Welcome to the Azalea Film Festival, located in heart of the Gulf Coast - Mobile, Alabama. Known as the "Azalea City", Mobile is the birthplace of America's original Mardi Gras that rolls through the streets every year. Our historic downtown is home to art shows, concerts, cook-offs and much, much more.

And... we're back.
This will be our 5th "annual" festival. We had to take a break since COVID forced us to put things on hold. We invite film makers from all over to come to our city and enjoy the southern hospitality at its' finest. Each year, the talent has risen to new heights and this year will be no exception. This season, we will be limited to short films only, up to 40 minutes.

The Azalea Film Festival’s first goal is to acknowledge and award the many talented independent filmmakers, writers and performers who may not get the recognition they deserve through many commercial film festivals. The AFF recognizes filmmakers who demonstrate exceptional achievement in craft and creativity. All genre of films are accepted by AFF. Awards will be distributed, giving filmmakers, writers and actors the opportunity to be noticed. First place films of each category will receive an award trophy plus special recognition for the overall all Best Film.

Additionally, as filmmakers, we recognize the importance of seeing your work on the "big screen". To accomplish that, ALL selected films will screen during the festival at our venue.

Our second goal to provide support to families who struggle with Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD for short). ASD affects 1 in 68 children born every day. In many states, the cost of ongoing specialized care and therapies that many desperately need are not covered by insurance, creating a huge financial burden for the family. With that burden in mind, sometimes a child will not get the early intervention that they need to help the child and the family adapt for life's challenges that come with ASD

This festival will utilize all net proceeds to assist those affected by ASD with various forms of support, including:

* provide scholarships to assist families with the cost of therapy
* provide iPad's as an alternative communication device for nonverbal children
* support and sponsor sensory sensitive alternatives for family fun, education and/or workshops

Awards will be presented for the following categories:

Best Short Film - Narrative
Best Short Film - Documentary
Best Short Film - Animation

All award winners will receive an Azalea Film Festival trophy for their submission.

All submission fees are non-refundable.

If selected, films must be submitted in a final format to be decided based on venue. Currently, our venue REQUIRES DCP format. Failure to provide a DCP formatted film after your film is selected will be an automatic disqualification.

At this time, we are only requesting online submissions and all materials must be available online, as we want to remain as green as possible.

By submitting to the festival, you agree to allow your film (or other artistic work) to be screened by the festival during the festival run, for which you are submitting, at no charge to the festival. In addition, you also agree to allow us to utilize your film, or parts thereof, for promotion purposes only for up to twelve months after the festival dates end.

All films must be in English or subtitled in English.

Films must have been created or completed on or after July 31, 2017. Additionally, Films being entered must not have been broadcast (TV or internet) or exhibited commercially in the U.S. prior to The Festival.

All films selected by the festival will be asked to provide promotional materials, but we ask that no promotional materials be sent until selection.

New judges will be selected each year. Judges will be a panel of peers consisting of directors, producers, actors, writers and/or others who have excelled in the filmmaking process. The decision of the judges are final.

By submitting your film to the festival, you declare that you are own all copyrights or permission from the owner or the copyrights, of everything contained in the submitted film(s) and shall indemnify the Azalea Film Festival, it's Board of Directors, judges, screeners or employees, from any claim, if any, that may arise. The festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission at any time for any reason, including but not limited to any question of ownership, copyright infringement or any sign of disrespect (in any form of media) to the festival or its representatives.

All participating filmmakers will receive two (2) complimentary passes to the festival and any associated events.