Join scores of filmmakers and screenwriters from all over the world and have your work showcased in Harlem, Manhattan – in the heart of New York City!

As always, we do not shy away from passionate or even controversial work. In fact we encourage it.

The marriage of Little Africa to El Barrio, Jazz to Dance, History to Art, and cinema to one of the world's most vibrant communities signifies the 20th Annual Harlem International Film Festival (Hi XX). Home to New York City's richest cultural and academic institutions, landmarks, boutiques, parks and restaurants, Harlem is an experience that satisfies the five senses. As the epicenter of New York's current arts movement, Upper Manhattan and Harlem Int'l embody the New Harlem Renaissance.

The Festival has premiered works from today's most promising international filmmakers. Subject matter is varied and compelling: An IRA leader hiding out in a British-Jamaican neighborhood; A mother's life dedicated to her two sons, one with down-syndrome; A musician's journey through War ravaged Iraq; a Harlem Man's struggle with loss of love. Hi is a festival that truly embraces the beauty of diversity and is committed to representing it on our screens.

Keeping in line with its mission, Hi offers discounted admission to young filmmakers and work produced in Harlem or Upper Manhattan & the Bronx, about the area and its history or featuring key cast or crew members from Uptown New York City. We award the best local work and hope you will join us for the magic in May 2025.

Awards & Prizes

In September 2005 the Festival opened in historic Harlem at Columbia University with the Renaissance Awards by honoring Oscar winning actress Susan Sarandon; Harlem's own Emmy Award-winning actor, Keith David; and Mira Nair, the Oscar-nominated Harlem based director of SALAAM BOMBAY and VANITY FAIR and initiated the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker the same year.

Hi has since become known as the festival that "brings the world to Harlem and Harlem to the world". Filmmakers and attendees have journeyed from across the globe to experience this four day event consisting of film screenings in state of the art facilities, celebrity-filled awards ceremonies, networking events and Harlem's unsurpassed night-life and history.

NEW YORK SHOWCASE
New York, known for its array of world class directors such as Martin Scorcese, Spike Lee, Jim Jarmusch, Mira Nair, and Stanley Nelson is also a mecca for aspiring auteurs. We offer audiences the opportunity to experience stories by New York's finest filmmakers featuring the City and its Burroughs in a uniquely artistic way.

HARLEM/ UPPER MANHATTAN/ BRONX (HUB)
All submission fees are heavily discounted for this category. Furthering our efforts to encourage continued recognition of the Harlem, Upper Manhattan and Bronx communities and the contribution of the numerous artists that reside within, Hi spotlights films produced or directed by local residents; films where at least 50% of the production has taken place in the area; or films about Harlem, Upper Manhattan or the Bronx and their legendary history, present and future.

HARLEM360, VIRTUAL REALITY and VIDEO-ART INSTALLATION SPACE
In line with the Harlem Renaissance - the home of the foremost comprehensive art movement in US history ranging from poetry, literature, performance and painting to sculpture, music and cinema, Hi has established the Video-Art Space. With an abundance of contemporary art galleries and open spaces, Harlem serves as an ideal location to experience modern video art installations and Harlem360/ Virtual Reality.

THE RENAISSANCE AWARDS AND Hi HONORS
The excitement and anticipation of the entire festival culminates during this final awards celebration crowning the leading international films and hosting directors from around the world. Join the magic!

AWARD CATEGORIES
Best Film, Best World Film, the Mira Nair Award for Rising Female Filmmaker, Best Documentary, Best World Documentary, Best Director, Best Documentary Director, Best Cinematography, Best Editing, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Animation, Best Experimental Film, Best Short, Best Documentary Short, Best Youth Film, Best Music Video, Best Webisode, Audience Award, the New York Vision Award, the Harlem Spotlight Awards, Uptown Awards and Screenplay Awards and Screenplay Showdown Competition.

Rules & Terms

GENERAL RULES
- Works can be submitted regardless of when they were completed.
- Screenplays may be submitted online.
- Submissions do not have to be premieres to be selected for exhibition.
- Shorts are considered Documentary works 44 minutes and under and Narrative Fiction pieces are 59 minutes and under.
- Works in progress may be submitted, but only during the Late or Extended deadlines and only if the film will be completed for final review at least seven weeks before the Festival opening. The review committee will only watch one version of your film, so make it your latest/greatest cut possible.
- Films that have had a limited commercial theatrical run or other distribution are allowed to submit.

- There is no limit on number of works submitted, but each entry must be separate, appropriately labeled and accompanied by the required fee.
- Submit works online (preferable).

- In rare cases the filmmaker may have to provide another format version to be exhibited if the film cannot be programmed into a slot where the original format can be projected.
- Submitted screeners, screenplays and press materials will not be returned.
- The Harlem International Film Festival is not responsible for lost or damaged materials.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Upon selection applicant is requested to provide Harlem International Film Festival (Hi) with highest quality film format available, trailer, color film stills and posters, and any other available press and related materials.

Upon acceptance applicant gives Hi the right to use images and information from the film and trailer for all advertising and promotion purposes.

Submission of film indicates applicant's full intention to exhibit at the Harlem International Film Festival if selected for programming. As such, filmmaker waives the right to withdraw their film from the Harlem International Film Festival at any time for any reason.
59 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Andrea Ocampo

    Honored to have Blackout screen at Harlem International. Grateful for the opportunity and for the historic Maysles Documentary Center as our venue. Wishing the team continued strength and success as they uplift indie voices from the heart of Harlem.

    October 2025
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  • Christian Loubek

    So honored to have BELIEF included in this year's program. This was filmmaker Erika Hamilton's second film to be accepted at this elite festival. Harlem Intl Film Festival is an institution. It's a badge of honor to be selected and we are entirely grateful to share the screen with such fine films and filmmakers. Respect!

    October 2025
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  • Dylan Gary

    Had such a good experience at the Harlem International Film Festival. Lorenzo and all the staff were so friendly and fun, it created a really warm feeling to the whole thing. And the screening for our short The Uniform was packed!
    They really love film and filmmakers here, and you can feel it at every turn. Really unique festival. And one well worth your submission.
    Thanks again for letting us into your party. We had a blast!

    September 2025
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  • Olubayo Jackson

    This was such a wonderful festival. I was happy that my film, Ringshout : Let The Circle Be Unbroken was chosen to screen at this amazing festival. I met a lot of great people there and shared ideas for collaborating. The organizers were passionate about what they are doing, authentic and dedicated . The venue for my film was intimate and felt like a homecoming. I would be happy to participate again. Lorenzo and his team deserve so much credit for this labor of love and their work to give filmmakers, especially from Harlem, greater exposure and to offer fuller, more complex narratives about our neighborhood.

    September 2025
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  • Ryan Fenson-Hood

    Support this festival! As a filmmaker the experience was so refreshing. The programmers invited us with a discount after seeing our film on filmfreeway. We entered, got in, went to the festival and it was legit! They have a comprehensive red carpet experience for all selections, even online only selections. They also invited our whole crew on the red carpet - it felt so good being able to give back and get my production designers, DP, EPs, everybody who made the movie possible in press photos! They had getti covering it and many others that immediately showed up in the press online. Meanwhile, the live screening venue was amazing, the AMC bigscreen - best our film has ever looked with an engaged audience, a Q and A as well as walking away with a new network we could leverage post-festival. Best of luck getting into this fest and know when you submit that this is the real deal, a festival that is all about sharing your films with the world and elevating you as a filmmaker!

    June 2024
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