The Terrapin Film Festival or TFF (formerly UMDFF) is a student-run festival created to provide a dedicated platform for students to come together and showcase their works as emerging filmmakers. Films accepted as part of the Official Selection will be screened in person by Veritas Short Films at the University of Maryland, College Park campus. TFF strives to provide a space where creative excellence, diverse perspectives, and the indie spirit are celebrated.

Submissions are open from December 8th, 2025, through January 20th, 2026. Any undergraduate or graduate student studying at an accredited university within the US is welcome to apply. There will be a submission fee for late bird submissions until February 9th, 2026.

We look forward to viewing your work!

Awards & Prizes

There will be eight (8) awards presented at this event: Best Picture, Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Short Film, Best Documentary, Best Animation, Best Original Score, and Audience Choice. All awards, with the exception of Audience Choice, are selected by a voting panel of respected UMD faculty and filmmakers in the DMV area. The Audience Choice Award goes to the film with the highest number of votes by in-person attendees of the Terrapin Film Festival.

Rules & Terms

In order to remain eligible for submission to the Terrapin Film Festival, interested filmmakers must have read, understood, and agreed to all entry requirements:

1. Filmmakers submitting to the Terrapin Film Festival must be currently enrolled in a university within the U.S. at the undergraduate/graduate level or had graduated from a U.S. institution within the last year at the time of submission.

2. All submissions must be 20 minutes in length or less.

4. Films must have been completed after December 1st, 2024.

5. All genres are accepted.

6. Any film including significant dialogue in a language other than English must provide on-screen English subtitles. Subtitles must be integrated into the film.

7. The submitter is responsible and gives express permission to the Terrapin Film Festival to screen their film at the festival event. Veritas Short Films may also display award winners, including title, credits, posters, images, and related information on the Terrapin Film Festival webpage and social media.

8. Submitter must be the sole person responsible for deciding to enter this media material and guarantee that such exhibition will not violate or infringe upon any rights whatsoever (including copyright, trademark, musical or contract right) of any person or entity. They must also own the underlying rights to any adapted work, or the work must be in the public domain. The Terrapin Film Festival will not be held accountable for the inclusion of unauthorized material.

9. Submission does not guarantee that the Terrapin Film Festival will return feedback or watch your film in full. Every film will be reviewed, but the length watched is at the discretion of the reviewer.

10. The Terrapin Film Festival is not required to pay screening fees to any film accepted or traveling fees for any party.
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  • Samuel Ogunremi

    Incredible communication and passion for student filmmaking! Huge thanks to Terrapin for Best Screenplay win for my short "Nebuchadnezzar".

    May 2026
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