Welcome to the Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival! The film festival created to uplift veterans, military personnel and their families by giving them a platform to tell the stories they capture on film and through videography. Our second annual Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival, sponsored by the Veterans Suicide Prevention Channel (VSPChannel), is created to be a part of the 7th Annual AUSTIN VETERAN ARTS FESTIVAL (AVAFEST). AVAFEST is a month-long series of events including art exhibits, performances, shows, programs, and seminars that take place in the city of Austin, Texas to be broadcast on our ROKU and online channels throughout the world.
The first AVAFEST event launched in 2018 and has continued to grow. This year, AVAFEST will kickoff on Friday, October 17, 2025 with the Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival as the very first event of AVAFEST 2025. The AVAFEST festival was created to encourage veterans to use the arts as a tool for healing. We hope that many of our participants will attend and watch the veteran films selected for the Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival 2025.
Films offers a unique opportunity for veterans to participate as singers, dancers, comedians, poets, band members, filmmakers videographers, actors and more. By participating in our AVAFEST film festival, we are encouraging veterans and their family members to participate in this event and other month-long series of events during our AVAFEST.
The opening day of the Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival at the AFS Cinema is planned to be amazing. Arrive at the beautiful AFS Cinema by 5:00 p.m. on October 17, 2025 to meet and greet veteran filmmakers and other performers who will participate in the month-long series of events we produce for AVAFEST. Take pictures and hobnob with the stars in the films and their directors. We want you to have a great time in the lobby before our film festival screenings begin. There will also be a reception following the film festival where attendees can meet each other and celebrate their talent and successes as filmmakers. The audience will be invited to attend as well, and the filmmakers will officially be presented their awards.
The films selected for the Austin Veteran/Military Film Festival 2025 will run the gamut from comedy, drama, documentaries, music videos, and more. There may even be a surprise feature film about, or by a veteran in this year's festival by someone that is well known. We will be striving to give you an awesome Film Festival that veterans, military personnel and their family members and the general public deserve and can remember proudly. Support the success of this film festival by submitting your work and/or attending the festival on October 17, 2024 and enjoy other AVAFEST events through November11, 2025. Remember, when you support the VSPChannel and AVAFEST, you are supporting the preventing of veteran suicides and promoting wellness of veterans through their use of the art of film making, videography and many other diverse forms of the arts.
The Austin Veterans/Military Film Festival was beyond awesome in 2024 and will be great again in 2025 because our veterans make some great films and movies. By participating in this festival, AVAFEST and the VSPChannel are also cultivating and encouraging new veteran filmmakers that love sharing their stories and talents on the big screen.
The VSPChannel is a nonprofit 501c3 corporation and has operated its own ROKU television channel since 2021 and is founded to broadcast Wellness and Entertainment to Veterans 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, at no cost to them. "We are proud to offer veterans, military personnel their families and the general public the opportunity to show their film and video creativity in our new film festival and give their projects a home on our national broadcasting channel.
The theme for this year’s AVAFEST Film Festival is “HARVESTING THE FILM CREATIVITY OF AMERICA'S VETERANS." We know that our veterans, military personnel and their family members are talented enough to create one of the most popular film festivals in America, and we are dedicated to working towards making and growing the AVAFEST VETERAN/MILITARY FILM FESTIVAL into one of the best in the world.
Remember, the purpose of this film festival is not only to be entertained and have some fun, but like all of the other projects produced by AVAFEST, it is designed to encourage our veterans and all other participants to use the arts for healing purposes. "We want Veterans and Military Personnel to "USE THE ART OF FILM MAKING AS A MEANS OF HEALING THEMSELVES AND OTHERS."
We have created several diverse and popular categories for awards in our AVAFEST VETERAN/MILITARY FILM FESTIVAL. This year, because of financial considerations, there may not be cash awards. However, our plan is to implement them if we can. Cash prizes will not exceed $200 per category this year should they be added. That being said, All of our filmmakers who win "best film" this year in their category will receive a beautiful bronze plaque with the their name on it, the name of their film, the category in which it won BEST and the year it was awarded. The Bronze plaque award will be affixed with the VSPChannel and AVAFEST official logos. The categories are:
BEST FEATURE FILM
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM SHORT
BEST SHORT FILM
BEST SHORT COMEDY FILM
BEST SUPER SHORT DOCUMENTARY
BEST THERAPY FILM
BEST MUSIC VIDEO
BEST PATRIOT DIVISION FILM
If you are a patriot who just loves and respects veterans and has a veteran-related project, your submission is important to us and we encourage you to submit your work, too.
Films may also be considered and selected to play on the Veterans' Arts and Wellness Network on our ROKU television channel which is also online, with your consent. Once you have been notified that your film has been selected, and if you are a member of FilmFreeway, you may also create a laurel on the FilmFreeway website under SUBMISSIONS. If you are not a member of FilmFreeway, we will print a laurel of acceptance into our film festival for you. However, we strongly recommend that you join FilmFreeway. They are the best!