Our THREE-DAY LIVE FESTIVAL will be held August 21st-23rd, 2026 at the Asheville Masonic Temple in beautiful downtown Asheville, North Carolina.

Our festival is PEER-JUDGED. That means that everyone who submits a film that is selected as a "Semi-Finalist" in the festival has the option of judging the submissions and scoring for awards.

Asheville Film Festival, Co. is a North Carolina non-profit whose vision is to create and grow a platform for regional and local innovative filmmakers with stories to tell. But we welcome filmmakers world-wide. Our festival weekend will feature welcome events, LIVE screenings, and filmmaking workshops, and Saturday's red-carpet Awards Night Gala.

WAIT, THE FILMMAKERS JUDGE THE FILMS? Yes, all filmmakers who submit a film that is chosed as a "Semi-Finalist" in the festival will have the ability to act as judges for their respective competitions. A "Semi-Finalist" designation means that the film has passed the initial judging round and is still "in consideration" to be screened at the festival (but not guaranteed to be screened).

This year we will showcase fiction/narrative short films (less than 40 mins) and short documentary films (less than 40 mins) that have not yet won the top award at another film festival as of the time of their submission to Asheville Film Festival.

To be eligible for the "Student Discount", the filmmaker (Writer, Director, DP, or a majority of the cast or crew) must be a student (including film school) at the time the project was made.

Visit www.AshevilleFilmFestival.org for information.

Awards & Prizes

The live Awards Night Gala will be held on Saturday, August 22nd, 2026 in downtown Asheville, North Carolina. Our fun-filled Red-Carpet Awards Night Gala will include screenings of the top films and an "Oscar-style" awards night celebration at the Historic Asheville Masonic Temple. Award winners receive a personalized trophy.

Awards for the top films include CASH Prizes and other goodies! (TBA)

Trophies have been awarded for:

Best Film
Runner-up Best Film
Best Documentary
Best Local Documentary
Best Narrative Short
Best Student Film
Best Indigenous Film (Created by Indigenous People)
Best Director
Best Directorial Debut
Best Cinematography
Best Production Design
Best Sound Design
Best Editing
Best Screenplay
Best Visual Effects
Best Wardrobe
Best Hair and Makeup
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Actor Supporting Role
Best Actress Supporting Role
Best Emerging Artist
Best Original Song or Score
The Pathfinder Award (Filmmaker that forges their own path)
The Mountain Strong Award (Film that demonstrates strength and resiliency in the face of adversity)
The Spirit of Asheville Award (the film that best represents the spirit of Asheville)

Rules & Terms

1- In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
2- For your submission to be eligible for selection, your short film must not have won "Best Film", (or the equivalent) at any other film festival.
3- The Festival relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
4- IF YOU QUALIFY AS A SEMI-FINALIST, AND YOU WISH TO PARTICIPATE AS A JUDGE, you must check your email that you use for FilmFreeway and respond to the request for judges. A Semi-finalist designation does not mean your film will be screened, it just means your film is amazing, and is still in consideration.
5- For more Information visit www.ashevillefilmfestival.org
5- Any Foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
6- ASHEVILLE FILM FESTIVAL, CO. will not be responsible for damaged copies.
7- CHANGE: Due to Demand, whatever FORMAT you can submit through FilmFreeway is acceptable. We will NOT be able to use DCPs for the live Events, so... Yay!
8- Films in other than English must have English subtitles.
9- Not all the submissions are selected for the Official Competition. Our Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films. You may submit more than one film or category.
10-Be sure that your film runtime is less than 40 mins for narrative short films and documentaries. All fees are non-refundable.
11- By submitting your movie, you authorize ASHEVILLE FILM FESTIVAL, CO. to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills in our social media.
12- The applicants (submitters) must accept ASHEVILLE FILM FESTIVAL, CO.'s Rules and Terms.
13- When submitting your film, you are consenting to our Privacy Policy. We are committed to respecting each filmmaker's preferences. We might contact you through your email or social media provided in the submission page to communicate updates on your submission status, screening and format requirements, events ticket confirmation, as well as to provide information about events, services, promotions that we think you might be interested in. You can unsubscribe from any marketing or advertising newsletter from us simply by clicking unsubscribe. Even when unsubscribing from a marketing newsletter, you can still receive any communication regarding your submission status through the FilmFreeway system. For more information about our associated event, please refer to ashevillefilmfestival.org. If you need further information, please contact us via ashevillefilmfestival@gmail.com, and we will be happy to help you.
4 Reviews
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  • Alex Thomas

    This is a must attend festival. My team and I had a wonderful time screening our film, ‘Darling Vera’. Sean and his team did a phenomenal job putting the event together. It was so cool to see a weekend of movies in a historic venue in the mountains. The community really showed up in support of the arts and there were so many opportunities to meet fellow filmmakers and I would gladly recommend this festival.

    September 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Alex, it was so nice to meet you and the cast and crew that attended. 'Darling Vera' is such a wonderful film! Kudos to you all, and congrats!

  • Neal O'Bryan

    The inaugural Asheville Film Festival was such a blast. Screenings were well attended, the film lineup was strong, and there were plenty of opportunities for filmmakers to connect with each other and with audiences. From start to finish, it was clear how much care and effort went into making this first year special.

    Sean and the entire festival crew worked tirelessly to keep everything running smoothly. The whole weekend felt professional, welcoming, and celebratory. As both a filmmaker (Script Tease) and a fan, I felt truly included in the event. Asheville FF has already set the bar high, and I can’t wait to see it grow from here.

    September 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thanks Neal! 'Script Tease' rocked! It was a wonderful opener for our Feral Friday film block! Good luck to you and we hope to see your future projects!

  • Maya Símone

    I had such a wonderful experience premiering my romcom Rosa’s Dilemma at the Asheville Film Festival! Sean was incredibly welcoming to my cast, crew, and me, and the community of filmmakers I met there was just amazing. The awards ceremony was a highlight and so thoughtfully done. I’m truly grateful my film was chosen for the very first year of the festival, and I can’t wait to attend again in the future, whether as a filmmaker or audience member. For anyone searching for festivals to submit to, this one is absolutely worth it and is sure to grow into something even bigger!

    August 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you Maya! It was so wonderful to see all of you throughout the weekend, and even more wonderful to see all of the awards you won! Your film was so cool - it warmly reminded the Gen-Xers on the staff of the John Hughes films of the 80s. You have such talent and a bright future!

  • blue redwood film

    It's a lot of fun. Well curated (they let the filmmakers help select), great people, beautiful setting. Really well done for it's first year. Sean (and the board) puts everything into it. The award gala is a blast. Definitely submit.

    August 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for submitting Motorcycle Man and making the trip from Cali! Speaking of fun - your film helped set the stage for our festival on Opening Night, and we appreciate you very much. Keep on Dancin'!