The Georgia Documentary Film Festival is a theatrical screening event in Atlanta, Georgia. Our mission is to screen independently produced documentary films from around the world at Atlanta Brewing Company every year. We support and screen films from the state of Georgia, all 50 US States, as well as International Documentary Films. Every film that is submitted to the Georgia Documentary Film Festival will be graded by 12 different judges that will watch every minute of every film including credits.

The Georgia Documentary Film Festival selects the top 30% of films rated by our judging panel. These are called the "official selections." Of the films that are named official selections, there are 4 nominations for each award category. On the event date, there is one winner per award category. If you are unable to attend the event, we will mail the award to you, free of charge, anywhere in the world. The following is a list of our award categories:

Best Cinematography Award
Best Director Award
Best Documentary Film Award (6-30 minutes)
Best Documentary Micro Short Film Award (1-6 minutes)

If your film is selected, you are expected to provide a link to download your film so that we can project it at the festival. Google Drive or Dropbox. You can also make your film downloadable on FilmFreeway or Vimeo, so that we can download the file.

We currently project in 1080p, 23.976. (30 fps and 25 fps are also accepted, we will convert them) .mov or .mp4 formats are accepted.

4k files and ProRes are accepted, but they are overkill. We will have to convert these types of files in order to screen them on our system.

We do not accept DCP files at this time.

We do not screen 720p or SD Files.

We do not stream from YouTube or Vimeo at the event, due to internet reliability issues.

Georgia Documentary Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Georgia Documentary Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

Overall Rating
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Hospitality
Networking
  • My team and I were so thrilled to attend GDFF! Caroline and Micaela were so gracious and welcoming, the communication throughout the process was great! My film, Conviction won Best Cinematography, and we couldn't be more excited. Look forward to working with the festival again!

    November 2020
  • Jacqueline Kennedy

    Caroline, director of the Georgia Documentary Film Festival, was a gracious host. She and her team were extremely accommodating. They went above board to make sure everyone was safe and having a great time.

    Thank you to Caroline and her team for a wonderful festival.

    November 2020
  • Caroline King and Karen are the best! They made my first film festival experience amazing! It was a fantastic and well-attended event. I was so honored to have my film, A Story of Courage, screened at the Georgia Documentary Film Festival and to win the award for Best Director! Thank you for a wonderful day that I’ll never forget!

    January 2020
  • The festival went smoothy and I really felt part of it all. A wonderful experience with talented filmmakers, incredibly well-run.

    December 2019
  • Ingrid Price

    Although I wasn't able to attend, I thought the communication from the festival was excellent. I also enjoyed the follow-up email (with links) afterwards letting me know how it went. I really wish I'd been able to come! Another year, perhaps.

    November 2019