In 2025, the Seattle International Film Festival will be celebrating 51 years of presenting the best in international and independent films from around the globe. Running in-person May 15–25 at SIFF Cinemas and venues throughout the city, the 2025 Festival will spotlight new voices alongside established directors, films from more than 80 countries, sensational hit independents, and films that have yet to break through to the US audiences.

The Seattle International Film Festival is consistently ranked as one of the top festivals in North America, and is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films, presenting more than 260 features, documentaries, and short films to an audience of roughly 90,000 each year.

SIFF started out as an event aimed squarely at Seattle filmgoers, renowned for their strong support for independent cinema and their sophisticated, maverick tastes. Through the years, Seattle audiences have proven themselves to be remarkably astute judges of a film's theatrical strength in the American marketplace. This, in turn, has made SIFF a great testing ground for new films. SIFF’s emphasis on keeping the Festival an event aimed first and foremost at filmgoers, provides the films themselves with the kind of genuine audience response that has attracted the participation of filmmakers and film distributors for 51 years.

Awards & Prizes

Golden Space Needle Awards
Seattle International Film Festival audiences cast their votes in the categories of Best Film, Documentary Feature, Director, Performance, and Short Film. Among past winners of this expression of SIFF filmgoers esteem are films and talents, who went on to win Academy Awards and Golden Globe Awards, as well as a large number of critical and theatrical hits.

In addition, we sponsor eleven (11) juried awards in the below categories:

Official Competition*
The SIFF Official Competition celebrates some of the year’s most accomplished films, ranging from first-time directors to established masters. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.

New Directors Competition*
The New Directors Competition features a selection of directors who are clearly emerging as major talents. SIFF programmers choose films from around the world, a debut or second feature by the selected director, each chosen on the basis of its original conception, striking style and overall excellence. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.

New American Cinema Competition*
The New American Cinema Competition features a selection of US films which are clearly emerging as showing considerable vision, a unique voice, and promising future. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.

Ibero-American Cinema Competition*
The Ibero-American Cinema Competition features a selection of films from Ibero-America who are firmly expressing issues, styles, and talent from the area. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.

Documentary Film Competition*
A selection of exceptional non-fiction films will be judged by an international panel of jurors who will choose the documentary they feel best illuminates and captures the human spirit, pursues the search for truth, and feeds our insatiable hunger to learn. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.

FutureWave Features Competition*
A selection of films curated for young adults will be judged by youth aged 13-18.

Films4Families Features Competition*
A selection of films curated for family audiences will be judged by youth aged 8-12.

Short Film Competitions
Approximately 100 shorts are selected to play before features or in one of our SIFF ShortsFest programs. This is a popular and exciting section of SIFF that has launched the careers of many writers and directors. All shorts selected for the Festival are eligible for this prize. Three cash prizes of $2,500 each will be awarded in the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary. SIFF is an Academy Award® qualifier in all three short film categories.

FutureWave Shorts Competition
A selection of films by youth 18 years or younger will be judged by a panel of youth aged 13-18 who will award their Wavemaker Award for Best FutureWave Short to a film for its technical mastery and storytelling excellence.

*Films are selected on an invite only basis from eligible entries by the programming committee.

Rules & Terms

DEFINITIONS OF CATEGORIES & TERMS

[SIFF 2025 FILM SUBMISSIONS FAQ SHEET]

By submitting your film, you will be added to our mailing list in order to notify you of your entry's status as well as news about the festival.

Feature Length Film:
A narrative, animated or experimental film 41+ minutes in length.

Short Film:
A narrative, animated or experimental film 40 minutes or less in length.

Documentary Feature Film:
A documentary film 41+ minutes in length.

Documentary Short Film:
A documentary film 40 minutes or less in length.

Print Source:
The company or representative that will be providing the film print to the festival (this is not the film lab).

World Sales Company:
The company or representative that is in charge of selling the film rights worldwide.

--
ELIGIBILITY REGULATIONS

Completion/Premiere Date:
Films submitted must have premiered on or after January 2024.

