Based in Huntsville, Alabama, aka Rocket City, RCSFF showcases a variety of SHORT films usually less than 25 mins in length. Brevity in storytelling is a skill that we celebrate, and we look forward to screening your shorts in this year's lineup!

Located in Huntsville's newest film studio, Studio Huntsville, the venue provides a unique experience to enjoy films on a large screen.

There will be a variety of awards this year!

Awards & Prizes

Newest Award - The Saturn Award (details below)

Best of show
2nd Place
3rd Place

K-12 Student - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place
Collegiate+ Student - 1st, 2nd, 3rd Place

Saturn Award - Film
Saturn Award - Screenplay
Best Alabama Film Short
Best Documentary Short
Best International Film
Best Super Short Film (for films less than 5 mins)
Best Long Short Film (for films b/w 26-40 mins)
Best Music Video
Best Animation Short

Short Screenplay contest - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

Feature Screenplay contest - 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

The newest award is The Saturn Award! Our jury will award this to the top "space-themed" entry. This applies for any of the above categories - short film, animation, music video, doc, and even screenplays. For the "space theme" it could be sci-fi based on space travel, aliens, etc. It might be a documentary about astronauts. Maybe a music video about dancing on the moon. You get the idea. As long as it's related to outer space, it qualifies. We'll look for any entries that match this, but feel free to send us an email if you'd like your entry to be considered for this special award.

Rules & Terms

Simple rules:

Short films need to be 25 mins or less. Any genres, any ratings.

Films need to have been produced within the last three years, so we are currently accepting films produced since 2023.

Short screenplays are required to be less than 50 pages. Feature scripts range from 51 to 120 pages.

24 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jared Johnson

    My first time at RCFF and it was a blast (pun intended). Thank you for being the first festival to select and screen my short film “Mel”!

    March 2026
    Helpful
  • Chris Moreland

    Huntsville! Thank you for the easy communication and for selecting our little short to be included!

    January 2026
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Chris! Thank you for sharing your wonderful doc with us! It was extremely well-received here at Rocket City. Hope you can join us sometime in the future.

  • Jamie Bishop

    I highly recommend entering this festival. The detailed feedback and coverage that I received for my short script was worth much more than the cost of entry. The communication that I've had with the festival has made me feel supported and inspired. Thank you to everyone at Rocket City!

    December 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Jamie! Thank you for your kind words and even more so for sharing your screenplay with us. We are grateful you found the feedback valuable and look forward to seeing more from you in the future.

  • Tony Michalski

    Thanks for premiering Max Needs to Pay Rent in Alabama!

    November 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Tony, thank you for the solid review! We all loved your film!

  • Zachary Fields

    Wasn’t able to attend in person, but the folks in charge were awesome.

    November 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Zac, thanks for the kind words! "Hail Mary" was a definite hit with this year's audience!