The Tucson Film Festival (fka TFMF or Tucson Film & Music Festival ) celebrates the past, present and future of the Tucson, Arizona filmmaking scene. The festival accepts narrative and documentary features, and shorts of all genres including Animation, Experimental, Comedy, Drama and World. Tucson Film Festival will continue to focus on music-related content, with an emphasis on films and filmmakers with a connection to Arizona and the desert Southwest.

"The Tucson Film & Music Festival is the best fest I’ve seen in Tucson." 
-- AZ Daily Star

“What a kick ass event!” -- Allison Anders, Director (Gas, Food Lodging / Grace of My Heart)

"Tucson Film & Music Festival was an invaluable experience.   A great promotional tool and a huge boost for our film! The festival's so well organized and the staff are friendly, efficient and knowledgeable. I met and networked with other like-minded filmmakers.  Tucson's a great town for film." 
-- Petina Cole, The Talking Pictures Company

"Tucson Film & Music Festival is stealing much of the limelight from other local festivals."
 -- Caliente / Arizona Daily Star

"The Tucson Film & Music Festival is an awesome venue for exposure and support of independent music culture.  Their support of nerdcore hip-hop in was awesome!  Rock on guys!" -- MC Lars, Musician

“Thanks for having us at TFMF! We had such a great time! We’ve never been to Tucson before… such a cool, fun place to be! -- The Sibley’s (Nowhere Now) Pioneertown, CA

Now in its 21st year, the Tucson Film Festival has screened over 850 films since its inception. With attendance of over 9 thousand filmgoers, TFF has showcased a plethora of Arizona and World Premiere screenings including Academy Award® winning shorts "I'm Not A Robot" (dir. Victoria Warmerdam) and “God Of Love” (dir. Luke Matheny), plus feature films “Anvil: The Story of Anvil” (dir. Sacha Gervasi),”Strutter” (dir. Allison Anders), “Kumaré” (dir. Vikram Gandhi), "The Song of Sway Lake" and "The Adventures of Power" (dir. Ari Gold), "The Last Safari" (dir. Matt Goldman), "Pavilion" (dir. Tim Sutton), “Hell on Wheels” (dir. Bob Ray), “Scott Walker: 30 Century Man” (dir. Stephan Kijak) and Heaven Adores You: Elliott Smith (dir. Nickolas Rossi).

TUCSON FILM FESTIVAL ENTRY RULES AND REGULATIONS

QUALIFICATION FOR ENTRIES: Any feature, short film or video, made for cinema, television or the Internet may be entered. Feature films must be between 40 and 120 minutes in length; Short Films less than 20 minutes. All submitted works must be in English or have English subtitles. Only works completed after January 1, 2024 will be accepted.

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS: Works submitted for selection must be submitted digitally via secure online screener. Selected films must be presented on BluRay (NTSC Region 0 or 1 only) for features; ProRes .mov Quicktime file for short films.

SELECTION: All submitted works will be judged by the Festival Committee. The Festival Committee reserves the right to determine the eligibility of any project. Works will be categorized at the sole discretion of the Festival Committee. Selected entrants will be informed of their status on or around October 15, 2025. All features selected must be Arizona premieres. Shorts films selected must be Tucson premieres and not screen at another local festival within 45 days of screening at Tucson Film Festival.

TRANSPORTATION AND INSURANCE: The submitter is responsible for the transport costs, insurance charges and customs fees incurred when shipping material to the Festival. The Festival is responsible for the costs incurred with the return of material to the filmmaker - however, due to budgetary limitations, the material will be shipped via SURFACE MAIL. Filmmakers requesting the return of materials via courier must incur the cost themselves. Although they will take every precaution, the Tucson Film Festival cannot be held responsible for the loss or damage of entry and exhibition materials.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Rafi Jacobs

    The Tucson Film Festival is a gem of a fest. Michael and his team do an outstanding job bringing together indie film lovers in an environment that genuinely feels like you’re amongst family. The Screening Room is their superb venue which consistently looked and sounded great throughout the weekend. The energy of Tucson radiated out from bustling downtown clubs and eateries out to the calming beauty of outer neighborhoods populated with historical adobe homes, galleries, and cafes. Be sure to carve out a side trip to Gates Pass Scenic Lookout for an epic sunset only 20 minutes from town. I was honored to be a part of the 2024 programming and I hope to be back in Tucson soon with future projects.

    March 2025
  • Kyle Ensrude

    Awesome festival with great communication -- they make the filmmakers feel welcome and celebrated with personal, generous attention. Everything from the venue to the quality of programming and Q&A's were fantastic. We highly recommend submitting to the Tucson Film Festival!

    December 2024
  • Dan Winerman

    Tucson Film Festival screened my very first film Summer Break and for that they will always be near and dear to my heart. They don't just offer screening opportunities, but they welcome filmmakers into a family that deeply cares about cinema. Being apart of Tucson Film Festival is a huge honor and it feels like I'm a member of a really cool club!

    December 2024
  • Brett Jones

    My name is Debbie Richert. My sister and I flew from Kansas to attend the Tucson Film Festival in my son, Brett Jones', place due to his passing on 1/4/24. Michael was so kind and patient with me as I gathered everything they needed for them to show the last film my son made. I was invited up after his film to say a few words about my son and about the film festival we created in his honor, Old Times Not Forgotten Film Festival. Michael also kind enough to offer his assistance with our film festival. We meet and talked with a lot of wonderful people. It was a great experience!!

    November 2024
  • Ryan Clausen

    Honored to have the world premiere of Happy Birthday, Jamie at Tucson Film Festival. Michael was great to work with. It was very cool seeing my film covered on the local news.

    November 2024