Welcome to the San Diego French Film Festival (SDFFF), an event organized by the Alliance Francaise de San Diego, promoting the art of cinema through francophone movies, showcasing a wide range of feature and short films, fiction and documentaries from France and other French-speaking countries.

The 6th edition runs May 3-7 2026. The focus will be on Women's voices.

Attending this French film festival offers a rich cultural experience, allowing cinephiles to explore the diverse world of cinema in French. It provides an opportunity to discover new and innovative films, engage in discussions with filmmakers and actors, attend screenings, and immerse oneself in the vibrant atmosphere of the festival.

Each year, the Festival also welcomes a vibrant mix of guests from the film industry. Past and upcoming attendees include actor Max Boublil, director Grégory Boutboul, producer and actress Laura Weissbecker, producer Mathilde, and Clay Epstein, among others.

This year is special: on our Young Cinephile Day, March 20, we’ll exclusively showcase family-friendly short films rated ‘G’ (General Audiences) under the Motion Picture Classification and Rating program. If you submit in the short category, your work will have a greater chance of being selected.

Awards & Prizes

Each day of the festival, there is a screening of one feature film and one or two short films (depending on length of the films). Films must be in French with English subtitles and in line with our theme. Screenplays must be for Francophone projects.

Selected films will be entered into competition for the:
Audience Award Short
Alliance Française's Award Short
Audience Award Feature
Alliance Française's Award Feature

Alliance Française's Award Screenplay - Winner Meets with a producer

Some movies not selected for the Festival might be selected to be screened during the Monthly French Film Club organized by the Alliance Francaise San Diego.

All films selected will play at the festival and receive rounds of promotions through our social media platforms and website.

Rules & Terms

To participate in the festival, filmmakers must pay the ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE SAN DIEGO a nonrefundable entry fee in US dollars.

By submitting their film to the festival, filmmakers agree that if their film is selected and the invitation accepted, it will be screened during the festival's dates. The ALLIANCE FRANCAISE DE SAN DIEGO does not provide any payment for screening fees for short movies. Screening fees for feature films can be considered.

The SDFFF is a competitive platform for French and Francophone films. The determination of project eligibility is solely at the discretion of the SDFFF. To be considered, all films should not have been screened or made available online in any form (cable, television, satellite, DVD, VHS, VOD, internet) or theatrical in the San Diego region before the SDFFF dates. Only recent projects (between 2023 and 2026) will be eligible for selection. There is no limit to the number of entries allowed.

FILM SUBMISSIONS
All entries must be in French (or at least in majority in French) and include English subtitles. Projects should be submitted as online screeners for evaluation. In case you did not receive a submission confirmation, kindly reach out to Laurence at culture@afsandiego.org via email.

LIABILITY
Every precaution is taken when handling your film once submitted to us, but we cannot accept responsibility for lost or damaged files that are submitted to us.

SHIPPING INFORMATION
In the case of physical file submissions requiring shipping, it is the responsibility of the entrant to cover the associated costs. The SDFFF will not reimburse shipping expenses for returning the print to the filmmaker. Additionally, the SDFFF cannot be held accountable for any other organizations' expedited or overnight shipping charges. It is important to note that the SDFFF cannot guarantee the shipment of prints to other festivals during the festival. For any entries, the shipper must prepay all transportation charges, duties, and taxes, and the entries should be sent 'free domicile' to the SDFFF office.

REPRODUCTION AGREEMENT
By submitting an entry, the entrant grants the SDFFF permission to use excerpts from the accepted work, including film trailers, in all promotional activities associated with the festival.