Salisbury University Student Film Festival

Salisbury University’s Film Program is proud to host the 2026 Salisbury University Student Film Festival! This festival is an opportunity for student filmmakers to not only have their work peer-reviewed by film scholars, but to also put their work on display for all of campus and the local community to see. The one-day festival will take place in person on Friday, May 8th, in which winning work will be screened in the campus film center; an auditorium filled with spectators who love and appreciate cinema as you do.

Our goal with the SUSFF is to uplift both the cinema put on display, and the next wave of young filmmakers. We wish to take submissions from all voices, including those that have been traditionally discounted in this space. For this reason, priority selection will be given to work representative of diversity, inclusion, and social justice activism. The selection committee will be comprised of up-and-coming film scholars at Salisbury University, who study cinema and its ability to unite a community behind a cause. Through enacting this festival, we hope to display work that is reflective of the bright potential our society has within. The festival also wishes to recognize the work of talented artists who wish to break into this space, and to serve as a launching point for the next steps in academic or professional cinematic work.

We will be accepting submissions only from students attending an accredited four-year or two-year college. Submitting to the festival is entirely free, you only must designate a category you wish to be nominated for. For more guidance on specific rules and regulations, please see the bottom of this page.

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 2026 AWARD WINNERS:

Best Actor: The Talk (United States) by Hila Cage Coppola (Kareem Zion as the father)

Best Actress: Knot (South Korea) by Nayo Lee (Sunwo Han as the mother)

Best Artistic Design: Legacy (Brazil) by Diogo Aurich

Best Editing: Housing Problem (Croatia) by Marko Plejić

Best Video Essay: What is a sister?: An Exploration of The March Sisters in Greta Gerwig’s Little Women (United States) by Lauren Skorobatsch

Best Documentary: Someone else's life (Chile) by Umi Aravena

Best Camerawork: The Street Photographer (Netherlands) by Rick van Wijk

Best Sound: Tugas Sedih Yang Panjang (Indonesia) by Herdiansyah Dwi Saputra

Best Direction: THE NICE GUY WHO WENT BAD BUT WHO USED TO BE NICE (France) by Jauffrey Gallé

Best Film: Son (Iran) by Saman Hosseinpuor