SPECIAL EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT CODE: "EB2027"

The BSFF is part of the 501(c)(3) organization known as the Borrego Springs Film Institute. The BSFI•BSFF's goal is to celebrate the cinematic arts with our community. We love the atmosphere of an old-fashioned film festival, and we strive to create that traditional experience.

We do a single screening BLOCK at a time while mixing the films with fun filmmaker-centric events in between. That's our BSFF model and it really works!

We feature great local attendance, a catered opening gala, a filmmaker networking event, our catered Saturday party, panel discussions, workshops, hang-outs, filmmaker tourism activities, red-carpet events, and a catered grand award ceremony.

We also offer the $1,000 cash prize "Laara Award" for most inspirational film.

The BSFF takes place in one of the most beautiful locations in the world, Borrego Springs, CA. Our vibe is desert eclectic. Vintage trailers, refined mid-century modern neighborhoods, primitive pup-tent camping, or even world class resort living, it's all here.

Our selection committee is made up of numerous Borregans, and they embrace a wide scope of productions. Everything from highly crafted films to sentimental favorites are part of our programming.

You’ll meet and greet your audience, lounge with other filmmakers, and interact with everyone. We even have homemade cookies. Do you know about our homemade cookies?

You need to find out about Pam's homemade cookies.

Cookies!

Our submission categories are also our main competition categories. Please choose to submit your film into the category in which you'd like to compete.

Submissions are juried by volunteer panels of industry professionals in the following categories:

Best Short Under 20 Minutes
Best Short 20 to 50 Minutes
Best Feature Film
Best Animation
Best Documentary Over 30 Minutes
Best Documentary Under 30 Minutes
Best International Film

Sub categories awarded by our BSFF panel:

Best Youth Film | Under 18
Best Student Film
Best Comedy
Best Director Feature
Best Director Short
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Music Score
Best Performance Comedy
Best Performance Drama

Additionally, top audience votes for films will win the BSFF "PEOPLE'S CHOICE" award(s).

The BSFF also gives out "THE GOLDEN COOKIE" award for stories and attitudes that directly resonate with the culture of Borrego Springs.

Finally, we also offer the $1,000 cash prize "Laara Award" for most inspirational film.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

Entrant confirms and warrants required legal authority to submit the entry into the festival and to use all music, images, and content in the entry.

All films must be in English or subtitled in English.

PAYMENT

Pay entry fees online during the online application process.

DIGITAL PR:

If your film is accepted, you must be able to provide: a hi-res film still, a digital hi-res poster of your movie, a digital high-res image of the director and/or producer, and a synopsis of your film in 140 characters or less.

FILM TRAILERS:

The BSFF features trailers of selected films during our screenings, as well as showcasing the trailers on our website and social media. Accepted films will provide a trailer no less than :30 and no longer than 3:15.

MULTIPLE ENTRIES

A film can be submitted into multiple categories. Each category requires it's own individual submission.

NOTIFICATION

If your film is selected to be part of the BSFF, you will be notified, via the email listed on your FilmFreeway profile, on or about November 5. You will also be notified by email if your film is not selected.

FEEDBACK

We are unable to respond with feedback or explanations if your film is not accepted. The popularity of the expanding BSFF means we receive many more worthy films than we have programming space to screen.

EXHIBITION FILM REQUIREMENTS

All accepted film will submit screeners uploaded via the internet. mp4, prores, or DNxHD

The exhibition copy of your film must be received no later than December 5th. Accepted films that miss the deadline will be removed from the program and replaced.

RELEASE & LICENSING AGREEMENT

By submitting your film: you acknowledge and agree that to the best of my knowledge, I am duly authorized to submit this film to Borrego Springs Film Festival (BSFF) and to grant permissions related to its use. Submitting a film to BSFF constitutes an agreement by and between the filmmaker/representative and BSFF.

You grant permission to BSFF to use supplied film clips/stills for promotional use. You allow BSFF and any third parties at the festival the right to film, videotape and photograph your appearance and voice for any and all marketing and promotion of Borrego Springs Film Festival.

You indemnify and hold harmless BSFF, its judges, affiliates, staff, sponsors and partners, individually and collectively, from and against all claims, demands, losses, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of or in connection with any and all claims, or third party claims based on stories or films submitted to BSFF.

If my film is accepted into the BSFF, you grant BSFF the non-exclusive right to right to show and market my film in its entirety as BSFF sees fit during festival week. BSFF does not take any copyright or ownership of your film.

By submitting, you agree to all of these rules, terms and conditions. You acknowledge that no submission fee refunds are given once this application has been submitted. You also acknowledge that you will not receive any compensation for the use of your film by BSFF in accordance with the rules, terms and conditions.

You understand and acknowledge that, if you are under 18 years of age, your parent or guardian must agree to the terms of this Filmmaker Release on your behalf. As a Parent or Guardian of a minor filmmaker, if applicable, you understand and acknowledge that you are agreeing to the terms of this Filmmaker/Guardian/Representative Release on behalf of your child or a child for whom you are a legally designated Guardian.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Lillian Zheng

    Borrego Festival is a very unique film festival in the U.S. It should rated as the most efficient and friendly film festival in the country. People are really really nice, they are down to the earth in achieving the wonderful experiences for both audiences and film makers. Though, it is a remote town, but they covered everything so smoothly and warmly. Highly suggested for all film makers!

    February 2026
  • Lynnette Luis

    This is a film festival that really cares about independent filmmakers! Our documentary, "Every Line Becomes A Circle" was screened this year at the BSFF, I unfortunately couldn't attend, but all the communication with Matt and Pam was excellent! One of the best experiences with all the pre-planning to get our documentary screened I have had in the past year (with other festivals). Incredibly professional and really caring people!!! Thank you again!!!

    February 2026
  • What a delightful festival! I screened MY LAST MARTINI here and had a blast. A local couple put me up in their guest room as a visiting filmmaker for the entirety of my visit. And that's just one example of the tremendous hospitality offered by this festival; there were parties and networking mixers every day, guided hikes and starwatching gatherings, and a filmmakers' lounge overflowing with food and drinks. Made some solid connections with my peers. Pretty much every screening was sold out (!) Also, spending some time in the desert in January ain't bad!

    January 2026
  • Boris Schaarschmidt

    Fantastic film festival surrounded by the scenic Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The team truly loves films and filmmakers, and they’ve created a wonderful platform for exchange, mingling, and community engagement. They also had some of the best festival communication leading up to the screening, with regular updates, interviews, and genuinely useful tips and information. The screenings were packed and paired with great networking opportunities, casual get-togethers, evening events, a red carpet, stargazing, hikes, and a lounge that was always stocked with fresh cookies. Thank you for a great time and for screening Forever After in Love!

    January 2026
  • Best fest in the West, hands down. The filmmaker lounge was always stocked with pastries, coffee, and great energy—full of good conversations and plenty of laughs. Every night there was a filmmaker event, usually with free food and a celebratory, marketing-meets-networking vibe that made it easy to connect and feel supported. There were several professional photographers on staff constantly capturing moments, and the local community was incredibly welcoming and easy to get along with. The whole experience felt warm, organized, and genuinely centered around filmmakers. We were honored to end up winning Best Overall Film and the Golden Cookie Award (which I proudly ate when I got home).

    January 2026
    Response from festival:

    Hooray for cookies!