Festival Guide
SOCAPA’s picks for the best US film festivals for high school, teen and youth filmmakers, with locations, festival dates and typical submission deadlines.
Our picks for the ten best teen and youth film festivals in the USA to get your films seen and get you noticed. Each one programs short films made by high school students and young filmmakers, and several give awards, cash prizes or industry screenings to the winners.
Deadlines move every year, so treat the months below as a guide and confirm on each festival’s site before you plan. Most use tiered deadlines: submit early and you pay less (sometimes nothing).
SOCAPA’s Picks
New York City
The largest festival in the country for high school filmmakers, with a weekend of screenings, workshops and awards in Times Square. Early entries are free.
Seattle, WA
The National Film Festival for Talented Youth is the biggest festival for young filmmakers in the world, with in-person screenings plus a virtual festival.
Boulder, CO
BIFF’s Teen Short Film Competition is open to students around the world. Films must be six minutes or less.
Watertown, MA
Run by Filmmakers Collaborative, with Student Film awards for filmmakers who were in middle or high school when they made the film.
Los Angeles, CA
You must attend school in LA County to be eligible, but if you do, it’s totally worth it. The best student film wins the Los Angeles County Student Filmmaker Award. Films must be 20 minutes or less.
Seattle, WA
FutureWave Shorts brings youth films from around the world to one of the largest film festivals in the US. The best film wins the Wavemaker Award for Excellence in Youth Filmmaking.
Indianapolis, IN
The High School Film Competition is part of Indy Shorts, an Oscar-qualifying short film festival that awards more than $35,000 in cash prizes.
Nashville, TN
The longest-running film festival in the South, with competition categories for student filmmakers and Tennessee creators.
Newport Beach, CA
The Youth Film Showcase puts films by young filmmakers on the big screen at a major Southern California festival. Films must be 10 minutes or less, and the entry fee is low.
Austin, TX
Short films (under five minutes) by Texas high school students screen as part of SXSW EDU in Austin. You must be enrolled in a Texas high school.
Submit early. Early deadlines are cheaper (All American High School Film Festival’s is free), and programmers watch the first films with fresh eyes.
Keep it short. Many youth programs cap films at five to ten minutes, and a tight five-minute film is easier to program than a 20-minute one.
Read the eligibility rules before you pay. Some festivals require you to live or go to school in a certain place, and most care about your age when you made the film, not when you submit it.
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