Florida
Indie Film
Festival
Independent film, caught at golden hour. Our first season, one Friday in Kissimmee.
Friday, January 29, 2027
3:00 - 5:00 PM
OBG Business & Coworking Space
932 E Osceola Pkwy, Kissimmee, FL 34744
Shot by people who know the light.
Florida has more coastline than story, most years. Every town along it has its own light, its own weather, its own way of waiting out a storm, and almost none of it makes it to a screen on purpose. This festival exists for the films that do, the ones shot by people who know what three in the afternoon actually looks like here, humid and overexposed and impossible to fake from somewhere else.
We are looking for independent features and shorts from anywhere, not just Florida, judged on craft rather than setting. But we built this festival in the state for a reason, and a film that understands a particular stretch of ground, whatever ground that is, tends to find a welcome here. Documentary, drama, comedy, animation, whatever runs and finishes clean, we want to see it.
The program plays on Friday, January 29, 2027, from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, at OBG Business & Coworking Space, 932 E Osceola Pkwy in Kissimmee. Selected filmmakers introduce their work before it plays and take questions once the lights come up, and the afternoon closes with the room staying open for a while, filmmakers and the audience talking over what they just watched before anyone has to drive home.
If your film has a place it actually comes from, we want to see it here.
What you need to know before you send it.
Eligibility
- Any genre, any length, any country, features and shorts both welcome.
- Completed after January 1, 2025.
- English dialogue, or English subtitles if the film is not in English.
- Student films and first-time filmmakers are judged in the same pool as everyone else, no separate ceiling.
- A film can enter in more than one category, one entry fee covers all of them.
Format & delivery
- Digital file, minimum 1080p, submitted through FilmFreeway, no physical media accepted.
- MP4 (H.264) preferred, other common formats are fine as long as they play cleanly.
- Multiple submissions are welcome, each one is its own paid entry.
- You keep every right to your film. Selection grants us a one-time, non-exclusive license to screen it at the event and use short clips to promote the festival.
Fees are not refundable once a film is submitted, and the programming team has final say on what plays in the room.
Eight awards, named for what they honor.
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Best Feature Film
The strongest film over 40 minutes in the program.
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Best Short Film
The strongest film under 40 minutes in the program.
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Best Documentary
A true story told with real craft, not just real footage.
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Best Director
Whoever's hand you can feel on every scene.
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Best Cinematography
Work where the image is doing as much as the script.
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Best Screenplay
The film that reads as well as it plays.
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Audience Choice
Voted on by everyone in the room on the day.
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Best Sunshine State Story
A film shot in Florida, or built around something true about the state.
Three tiers, named for the water.
| Deadline | Tier | Date | Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Low Tide | Early | November 6, 2026 | $10 |
| High Tide | Regular | December 4, 2026 | $15 |
| Last Wave | Final | January 11, 2027 | $20 |
Submissions open October 26, 2026
Notification January 18, 2027
Event Friday, January 29, 2027
One Friday afternoon.
Friday, January 29, 2027
3:00 to 5:00 PM
OBG Business & Coworking Space932 E Osceola Pkwy
Kissimmee, FL 34744
United States Get directions
- The films. Selected features and shorts play one after another in a single sitting.
- The Q&A. Filmmakers who are in the room take questions when their film ends.
- The room stays open. Filmmakers and the audience, talking over what they just watched.
If it's yours, we want to see it.
Submissions open October 26, 2026. The FilmFreeway listing goes live with them, check back here or write to us directly with questions.
© 2027 Florida Indie Film Festival