Albuquerque, known for its thriving film community, is a city that shines bright in the sunny Land of Enchantment. One of the premier platforms that celebrates and supports independent, new, and alternative filmmakers in the city is Mindfield - Albuquerque.

It is the aim of Mindfield - Albuquerque to showcase the very best in new independent cinema and to provide filmmakers with a platform to showcase their work to a community that truly appreciates it.

Mindfield - Albuquerque showcases features, shorts, and music videos by filmmakers from around the world. The platform offers filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their latest work not just during their annual film festival, but also throughout the year with their bi-monthly online competitions.

During each bi-monthly competition, any project submitted to Mindfield - Albuquerque is automatically entered to compete with others. A selection (semi-finalist) for the bi-monthly competition is not an official selection for the annual live festival. However, each bi-monthly winner (finalist) will be added to a pool to be considered for possible "official selection" and screening at the annual film festival. Every winner of the bi-monthly competition will receive a digital laurel. Note that projects are not screened during the bi-monthly competition.

The annual live screening is a separate entity from the bi-monthly competition. A different panel will make their selection for the live screening from the winners (finalist) pool of the bi-monthly competition. All projects screened at the live festival will compete with each other, and the winners of the live festival will be announced at the awards ceremony.

The 2026 live festival is set to take place from August 27th - 30th at The Guild Cinema - Albuquerque, located at 3405 Central Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, USA.

Mindfield - Albuquerque is committed to providing an inclusive and dynamic platform for filmmakers to showcase their work, and looks forward to another successful year of independent cinema.

**Screenplay Cash Prizes**

Mindfield Film Festival • Albuquerque is proud to support screenwriters through dedicated cash prizes at the annual live festival.

For screenplays officially selected to compete at the annual Mindfield Film Festival in August, the following cash prizes will be awarded:

*1st Place Feature Screenplay: $1,500 cash prize
*1st Place Short Screenplay: $750 cash prize

Cash prizes apply only to screenplay selections competing at the annual live festival and are awarded to the first place winners in the feature screenplay and short screenplay categories.

****Projects submitted prior to July 1, 2026, have already been considered for selection for the 2026 Mindfield Live Film Festival. Projects submitted after June 30, 2026, will qualify for consideration for the 2027 Mindfield Live Film Festival.

This schedule provides the necessary time for festival programming, print publication, and other event preparations while allowing the bi-monthly competitions to continue as scheduled.****

Awards & Prizes

- Best Feature Film
- Best Documentary Feature
- Best Short Film
- Best Student Film
- Best New Mexico Film
- Best Documentary Short
- Best Feature Script
- Best Short Script
- Best Director
- Best Writer
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Supporting Actor
- Best Supporting Actress
- Best Cast Ensemble
- Best Music Video
- Best Trailer
- Best Score
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound Design
- Best Narrator

Rules & Terms

· Entries must be in English or - Subtitled, dubbed in English.
· Every submission has to pick one main category in order to qualify for live screening.
· Multiple entries are allowed for each filmmaker and each entry may be entered in multiple categories.
· All entries should be sent via FilmFreeway. Please don't send discs or any downloadable files to us.
· Works in progress are accepted.
· Entries will not be returned.
· Entry fees are non-refundable

Upon submitting your film to our festival, you acknowledge and agree that elements of your work, such as trailers, stills, and posters, may be uploaded or embedded on our website and shared on our official social media channels. It is imperative that the submitting filmmaker, institution, creator, or company holds the necessary rights to submit the film and assumes responsibility for the provided content. Additionally, you consent to the utilization of segments from your film, including trailers, teasers, and film posters, for potential promotional purposes across our website and social media platforms.
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  • staci mallett

    I appreciate the opportunity to submit to Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque and the consideration of my script.
    While the festival appears well-intentioned, I did not find that it offered meaningful engagement or professional value for writers focused on script development or industry connection. The experience felt more recognition-based than outcome-oriented.
    I also did not receive feedback on my script as suggested I did check my email history from the festival to be sure.
    I would likely not submit again to this festival for the above reasons. I do appreciate the time and effort of the team and wish the festival continued success.

    December 2025
    Helpful
    Response from festival:

    Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughtful feedback, and for submitting your script to Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque. We genuinely appreciate your honesty and the respectful way you expressed your experience.

    While we understand that every writer is looking for something slightly different from a festival, we do want to clarify that Mindfield aims to be more than recognition-based. For every screenplay submission, we provide curated mini script coverage from multiple reviewers, which many writers have found valuable as actionable development feedback regardless of selection status. We see this as an important part of supporting writers at various stages of their creative process.

    Our live August festival is necessarily selective, as it’s designed to spotlight a limited number of scripts for in-person Q&As, audience engagement, and awards, but that selectivity isn’t a reflection of effort or consideration given to submissions outside the final lineup. A great deal of care goes into every script we read.

    That said, we respect that Mindfield may not align with every writer’s goals, and we appreciate the opportunity to have reviewed your work. We wish you the best with your writing moving forward and thank you again for engaging with the festival.

  • Dan Burns

    It was an honor to have our short film, "Come Out, Wherever You Are," participate in the festival as an official selection and honorable mention. Thank you to the festival team for your support and recognition as a silver award winner in the best narrative short category. I enjoyed an outstanding lineup of quality films and met many incredible filmmakers!

    October 2025
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  • AEG G

    Thank you for the opportunity to participate in your festival. I am truly honoured that my script, Trust Me, was selected to be part of such a prestigious event.

    October 2025
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  • Giada Curiale

    It was such a wonderful experience to have my script Reverie selected at Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque this past August, and an absolute honor to receive the Diamond Award for Best Feature Script. The festival team was kind, professional, and supportive throughout. I’m truly grateful for the recognition. Glad to have been part of it!

    October 2025
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  • Lorenzo Freglio

    I'm truly honored that your festival has awarded "The Leap of Success" the Diamond Award for Best Short Film in the By-monthly May-Jun 2025.
    Greetings from Italy
    Lorenzo

    September 2025
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