Well, it's the glorious time of the year when we are open for submissions. We're super excited for the 24th Annual Phoenix Film Festival and we want you to be too. During our 11 day festival, we have the pleasure of entertaining over 20,000 people with awesome films from so many great filmmakers.

Our festival happens each year in the spring in the very northeast corner of Phoenix on the border of Scottsdale. We have a fancy theatre, responsive audiences and plenty of cool kids on our staff to make this the greatest experience of your life. Or at the least, pretty damn good.

We hope you consider submitting and trusting us with your film. Keep on reading if you want to hear us brag about ourselves, our marketing people insist we do. We also have some quotes from our great filmmakers. And now onto the superlatives.....

The Phoenix Film Festival has been named one of The 25 Coolest Film Festivals and a Top 50 Worth the Entry Fee by MovieMaker Magazine and have been called the most filmmaker-friendly festival out there. Most recently, we also earned a spot on MovieMaker's 20 Great Film Festivals for First-Time Moviemakers. The Phoenix Film Festival is a program of the 501c(3) non-profit Phoenix Film Foundation, started in 2000, and it has quickly become Arizona's Largest Film Festival.

The Phoenix Film Festival annually holds over 250 screenings, amazing parties and provides filmmaking seminars to capacity audiences. The Festival takes place all in one convenient location and is held on 7 screens at the state of the art gorgeous Harkins Scottsdale 101 Theatre. You'll love attending our parties and events held in the Party Pavilion just outside the theatre. Everything you need is right on site.

Don't just take it from us, here are just a few comments we received from our past filmmakers......


“I met so many amazing filmmakers and audiences! Some of the best Q&A's I've had at any festival. Everyone was so engaged and cared about the films they chose to see. Can't wait to have another film to screen there again.”
- Ben Tedesco, “No Tomorrow”


"WOW. Is Phoenix Film Festival ever exciting and fun. The programming of films and social events was stellar. The coordination with filmmakers was very smooth and efficient, with very clear deadlines and requirements for deliverables. It was an honour to screen Meet The Sky as part of the Native American Directed Shorts curation!"
- K.J. Edwards, “Meet the Sky”


“This is a very well-thought-out festival run expertly by really nice people, and you will not see your movie in a better venue for picture and sound than at this festival.”
- Ivon Visalli, “Out and About”


“Phoenix Film Festival is an extremely well-organized film festival. From the process of selection, the clear communication from the festival and programming team leading up.”
- Carlos F Puertolas, “Frank and Emmet”


"I loved being a part of the 2022 Phoenix Film Festival so much! It was so amazing to see our project on the big screen (in an actual movie theater!) and the festival staff were so kind and accommodating. I can't recommend this festival enough."
- Teresa Decher, “The Exceptionally Boring Life of Mallory Plumber”

The Phoenix Film Festival is a program of the Phoenix Film Foundation. The Foundation is a 501c3 Non-profit Organization whose mission is to support and develop the artistic appreciation, educational opportunities and growth of independent film within and outside of Arizona.

Copper Wing Awards

Categories vary. May include (subject to change): Best Picture, Audience Award, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Acting, Best AZ Filmmaker, Best Short Film, Best Student Film, Best Documentary, etc.

The Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search First Place winner will receive $250. First, Second, and Third place winners of the Phoenix Film Festival Short Screenplay Search will win additional prizes including passes to the Festival

RULES AND REGULATIONS:
Please review the following carefully. By submitting, you indicate that you have read, understood, and to the best of your knowledge, complied with all eligibility requirements of the Festival and of the categories for which you would like this film to be considered.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS:
1. You submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a working screener in order to be considered. Festival staff will do their best to follow up with filmmakers who are missing required submission elements, however, the responsibility for a fully completed submission falls to the submitter.
2. Any submissions that are incomplete by our final deadline will be disqualified without refund of submission fees. Reasons a submission will be considered incomplete include (but are not limited to) the following:
a. Missing Screener
b. Missing/incorrect screener password
c. Screener is missing subtitles (if in a foreign language)
d. Screener has major issues with audio, image, or any feature that prevents our screening committee from properly judging it.