Presentation:
Selected films will be screened at SIFF Cinema Venues and other Cinemas throughout the region from DCP/digital files. Selected projects will be sent the technical details and delivery instructions after acceptance.

Language:
Foreign language films must be made available with the original language soundtrack and English subtitles. All accepted films must have closed captioned files available.

Prior Screenings:
For the 2025 Festival, we only require a Western Washington State Premiere, and will consider films that have been screened both in-person and online as part of other Virtual Festivals elsewhere in the US. We will give preference to films that have not yet been presented in the Pacific Northwest, either in person at a cinema, or as part of a Virtual Festival. Films (in all categories) that have been televised (broadcast) or commercially available as VOD or virtual cinema runs in the US prior to the Festival dates are not eligible for consideration. Theatrical runs following presentation in SIFF may be excepted from this. Films may appear outside of Washington State at other film festivals or theatrically prior to SIFF screenings.

Prior Submissions:
You may re-submit a previously submitted film, with the proper entry fee, only if the film has been significantly altered, re-edited or re-made since the initial submission. We will treat the submission as an entirely new project. Please note that a project's premiere date must be on or after January 2024, and that preference will be given to new projects.
If you have questions about your eligibility to submit, please contact us at entries@siff.net.

--
SUBMISSION REGULATIONS

Format:
- All films must be submitted as a secure online screener (i.e. Vimeo).
- Once a submission link has been received, we cannot guarantee that subsequent updates will be viewed.

Accompanying Materials:
The following materials must be provided via FilmFreeway. Entry materials will not be returned. Incomplete entries will not be considered and fees are non-refundable.
- Official Entry submitted through FilmFreeway with all required information
- Entry Fee: We will accept payment via Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Local Entry Fee Waiver:
The submission fee is waived for films that have 50% or more of the film footage shot in Washington State. Please email entries@siff.net to inquire about approval for a local waiver. Films approved for a local waiver must submit through FilmFreeway. NO OTHER WAIVERS OR EXCEPTIONS WILL BE GRANTED.

Notification:
Films selected for screening in all categories will be notified on or about April 25, 2025.
30 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ryan Doris

    This review is a little late but now that we’re wrapping up our festival run I have got to say I’m so happy we were included in SIFF 2024. I wasn’t able to attend personally but one of our producers was present. Based off their experience, and off of all the fests we played in this year, SIFF was truly one of the best. Well run by passionate people and with great audiences. I will definitely be submitting my future films here and I’ll make it a point to be there in person.

    December 2024
    Helpful
  • Tony & James Pinto

    We were privileged to attend the 50th anniversary of this wonderful festival in the beautiful city of Seattle, Washington. With an incredible staff and an army of volunteers, they rolled out the red carpet and made us feel like royalty. SIFF really cares about films--and filmmakers. Our film screened in two of the coolest theaters in the city. Hopefully this was the first of many future visits for us. Thank you!

    OFFICIAL SELECTION (Feature Documentary) - WHY DINOSAURS?

    July 2024
    Helpful
  • Tommy Heffernan

    As a first-time attendee with my local short "Trial," I couldn't have asked for a better week of screenings and mixers! Met lots of other filmmakers, didn't have any issue getting into everything I wanted to see, and we had a packed house for our film's premiere. Can't wait to go back next year!

    May 2024
    Helpful
  • Daisy Fulgham

    SIFF audiences are special. Seattle is a film-loving town through and through, and you get to see that on full display at every screening, every conversation, every party. We screened to an absolutely packed house in a beautiful theater. The staff is wonderful and so very clearly cares deeply about the films and filmmakers. I love this festival. SIFF forever!

    May 2024
    Helpful
  • Pisie Hochheim & Tony Oswald

    A highlight of our festival run with our short film CYCLES, SIFF was communicative and HUGE in scope. So many amazing venues, a program that made us feel honored to be a part and the parties were well attended and flowing with drinks and food. But the screening was the highlight, a completely packed out audience for a shorts block! Seattle really shows up and we have our fingers crossed we'll be able to return one day.

    May 2024
    Helpful