2026 Special Guest: Doug Jones (The Shape of Water)

For more than two decades, the River Bend Film Festival has stood as the premier gathering spot for independent filmmakers, music-video creators, and writers from Indiana, across the country, and around the world.

This three-day celebration returns Labor Day Weekend, 2026, set against the charm of Goshen — a unique blend of small-town warmth and creative urban energy in the heart of northern Indiana.

All screenings take place in the beautifully restored Goshen Theater, while hands-on workshops, Q&As, filmmaker coffee talks, and special guest appearances unfold both there and in nearby venues. The festival thrives on connection, and we invite audiences, filmmakers, and writers to meet, mingle, and spark meaningful conversations throughout the weekend.

Past special guests have included:

2025 Key Special Guests: Jefferson White (Yellowstone), Linus O'Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show doc), Stephen Susco (The Grudge).

2023 Key Special Guest:
David Anspaugh (Director of Rudy & Hoosiers), accompanied with the 30th Anniversary screening of Rudy.

2025 FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHT VIDEO: https://youtu.be/GizqsmagnCU

2024 FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHT VIDEO: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYBBIzg0YpY

Awards & Prizes

Spirit of The Fest
Best Narrative Short
Best Documentary Short
Best Indiana Film
Best Student Film
Best Feature Script (Unproduced)
Best Short Script (Unproduced)

Screenplay Competition:
Judge: Stephen Susco, writer/director of THE GRUDGE, BEYOND THE REACH, UNFRIENDED: Dark Web

Rules & Terms

We are only accepting online submissions, please do not mail any physical material.

Script Submissions:
Local judges select the "Finalists"; Writer/Producer/Director Stephen Susco will select the Winner of both script categories and provide verbal feedback to the Winners
Entries must be in English
Submit only through FilmFreeway in PDF format
Previously produced or optioned or otherwise encumbered scripts are not eligible
All submitted materials must be the original work of the author(s)
Adaptations of prior works must give source material credit
Pages should be numbered
Feature scripts 70-120 pages
Short scripts 1-40 pages
You may include or omit a title page at your option
Once submitted material is received, no refund of entry fee will be made
Resubmissions will incur a separate entry fee
Script registration with the WGA and/or the U.S. Copyright Office is strongly encouraged
66 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Joe Reiter

    River Bend Film Festival was awesome! Great hospitality, and organizers did a great job at getting us all the info we needed to plan a weekend in Goshen.

    Goshen Theatre was an amazing venue to host the screenings, and seeing my short on the big screen was such a rewarding experience. I met tons of great artists and directors, and I am looking forward to submitting again next year!!

    September 2025
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  • Graham Hastings

    It was an absolute privilege to attend the festival for my film Anywhere, IL. The town of Goshen was very charming and the team’s great communication and excellent events made the experience incredibly special. Thank you so much for having me!

    September 2025
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  • Travis Timm

    This is a lovely festival. I enjoyed myself.

    September 2025
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  • Autumn Libengood

    It was absolutely wonderful being part of your film festival. Thank you very much for having us!

    September 2025
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  • Michele Noble

    River Bend Film Festival is a terrific film festival!! Jordan Hodges and the whole River Bend Film Festival team is attentive and really deliver for the films and filmmakers. Very cool programming with well attended screenings!. The after screening gatherings and morning coffee talks were great for networking. Thank you for selecting our film, The Yellow Sponge is the Dish Sponge. It was great to be a part of this AWESOME film festival!! Highly recommend!

    September 2025
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