DEADLINES:
All deadlines are set for 11:59pm local Phoenix time (please remember Arizona does NOT observe Daylight Savings Time and the time difference will change with DST).

PREMIERE REQUIREMENTS:
1. Short films may not be publicly available online or screen in the Phoenix Metro area from January 1 to April 30, 2024 if selected.
2. Feature films must have a Phoenix Metro area premiere.
a. The Phoenix Metro Area includes the cities of Phoenix, Scottsdale, Chandler, Mesa, Tempe, Gilbert, Maricopa, Glendale, Peoria, Surprise, Cave Creek, Carefree, Anthem, Goodyear, Sun City, Avondale, Tolleson, Buckeye, Ahwatukee, Sun Lakes, Apache Junction, Laveen, Fountain Hills, Litchfield Park, Paradise Valley and Queen Creek.
b. It is the submitter’s responsibility to notify the Phoenix Film Festival of any updates in premiere status as they occur, especially if the film is selected for another festival in Arizona.
c. This does not include the International Horror and Sci-Fi Film Festival which runs concurrent with the Phoenix Film Festival.
3. Any change in premiere status must be brought to the Festival’s attention as soon as possible.
4. If a film violates the premiere requirements at any time in the process, the film will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

SUBMISSION CATEGORIES
Please review all submission categories carefully before submitting your project.
1. All entrants are required to pay the submission fee of their film’s appropriate category.
2. Category Changes: If you believe you have submitted your film to the wrong category, contact us immediately. Submitter is responsible for any additional fees. The Phoenix Film Festival is not able to reimburse submitter for lower category fees.
3. If they qualify, films may submit to more than one category. A separate submission fee must be paid for each category.
4. Films will only be considered in the category in which they are submitted.
5. The Phoenix Film Festival reserves the right to determine eligibility of a submission in each category. Refunds will not be offered for submission to an inappropriate category.

FOREIGN LANGUAGE / WORLD CINEMA FILM REQUIREMENTS
1. Films outside of the United States of America are considered “World Cinema Films”. This includes films from Canada and Mexico.
2. World Cinema Films can be in any language.
3. All foreign-language films in any category must be submitted with English subtitles. If a film is in a foreign language and does not have subtitles, the Phoenix Film Festival will do its best to contact the filmmaker for a subtitled version. However, if the submission does not have working subtitles by the final submission deadline, the project will be disqualified without refund of submission fees.

ARIZONA FILM REQUIREMENTS:
The Phoenix Film Festival encourages the production of film within Arizona and is dedicated to ensuring the future of Arizona filmmakers. Both of the following are requirements for the Arizona Feature and Arizona short film categories:
1. Over 50% of film was made in Arizona.
2. Director or over 50% of crew currently resides in Arizona.

WORKS IN PROGRESS:
The Phoenix Film Festival accepts works in progress, however the fact that it is a work in progress must be noted in the submission. Any missing elements (color correction, shots, music, effects) should be clearly indicated (ex: no color-correction, shot missing at 47:02, temporary score, missing VFX,) both in your cover letter and the film cut itself (ideally as a title card at the start of the film).
1. Any updated cuts must be uploaded to your original FilmFreeway submission with same submission link and password.
2. The Phoenix Film Festival is only responsible for considering the project as it exists at the time of review. While we will try, we are under no obligation to revisit updated cuts once a screener has been completely judged. Therefore, you should not submit your project if it is not complete enough to adequately represent the final product.
3. No updated cuts will be accepted after the final submission deadline: December 4, 2023.
4. The final version of the film must be available by February 9, 2024.

ACCEPTED FILMS:
1. The Phoenix Film Festival DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES for submitted films. By submitting your project, you acknowledge that the Festival will not pay to present your work.
2. Films are screened on DCP and must be delivered in format requested by deadline set at time of acceptance.
3. All Festival scheduling is purely at the discretion of the Phoenix Film Festival staff.
4. If selected as a participant in the Festival, if requested, television ready media clips of the film must be provided by the date indicated on notice of selection.

