmakers who have something to say, and we want to help you say it! We use the submission categories to make sure that the judge most likely to enjoy and champion your film, is the person that sees it.

Our programmers meticulously craft each hour long block of films around a different theme, so when you walk into a PUFF screening, you never know what you’re going to get!

Submit feature films in ANY genre! We are looking for something creative and fresh to premiere at our festival!

Submit your short films under 35 minutes in any of the following genres:
Comedy
Drama
Documentary
Horror/Thriller
Sci-Fi
Student
Television Pilot
Experimental
Music Video
Super Shorts (< 5 min)

PUFF is based in Los Angeles, CA at the historic Lee Strasberg Theatre.

Best of Festival
Best Comedy Short
Best Drama Short
Best Thriller Short
Best Emerging Artist
Best Director
Best Screenplay
Best Performance by an Actor
Best Performance by an Actress

1. Submission Format
* Films must be submitted via online screener ONLY. We DO NOT accept DVD screeners. * Vimeo or YouTube links are preferred.
* Only one version of the film will be reviewed by programmers - updated cuts will not be reviewed.

2. Submission Eligibility
* All submissions must have been completed in the past 24 months.
* There is no premiere policy for short films we accept films that have screened at other festivals or online
*Feature Films must be LA premieres

3. Submission Fee
*All submissions for PUFF are to be paid through FilmFreeway platform. Submission fees are non-refundable.

4. Selection of Films
*Submissions are reviewed by a panel of judges and selected under the following criteria:
- Quality of narrative and production values.
- Independent nature of the production.

5. Notification
* PUFF endeavors to complete all selection procedures by listed dates and inform all submitting parties if their film has been accepted or not after that time. Successful submissions will receive a Filmmaker Festival Kit that will include information on press and publicity, screener requirements, contact information and how to make the most of participating in the Festival.

6. Festival Screenings - selected films ONLY
*PUFF aspires to provide the most quality projection possible but will not be held liable for any failure in the technical quality of the projection during screenings, nor will fees be refunded in any such case. PUFF assumes that the submitting party or filmmaker(s) has spot checked the submission.

7. Scheduling - selected films ONLY
* Screenings are scheduled at the discretion of PUFF. Every effort will be made to adhere to the published schedule however PUFF reserves the right to make changes at any time for any reason. PUFF will not be liable for any costs claimed as a result of a change in scheduling.

8. Promotion - selected films ONLY
*Selected films acknowledge that PUFF reserves the right to promote the films using both images and video that you provide.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • This was a very unique festival with high quality films. I'm very honored to have my films screen among some spectacular films. The festival directors are amazing and seek to make the experience memorable! I look forward to screening with them again!

    September 2024
  • Chris Schwab

    Incredible festival! Had a blast there!

    September 2024
  • Tyler Beveridge

    The creators of this festival deeply care about film and the indie filmmaker. What an incredible experience this was! The venue was awesome, the networking was great, the selections were top notch. Five stars across the board! The Pictures Up! Gang truly have something special here and I look forward to seeing it grow more and more with each year. Do yourself a favor and submit your film. This is one festival absolutely worth the submission fee.

    September 2024
  • Maggie Castle

    The team at Picture's Up were so welcoming and inclusive! They created a positive environment for filmmakers to meet and screen their films at a the Lee Strasberg Theatre which was a very cool venue. Got a chance to see some incredible shorts and connect with other filmmakers. Thanks again to Alyssa, Griffin and Paul for including Sole Suspect in this year's lineup.

    September 2024
  • So awesome for ‘Amy John and Jiu Jitsu Dave’ to be in this years line up! What a fun film festival. Although we were unable to attend in person this year we had friends there who had a great time. Thank you PUFF

    September 2024