Finding Bright Film Festival

Finding Bright Film Festival

Also known as: Arlington International Film Festival, AIFF
📝 Sign up as a festival representative to manage this page!

Finding Bright Film Festival, formerly the Arlington International Film Festival (AIFF), programs handmade and experimental films with an emphasis on creative risk and unconventional storytelling. It is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit led by executive director Jaina Cipriano, and its screening blocks run alongside immersive performance events at the Capitol Theatre in Arlington, Massachusetts.

AIFF was founded in 2010 by Alberto Guzman and April Ranck; its selections included the Academy Award-nominated documentaries Botso: The Teacher from Tbilisi, Elena and Documented. The festival accepts national and international work: shorts run up to 45 minutes, features start at 46 minutes, and a separate category is open to local high school filmmakers. The dates for the 2026 edition are 5-8 November 2026.

Country

United States (USA)

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Short, Student

Dates

5 November 2026 — 8 November 2026

Awards and prizes

Strange Beauty Award for production design, favouring unconventional aesthetics and world building. Creative Weirdo / Artistic Risk Award for films that take major artistic risks, especially those promoting handmade craft. Boundary Breaker Award for a film in which rules were broken, conventions ignored or new territory explored. Spotlight Award for films calling attention to an overlooked story, community, idea or person. The festival also gives an Audience Award and the Finding Bright Award for unconventional, ambitious storytelling that fits the spirit of the festival.

Festival rules

Feature films, narrative and documentary, run 46 minutes or longer. Short films run 45 minutes or less. Films must be in the original language with English subtitles. Production must have been completed within the last two years. Screening materials can be sent via Dropbox, WeTransfer or as a high-resolution DCP file; the preferred format for theatre screening is DCP.

Contacts

✏️ Edit this page!