Long Beach Film Festival to Return in 2027 After Packed Debut Weekend
Filmmaker DJ Hale's RESCUED sold out at the Art Theatre and earned the festival's inaugural Long Beach Filmmaker Award.
The inaugural Long Beach Film Festival (LBFF) made a successful debut this past weekend, drawing hundreds of filmmakers, film lovers, Long Beach locals, and industry professionals for three days of independent cinema, conversations and community events across Long Beach. Following an enthusiastic response that included packed theaters and a sold-out feature screening, organizers announced the festival will return in 2027.
The weekend kicked off aboard the iconic Queen Mary with a red carpet Opening Night Party, where filmmakers, festival supporters and city leaders gathered to celebrate the launch. Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson joined the board and the director of the Queen Mary, welcoming attendees and raising a toast to the festival and Long Beach's growing creative community.
'The response to our first festival was incredible,' said Hunter Steibel, Director of Programming for the Long Beach Film Festival. 'We saw packed theaters, filmmakers connecting with audiences and with each other, and our community embracing what we set out to create. This weekend showed us that Long Beach is ready for a film festival of its own, and we can't wait to come back even bigger in 2027.'
Saturday and Sunday brought audiences to the historic Art Theatre of Long Beach for 30 films, including four features and 26 shorts, with filmmakers joining audiences for Q&As throughout the weekend. Screenings drew strong crowds, culminating in a sold-out screening of Rescued, a particularly meaningful milestone for Long Beach filmmaker DJ Hale, who wrote, directed and starred in the feature filmed throughout his hometown.
Audiences also had the opportunity to vote throughout the weekend via QR code for the festival's inaugural Audience Awards. The 2026 Audience Award Best Short Film was awarded to Dropping Off and the Audience Award Feature Film was Rescued. Hale received an additional honor receiving the Long Beach Filmmaker Award, selected by the festival board to recognize a local filmmaker whose work exemplified artistic excellence and distinction while embodying the pride of Long Beach's filmmaking community.
Beyond the screen, three panels brought filmmakers, industry leaders and community voices together at the LBFF FilmLounge. FOX 11 Entertainment Anchor/Reporter and Cal State Long Beach alumna Amanda Salas moderated 'Making a Feature Today,' featuring all four feature directors: Mia Moore (Again Again), Emily Robinson (Ugly Cry), Danny Madden (Downbeat) and Hale (Rescued), for a candid conversation about independent filmmaking and the rise of the multi-hyphenate creator.
Following the screening of Rescued, the 'Rescued in Real Life' panel extended the film's exploration of homelessness beyond the screen. Hale was joined by Brett Feldman, Director of Street Medicine at Keck School of Medicine of USC; Victoriah Bech Parker of Starts With One Today; Kristine Cox, Executive Director and Founder of Long Beach Community Table; and Madeline, a formerly unhoused resident of Skid Row, connecting the film's themes with lived experience and those working on the front lines of homelessness and outreach.
The festival's emphasis on connection extended to its inaugural LBFF StoryLab, a free filmmaking workshop for children ages 8–12. Young storytellers learned the fundamentals of filmmaking with hands-on support from working filmmakers, including two of the weekend's feature film directors, creating a direct bridge between the festival's emerging and established creative voices.
Throughout the weekend, the LBFF FilmLounge kept that connection going with filmmaker gatherings, happy hours and parties, while screenings and Q&As offered audiences rare access to the artists behind the work.
Presented by Sequence and produced in partnership with the Arts Council for Long Beach, City of Long Beach, Port of Long Beach and BMO Bank, LBFF was founded by filmmakers to champion independent cinema, connect artists with audiences and strengthen Long Beach as a destination for film and creativity. Details on the 2027 festival are to be announced soon. For more information visit www.longbeachfilmfestival.org.
About the Long Beach Film Festival
The Long Beach Film Festival (LBFF) is a filmmaker-founded and filmmaker-led festival dedicated to celebrating exceptional storytelling and creating meaningful connections between artists and audiences. Guided by the belief that it is 'Big enough to move the world, small enough to feel connected,' the festival brings together independent feature films, short films, industry conversations and community events in the heart of Long Beach. Produced in partnership with the Arts Council for Long Beach and Visit Long Beach, LBFF is committed to championing independent cinema while strengthening Long Beach's reputation as a vibrant destination for creativity, culture and film. For more information, visit www.longbeachfilmfestival.org.
Photo Credit: on the left: Lucas Gordon. Photo on right: Daniel Hernandez
Photo Credit: on the left: Lucas Gordon. Photo on right: Daniel Hernandez
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