"A film festival for student filmmakers, by student filmmakers.”

The Cherry Reel Film Festival has two goals:

To give talented creators a platform to proudly show their work.
To enhance the creative competitiveness and collaborative possibilities between student filmmakers in the Albuquerque, NM area.

The 2024 Cherry Reel Student Film Festival had over 100 student films submitted. The top films were screened at UNM in the Popejoy Theater for the first time ever! Submission genres ranged from HORROR, SCI-FI, COMEDY, EXPERIMENTAL, DOCUMENTARY, ANIMATED SHORT, MUSIC VIDEO and many more! This year YOU can be part of Cherry Reel!

In our past few years, we had participation from the NM Film Office, IATSE, & SAG. We brought industry professionals to network with UNM Students. This event included writers, actors, directors, producers and many more. We are aiming to bring these folks back to connect with you, view your work, and provide career advice.

Regardless if you're a first-time filmmaker looking to submit or a returning filmmaker looking to see how you stack up, Cherry Reel is a film festival for the students, by the students.

Submissions for the 2026 Cherry Reel Film Festival will open January 24th 2026, and the Festival will take place April 17th 2026!

Awards & Prizes

- Best In Festival
- Golden Cherry in Directing
- Golden Cherry in Acting 
- Golden Cherry in Cinematography
- Golden Cherry in Animation
- Golden Cherry in Experimental Filmmaking
- Golden Cherry in Documentary Filmmaking
- Golden Cherry in Music Videos

Award Plaques will be issued for these as well!
- (Prizes to be announced)

We will also award (Official Certificates):
- Audiences Choice

Rules & Terms

Rules for Submission
● Submission deadline is March 13th by 11:59pm. No entry fee required.
● Total runtime MAY NOT exceed 13-14 minutes, including end credits.
● Films created from any year of your school tenure are accepted.
● Films submitted to other festivals will be accepted, as well as online exhibition.
● Submitting student(s) MUST BE the writer, director, cinematographer, producer, or editor of the film. No other submitting positions will be accepted.
● Submitting students must be current students at the University of New Mexico.
● Films submitted online must be submitted in an appropriate media format (h.264 mp4s preferred, although final selections must provide a ProRes file.)
● All copyrighted material must have been cleared for exhibition.
● Films that have been created/submitted for school courses are accepted.

The link to submit will be posted on January 24th.