Picture's Up! Film Festival

*****ANNOUNCEMENT*****
PUFF is thrilled to announce Academy Award winning writer/director JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY as the Jury President for the 4th annual Picture's Up! Film Festival, taking place August 25th-27th, 2023 at The Lee Strasberg Theater in Hollywood, CA.

John's films include JOE VERSUS THE VOLCANO, MOONSTRUCK, DOUBT, and WILD MOUNTAIN THYME. Along with his Oscar for Best Screenplay for MOONSTRUCK, John has received numerous other awards including a Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize, and many more. His work has dazzled, challenged, and delighted audiences for over four decades and we are honored to have him serve as Jury President for 2023. His insight and expertise will be invaluable as he guides us in shaping this year's lineup and selecting the recipients of the coveted PUFFY Awards.

**********

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 films than the people that made them. So when the party is over, we’re just getting started!

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.

CASH PRIZE! FILMMAKER PERKS!

Picture’s Up! has a $500 Grand Prize for the festival’s winning film and every filmmaker receives a package of exciting perks such as free access to The Strasberg Institute’s film studio and casting spaces.

Winners will also receive a 4-month InkTip Pro Membership. As an InkTip Pro Member, thousands of filmmakers can find and read your scripts, and you'll be able to pitch directly to production companies every week. With over 3,000 options and 400 movies made, InkTip is the place for independent film.

In between screenings, filmmakers are invited to get a drink in the beautiful Theatre Lounge and get to know their fellow filmmakers.

The PUFFY’s Award Show: Every year filmmakers tell us that the highlight of the weekend was 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 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 Marilyn Monroe Theatre.