Citizens’ Environmental Coalition (CEC) is proud to host the fifth Wild About Houston Film Festival at our 2026 Green Film Festival. The Green Films Festival features short films that are entertaining, educational, and above all, inspirational. Wild About Houston Film Festival is CEC's homegrown film contest created to shine a light on the environmental stories, issues, and changemakers shaping the Greater Houston and Gulf Coast region.

We welcome documentaries, narratives, animations, and hybrid formats that focus on the Houston area ecosystems, challenges, and solutions. The films may explore climate change, nature, wildlife, air and water quality, youth environmental education, resilience or any topic that encourages environmental awareness and stewardship. Our goal is to inspire action, celebrate grassroots leadership, and connect more people with the environmental movement in our region.

In addition to screening the top finalists in each Wild about Houston category, we'll also screen a selection from the nationally acclaimed Wild & Scenic Film Festival on Tour and host a few panel discussions with local environmentalists and filmmakers.

Our judges include Jay Kleberg, producer and host of Chasing the Tide tv series and Ana Bueno, Univision's 5X EMMY Award Winner and 3X Telly Award Winner Environment Reporter. Stay tuned for additional judge announcements.

Location: The DeLUXE Theater in Houston, TX
Date: January 17, 2026

Awards & Prizes

Awards will be given for:
Best Environmental Short
Best Student Filmmaker Short
Audience Favorite

Prize information coming soon.

Rules & Terms

1. Filmmakers may only submit one original work that is suitable for a public audience.

2. Entry must be 5 minutes or less and specific to the environment in the Houston/Gulf Coast Region. Films that do NOT have an obvious connection to the Greater Houston area will be disqualified.

3. Submission copies must be submitted online on FilmFreeway. (no DVDs, Blu-rays, DCPs, thumb drives, or other physical media will be considered)

4. All entries selected for our 2026 festival grant Citizens' Environmental Coalition (CEC) the right to use film stills and portions of accepted films for promotional purposes.

5. If accepted, final screening copies must arrive no later than January 5, 2026, or the entry will not be included in the festival. Filmmakers are responsible for shipping costs to the festival. All copies of the films become CEC's property unless otherwise directed.

6. Non-English entries must be submitted with English subtitles.

7. CEC has a preference for all films to have open captions for the 2026 edition. At minimum all films must submit a closed caption file in .scc, .srt, or .vtt format if accepted if not open captioned, however burned open captions are preferred.

8. Only films completed after January 1, 2025 will be considered for Official Selection unless otherwise approved.

9. Wild about Houston does not show works in progress unless otherwise approved. Completed projects are preferred.

10. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that:
-Your film is not subject to any litigation, nor is it threatened by any litigation.
-You are duly authorized to have this film be screened at the festival.
-You have secured the rights to any and all music and/or footage used in the film.
-You fully indemnify and hold CEC completely harmless from any and all claims whatsoever that may arise as a result of usage of submitted materials.

Read complete rules at https://cechouston.org/greenfilms/