This festival is for current students at The University of Central Arkansas only.

MISSION & OBJECTIVE
The Mission of the UCA Film Festival is to present the Arkansas community with the best of UCA STUDENT produced work that fits within the ethos of our film program. Only films created by current UCA STUDENTS will be accepted into the UCA Film Festival.

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
The UCA Film Festival is an event to bring the campus community together, as well as working filmmakers across the region. Prior to the festival there will be a networking party where students are encouraged to meet up with other filmmakers and make connections for future crew positions.

SUBMITTING
Once you've created an account you'll need to enter your film into the FilmFreeway database and upload a copy to FilmFreeway or Vimeo (with a password, please). Make sure the link to the Vimeo video and the password are both a part of your film's FilmFreeway account.

RECOMMENDATIONS
The UCA Faculty generally recommend that students submit films under 15 minutes.

20 minutes is the maximum total run time that will be considered, and this length must include credits.

If you submit a work-in-progress cut, please send a message within FilmFreeway's submission process stating what aspects will be changed prior to the screening.

Please make efforts to do a sound mix and color grade prior to submission, even if that is still a work-in-progress. If a film's sound mix is poor, it is likely to take the film out of the running.

Awards & Prizes

Best Film

Best Director

Best Original Story

Best Performance

Best Cinematography

Best Production Design

Best Editing

Best Sound Design

Best Original Score

Audience Award (Presented by Film Club)

Student Producer of the Year

Critical Studies Award

Rules & Terms

This festival is for current students at the University of Central Arkansas who have completed their film during the 2025/2026 school year. Films submitted in previous years cannot be resubmitted. Graduate thesis films are not eligible.

There is no fee to submit.

By submitting to the UCAFilm Festival you are acknowledging that you have the rights to any and all music, images, etc. that appear in your film.

This year the UCA Film Festival will work to be accessible. The screenings will be held in Reynolds Performance Hall, which is wheelchair accessible. Additionally we will be offering a digital viewing of the festival to people unable to attend in-person. This digital viewing experience will only be accessible during the festival. By submitting your film, you consent to allow your film to be streamed during the festival. The digital link will be disabled within 24 hours after the event. If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Emily Railsback (erailsback@uca.edu).

Students may submit multiple films. The faculty curate student films that showcase strong story, production value, and innovation, while striving to highlight as many different student voices as possible.

20 minutes is the maximum total run time that will be considered, and this length must include credits.