Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival (FLIFF) is one of the premier cultural events in South Florida, celebrating bold storytelling, global perspectives, and the art of cinema. Taking place February 19th – 27th, 2027, FLIFF continues its legacy of excellence by showcasing a dynamic selection of features and documentaries from emerging and established filmmakers around the world.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of Fort Lauderdale, the festival offers filmmakers not just a screening opportunity, but a true audience experience—engaged, diverse, and passionate about film. Selected projects are presented in state-of-the-art venues, with opportunities for Q&As, industry networking, press exposure, and awards recognition.

Why submit to FLIFF?

Engaged Audiences: Screen your film for enthusiastic, film-loving audiences who actively support independent cinema.

Prime Location: Benefit from a South Florida setting that attracts both local and international attendees.

Industry Access: Connect with fellow filmmakers, producers, and industry professionals through curated networking events.

Press & Visibility: Gain exposure through regional and national media coverage.
Awards & Recognition: Compete for festival honors that can elevate your film’s profile and distribution opportunities.

Filmmaker Experience: Enjoy a welcoming, filmmaker-focused environment that values creativity and storytelling.

FLIFF is committed to discovering fresh voices and innovative storytelling. We welcome submissions across all genres and formats, with a special appreciation for films that challenge perspectives, spark conversation, and leave a lasting impression.

Join us and be part of a festival that champions creativity, connects filmmakers with audiences, and celebrates the power of cinema.

FLIFFShorts enters its third season (actually season 1.5), November 5th - 8th, 2026. To enter a short film, please visit https://filmfreeway.com/FLIFFShorts

If you are entering a STUDENT film, you must include the name of your school and city.
Once you are accepted, we will need an DCP or MP4 file of your film, plus a YouTube trailer.

Past Guests
Over our four decades we have honored and/or featured a vast variety of industry leaders, including:

Ben Affleck, Shoreh Aghdashloo, Karen Allen, Jason Alexander, Claude Akins, Christina Applegate, David Arquette, Ed Asner, Armand Assante, and Lord Richard Attenborough are joined by Carroll Baker, Daniel Baldwin, Stephen Baldwin, Fairuza Balk, Steven Bauer, Jennifer Beals, Maria Bello, Jonathan Bird, Jacqueline Bisset, Karen Black, Shane Black, Claire Bloom, Zoe Bleu, Peter Bogdanovich, Michael Bolton, Ernest Borgnine, Beau Bridges, Matthew Broderick, Betty Buckley, Cara Buono, and Edward Burns.

Also included are James Caan, Michael Caine, Irene Cara, Nestor Carbonell, Leslie Caron, Joelle Carter, Veronica Cartwright, Seymour Cassel, Kim Cattrall, Lumi Cavazos, Richard Chamberlain, Charles Champlin, Michael Chiklis, Candy Clark, Rory Cochran, Ethan Coen, Jason Connery, Roger Corman, Bryan Cranston, Michael Crichton, Jon Cryer, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Tony Curtis, and Henry Czerny.

The list continues with Arlene Dahl, Stephen Daldry, Tim Daly, Matt Damon, Keith David, Beverly D’Angelo, Dana Delany, Artus de Penguerin, Joyce DeWitt, Fred Dryer, Keir Dullea, Charles Durning, and Eliza Dushku, alongside Giancarlo Esposito, Robert Evans, Shaun Evans, Peter Falk, Dennis Farina, Robert Forster, David Frankel, John Frankenheimer, Connie Francis, and Laura Frazier.

Further names include Bob Gale, Vittorio Gassman, Ben Gazzara, Alexie Gilmore, Adam Goldberg, Bobcat Goldthwait, Rob Goodman, Elliott Gould, Graham Greene, Ioan Gruffudd, Steve Guttenberg, Lukas Haas, George Hamilton, Melora Hardin, Ed Harris, Jared Harris, Guy Harvey, Dennis Haysbert, Audrey Hepburn, George Hickenlooper, Arthur Hiller, Gregory Hines, Celeste Holm, Ernie Hudson, Finola Hughes, and Tab Hunter.

Also appearing are Anne Jackson, Joshua Jackson, Victoria Jackson, Thomas Jane, Norman Jewison, Van Johnson, Aphrodite Jones, Davy Jones, Ashley Judd, Howard Keel, David Keith, Irvin Kershner, Ben Kingsley, Barbara Koppel, Jon Landau, Piper Laurie, Marc Lawrence, Spike Lee, Jerry Lewis, Christopher Lloyd, Rod Lurie, Jane Lynch, Bailee Madison, Wendie Malick, Ann-Margret, Lee Majors, Mary Stuart Masterson, Paul Mazursky, Andrew McCarthy, Kevin McCarthy, Christopher McDonald, Darren McGavin, Jack McGee, Kelly McGillis, Penelope Ann Miller, Edgar Mitchell, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Moore, Roger Moore, Rob Morrow, Stephen Moyer, the Munchkins, and Michael Murphy.

The compilation further includes Leslie Nielsen, Nick Nolte, Donald O’Connor, Edward James Olmos, Patrick O’Neal, Joe Pantoliano, Michael Paré, Adrian Pasdar, Estelle Parsons, Arthur Penn, Hopper Jack Penn, Jo Ann Pflug, Michelle Phillips, Christopher Plummer, Bill Plympton, Benoît Poelvoorde, Pamela Poitier, Edward Pressman, Vincent Price, John Randolph, John Ratzenberger, Lynn Redgrave, Tim Reid, Jeremy Renner, Burt Reynolds, Alan Rickman, Doris Roberts, Eric Roberts, Alexandre Rockwell, Leonard Rosenman, Gary Ross, Tim Roth, Gena Rowlands, Saul Rubinek, Ingrid Rubio, Jane Russell, and Mark Rydell.

Finally, the list concludes with Eva Marie Saint, Mia Sara, John Sayles, Johnathon Schaech, John Schlesinger, Paul Schulze, Martin Scorsese, John Shea, Talia Shire, Kin Shriner, Wil Shriner, Elisabeth Shue, George Sidney, Jonathan Silverman, Gary Sinise, Tom Sizemore, Leland Sklar, Charles Martin Smith, Paul Sorvino, Brittany Snow, Kevin Spacey, Alana Stewart, Mel Stuart, D.B. Sweeney, Loretta Swit, Noah Taylor, Marlo Thomas, Lea Thompson, Mario Tosi, Frank Vincent, Eli Wallach, J.T. Walsh, John Waters, Lina Wertmüller, Fred Willard, Paul Williams, Treat Williams, Robert Wise, John Woo, Chuck Workman, Robert Wuhl, and Ian Ziering.

We hope to add your name to this list!