The Williston Film Festival showcases high school student films from independent and public schools alike, from across New England and beyond. Hosted by The Williston Northampton School, in Easthampton, Massachusetts, USA.

Awards & Prizes

Awards Process:
A panel of film and TV professionals will serve as judges, and will review films selected by the student club panel for inclusion. At the festival, once all films have been screened, the judges will share their decisions, and awards will be given. Trophies will be shipped to those winners unable to attend in person.

Our festival selects one winning film from the final screening lineup for each of the following categories:

Best Picture
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Documentary
Best PSA
Most Creative
Audience's Choice

Rules & Terms

All Entries Must:
+ Be the work of a current middle- or high school student;
+ Be no more than 8 minutes in length;
+ Include all the required information in the submission form
+ Be submitted by 11:59pm on April 15th, 2026
+ Be in good taste.

Entries Must Not:
- Be professional work for which the student has been paid;
- Contain explicit/"R"-rated content (i.e. violence, sex, nudity, alcohol or drug use, etc.)
- Be majority AI-generated material (>50%), or contain any undisclosed AI-generated material; any and all AI-generated content must be noted.

A note about copyrighted music: when possible, please use original or copyright-free music.

Tips:
*Do not feel obligated to use the maximum time for your project. Less is more, and tight editing will improve any film or ad. There is no minimum time.
*Sound is very important. Make sure yours is optimized for the best viewing experience.