The Stony Brook Film Festival is produced by the Staller Center for the Arts on the campus of Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY. The festival in 2026 will be the 31st year of this very competitive and highly selective ten-day festival. All films are shown on our 40 foot screen in the Staller Center’s Main Stage Theater which seats over a 1000. Filmmakers who attend may be provided with travel assistance, lodging, and access to all our parties and events.

The festival works very hard to make sure that all films selected get seen by as many people as possible, including film industry insiders, distributors and other festival programmers. We also work very hard to insure that each screening has as close to a sold out house as possible. Our festival averages over 14,000 attendees, which includes passholders and single ticket buyers.

Over the past 30 years the Stony Brook Film Festival has shown numerous New York, East Coast, US and World Premieres from over 84 different countries, and more than 320 of them have been directed by women.

Attendeees have included Alan Alda, Thora Birch, Celine Bonnier, Steve Buscemi, Brian Cox, Dana Delany, Stephen Dorff, Matthew Glave, Karoline Herfurth, Sylvia Hoeks, Brent Huff, Rachel Keller, Nathan Lane, Bai Ling, Ralph Macchio, Jena Malone, RJ Mitte, Ami Canaan Mann, Meaghan Martin, Mary Stuart Masterson, Tim Blake Nelson, Joe Pantoliano, Christopher Plummer, Lewis Pullman, John Putch, Missi Pyle, Daniel Rashid, Eran Riklis, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Campbell Scott, Jayson Warner Smith, Leelee Sobieski, Meg Steedle, David Strathairn, Tilda Swinton, Martin Talbot, Christine Vachon, Valerie Weiss and many others.

Awards & Prizes

Travel assistance, lodging, awards, prizes and gifts are provided at upwards of $50,000 in value. Every festival includes Jury and Audience Choice Awards, as well as other awards recognizing special achievements given at the discretion of the Jury.

Audience Choice Best Feature

Audience Choice for Best Short

Jury Award for Best Feature

Jury Award for Best Short

Rules & Terms

We accept features and shorts in narrative, documentary and animated categories.

Films must not have been screened in U.S. prior to March 1, 2025 and must not have been completed prior to December 1, 2024.

We accept the following screening formats: DCP, MPEG 2, Pro Res 422, Blu-Ray or contact us.

Competition is open to U.S. and International entries.

No more than a total of 2 (two) submissions are permitted per director, and no more than a total of 5 (five) submissions are permitted per distributor or producer, regardless of film categories. If you are a distributor and would like to submit more than five films please email us your request and we will get back to you.

Feature films are 30 minutes in length or longer. Short films are under 30 minutes in length.

Films not in English must be subtitled in English.

Films that have shown theatrically or broadcast on television in New York prior to the Festival or are available on DVD or VOD are not generally eligible for consideration.
64 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Tom Van Avermaet

    I’m very grateful for the unique experience of attending the Stony Brook Film Festival, where Hearts of Stone was presented as the opening short film. I felt truly well cared for by the entire festival team, led by Alan Inkles & Kent Marks. The screenings were packed, the selection of films outstanding, and the hospitality exceptional — it was, in every way, an example of what an ideal festival experience should be. It remains one of my favorite festival memories, and I sincerely hope that if I have the opportunity to make another film, I’ll have the chance and privilege to bring it back to the warm Stony Brook film community and the Staller Center.

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • Jessica Sherif

    Stony Brook was one of the most thoughtfully curated and filmmaker friendly festivals I’ve ever attended. The team was warm, organized, and incredibly generous. It really feels like they care about the films and the people who made them. The audience was so engaged and the theater was state-of-the-art! If you’re a filmmaker looking for a festival that truly cares about storytelling, Stony Brook is it. So grateful we got to be part of it, and will definitely apply again in the future!

    August 2025
    Helpful
  • Vlad Bolgarin

    So honored to have our film "Place under the sun" as the Closing Night Short Film at the 2025 edition of Stony Brook FF! As soon as I read the great reviews from other filmmakers, I said to myself that I must attend this festival and I'm so glad that I did! Wonderful location and accommodation, great communication with the team, awesome venue with very good screening quality and so much love for filmmaking. Can't wait to apply again with my next films and attend again!

    August 2025
    Helpful
  • Roush Niaghi

    Stony Brook has been by far the most fun and our favorite stop on our Festival tour. The way they treat filmmakers is second to none. Their audience was surprisingly MASSIVE (we played to almost 700 in attendance) and incredibly warm and engaging-- both with the movie and the following Q&A.
    We recommend any filmmaker making Stony Brook a necessary stop and we are already looking forward to submitting our next film and returning.

    July 2025
    Helpful
  • Christian Nilsson

    Honestly, this festival was one of the greatest experiences of my professional career. The level of communication and hospitality shown to my team was unmatched.

    Our screening was sold out with nearly 1,000 people in attendance; the Q&A that followed included some of the most thought-provoking questions I'd been asked about our film; and the SBFF team took care of me and my wife, my team, my cast—even my dog!—at every turn.

    Every festival should aim to be as caring and well organized as SBFF. They set quite a high bar.

    Sincerely—thank you, Alan, Kent, Paul, and the rest of the SBFF team!

    July 2025
    Helpful