Winter Film Festival Now Accepting Submissions for 15th Annual NYC Edition
Screenings will take place at REGAL Union Square Cinemas, with panels and workshops across NYC.
Winter Film Festival has opened for submissions for its 15th annual edition, to be held February 24-28 2027 at venues throughout New York City. Winter Film Festival Is New York City. Like the city itself, the organization showcases the eclectic diversity and excitement of the independent arts world. The Festival's 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 - the Festival believes that only by seeing others' stories can we understand each other and only via an open door can the underrepresented artist enter the room.
The Festival features creative fresh voices from emerging filmmakers worldwide in all genres and lengths - feature length and shorts, narrative fiction, dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, horror, web series and music videos.
Filmmakers are invited to submit their latest work via https://filmfreeway.com/WFA
or https://hiike.com/festivals/winter-film-festival
Filmmakers from around the world will travel to NYC to attend the Festival's thoughtfully curated film screenings at NYC's REGAL Union Square Cinemas, fascinating discussion panels, professional development workshops and glittering parties at venues throughout NYC.
Winter Film Festival is dedicated to showcasing the amazing voices in indie film and the 2026 lineup included 103 outstanding films, half made by women and half by people of color. Filmmakers came from 27 countries and 1/4 of the films were made in the New York City area. 20 films were made by students and 34 works from first-time filmmakers. Visit the 2026 Festival Page for details.
Outstanding work will be awarded for each category, along with Best Director, Best Student Film and Best NYC Film. Over $50,000 in cash, prizes & distribution opportunities will be awarded. Winter Film Festival is an IMDB-qualifying festival. Visit the Festival 'Frequently Asked Questions' for information about how submissions are judged, selected, screened and awarded.
'Emerging filmmakers with low budgets and no connections are so often ignored in favor of the standard big budget generic action films. Diverse, exciting low budget films are created all over the world; it is critical for film festivals to showcase them. Indie film festivals are often the sole means for the community to share personal stories from around the world, and WFF's location in the center of the action provides our filmmakers with a dazzling chance to begin their careers in the film industry.' - George Isaacs, Winter Film Festival Founder