AWARDS CONSIDERATIONS
Accepted films may be considered for the Phoenix Film Festival’s Copper Wing Award. By submitting you agree that:
1. Should this film win a Copper Wing Award (“Award”) at the Phoenix Film Festival, you are authorized and/or empowered by all parties legally representing this film to name the individual(s) listed on the Copper Wing Award Designation List (to be received upon notice of selection to Festival) to receive any and all award(s).
2. In the event the designated party is unable to attend the awards ceremony, you understand that the director and/or producer of the film as listed in the credits of the film shall accept any and all awards in their stead.
3. In the event that filmmakers are not able to receive award in person, the Festival will do its best to send award to recipient, however,

DISQUALIFICATIONS AND REFUNDS
The Phoenix Film Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission without refund, even after a film has been invited or final programming has been announced, at the sole discretion of Phoenix Film Festival staff.
Once a project is listed “In Consideration” on FilmFreeway, we are unable to offer refunds for any reason, including (but not limited to):
1. Submission to the wrong category
2. Change in premiere status or distribution
3. Acceptance to other festivals within the metro-Phoenix area or festivals that breach the Phoenix Film Festival premiere requirements
4. Duplicate submissions
5. Failure to pay the full submission fee by the final deadline
6. Failure to provide a working screener by the final deadline
7. Project’s failure to comply with submission Rules & Terms
8. Improper use of a discount code or waiver
9. Rejection from the festival
10. Withdrawing your submission for any reason (including changes of heart)

BY SUMBITTING, YOU CERTIFY:
1. You have read and agree to the rules and regulations above.
2. This film is not subject to litigation nor is threatened by any litigation.
3. You are duly authorized to submit this film to the Festival and its Competition and understand that the Festival holds the right to screen my film for Festival screening and promotional purposes and to extract clips from this film for promotional purposes. You understand this may include online streaming of clips on Festival or Festival sponsor sites.
4. You understand that the Phoenix Film Festival ("Festival") and the Phoenix Film Foundation (“Foundation”) are not responsible for any type of damage to or loss of the print during screenings, at any other time during the course of the Festival, while the film is in the Festival’s possession or while en route to or from the Festival, and you release The Phoenix Film Festival ("Festival") and the Phoenix Film Foundation (“Foundation”) from any and all liabilities regarding damage to or loss of the print while en route to/from the Festival or while it is in their possession.
5. This film will not be available online publicly until the completion of the 2024 Phoenix Film Festival.

If you have any questions that are not answered here, please email us at submissions@phxfilm.com.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • We love our hometown festival! One of the best organized and diverse festivals we attend. Whether we have projects or not we love all the memory making experiences over the past years. Thank you for choosing TWO of our scripts this year, Vinnie Plays God and G-String, both based on true stories from my time as an undercover agent with the FBI in narcotics and organized crime. Looking forward to sharing future projects and introducing the festival to other filmmakers around the country. Cheers!

    September 2023
  • Andrew Howell

    Great festival! A really kind team with wonderful communication.

    May 2023
  • Everything about the festival was great!

    May 2023
  • Jonason Pauley

    It was a pleasure having two shorts in the Phoenix Film Fest this year. I have submitted films a number of times now, but this was the first year accepted, and they treat filmmaker well.
    If I had more time I would have loved to take full advantage of everything the festival has to offer. There's so much to see. Great work, and thanks to the PhxFF team!

    May 2023
  • Kaylin Allshouse

    We loved this festival! The content was by far some of the best we’ve seen. We also really appreciated that the films screened multiple times, allowing us to see as many as possible as well as have multiple audiences for our film. The only thing that we wish was different would be to have a designated filmmakers lounge/space throughout the entirety of the festival.The movie theater where the festival was held was great and really well run.

    May 2023