Deadlines
About festival
Winter Film Festival
New York City's Winter Film Festival (WFF) is a volunteer-run and operated celebration of the diversity of local and international film-making. We showcase creative fresh voices from emerging filmmakers worldwide in all genres and lengths – feature length and shorts, narrative fiction, documentary, animation, horror, web series and music videos.
Our mission is to promote diversity, bridge the opportunity divide and provide a platform for under-represented artists and a variety of genres, viewpoints and approaches. We believe that only by seeing others’ stories can we understand each other and only via an open door can the underrepresented artist enter the room.
We pride ourselves on our diverse collection of Festival selections, allowing our audience to enjoy films they normally wouldn’t think to seek out. For the 2026 Festival, 103 films from 27 countries were selected including 20 student films and 34 first-time filmmakers. Filmmakers come from 27 countries; half of the films were created by women, half created by people of color and 25% created by New Yorkers.
Works of all genres, forms, and lengths are considered. All selected films are screened at REGAL Union Square Cinemas in New York City on Screen 1 (70 seats) or Screen 2 (130 seats). For additional information about Winter Film Festival, our selection process and what we look for, visit https://winterfilmfest.org/about-us/faq/
The Festival includes film screenings with director Q&A, educational panels, professional development workshops and industry networking after-parties, and concludes with a glittering awards ceremony .
Outstanding work will be awarded for each category, along with Best Director, Best Student Film and Best NYC Film.
Winter Film Festival is thrilled to be included in Film Festival Alliance’s Film Festival Directory, a comprehensive list of more than one hundred reputable film festivals committed to upholding the newly established best practices for professional film festivals. Explore the directory to read through our profile and learn more about our fellow member festivals, their programming philosophies, and more here: https://bit.ly/FFADirectory
WFF is a minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization. We work with all local NYC film schools, colleges, arts high schools and many cultural societies.
Trailer
Festival Amenities
Accepted Content
Submission Categories
Feature Film Competition (Narrative - Non-Horror - Fiction)
Films 60+ mins. This category is in competition and includes films from all over the word and the US. The film should be in the English language or with English subtitles, and should be in the narrative form. Narrative Films of 60 minutes or longer are eligible for Awards for: Best Picture, Best Director, Best NYC Film, Best Student Film
Documentary/Non-Fiction Film Competition
ALL LENGTHS. This category is in competition and include non-fiction films originating from all over the world and the United States of America. The film should be in the English language OR with English subtitles, and should be in the documentary form. Documentary Films are eligible for Awards for: Best Documentary Feature (50+mins), Best Documentary Short(<50mins), Best Director, Best NYC Film, Best Student Film
Short Film Competition (Narrative - Non-Horror - Fiction)
This category is in competition and includes films originating from all over the world and the United States of America. The film should be in the English-language OR with English subtitles and can in the narrative or documentary form. Running time should be between 2 and 59 minutes. Short Films are eligible for Awards for: Best Short Film, Best Director, Best NYC Film, Best Student Film
Animated Film Competition
ALL LENGTHS. This category is in competition of ANIMATED films defined as a film that has been created using any frame-by-frame animation technique, Including but not limited to 2D, 3D, Claymation, CGI, Computer Animation, Cut-out, Puppet and any other creative endeavors and tools. Animated films must have at least 50% of runtime include animation
Music Video Competition
This category is in competition and include films originating within the United States of America and globally. The film should be in English language or with English subtitles and should be in music form. Running time should be not more that 10 minutes and not less that 2 minutes.
Winter FEAR Horror Film Competition
Award in conjunction with FEARS Magazine. Any narrative work of fiction in the Horror, Slasher or Zombie genre with a running time of 3 minutes or more. T
Web Series Competition
This category is in competition and includes SINGLE EPISODES of web series originating from all over the world and the United States of America. The film should be in the English-language OR with English subtitles and can in the narrative or documentary form. Running time must be between 3 and 20 minutes. If you have multiple very short episodes, you may string up to three episodes together for a max run-time of 12 minutes. Web Series episodes are eligible for Awards for: Best Web Series, Best Director, Best NYC Film, Best Student Film
Festival Team
George Isaacs
CEO and Founder
Steffanie Finn
Executive Director
Festival Rules
English Language or English Subtitles:
Films must be in English or have English subtitles
Screening fees:
Winter Film Festival is a non-profit organization and we are not able to pay Screening Fees
Email communications:
Submitting filmmakers/individuals will be notified by e-mail on or before January 5 2027. Winter Film Festival does not send physical mail — please make sure the email address in your entry form is accurate and that you regularly check spam folders. Changes of email address can be sent to submissions@winterfilmawards.com. Winter Film Festival is not liable for emails delayed by spam filters, server rejections, outdated email addresses or any other technical or human error.
Incomplete materials:
If an accepted filmmaker is unable to submit the final screening copy of the film electronically, the filmmaker will be responsible for the mailing/shipping cost of the work for screening at the film festival. Films with incomplete materials by the deadline will forfeit their ability to screen in the festival. Winter Film Festival, its members, directors, employees, and volunteers are not responsible for lost, unplayable, misplaced, and undelivered film and media.
Removal of films:
The Festival reserves the right to remove a film from the festival program for any reason and shall not be liable for any refund or claims of any kind arising out of such removal. The submitting filmmaker must own the copyright to the work. In the case of any legal dispute involving the film, Winter Film Festival will immediately remove the work from our schedule.
Copyright and Indemnification:
By submitting your film, Winter Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. By submitting filmmakers acknowledge they own the full copyright to their film, soundtrack, and all other elements contained within the film, and have the legal right to exhibit the film in the United States. The festival takes no responsibility for any copyright violations, and the filmmaker agrees they are the sole responsible party of their work.
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Winter Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.
Premiere Status:
Winter Film Festival does not require premieres, but appreciates if you notify us if you are either a World Premiere, International Premiere (your first premiere outside your country of origin), North American Premiere or New York Premiere.
Distribution & Online:
With the exception of Web Series and Music Videos, films that are publicly available online, or are available to the public through a distribution service, are ineligible for submission
Refunds:
Winter Film Festival does not issue refunds.
Acceptance:
After being invited to the festival, filmmakers will have 3 weeks to accept or reject their screening. Once filmmakers accept, they may not remove their film from the official lineup.
