Hobnobben Film Festival

Hobnobben Film Festival

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Hobnobben Film Festival is the signature event of Fort Wayne Cinema Center, a nonprofit arthouse cinema in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and has shown independent films since 2016. Its programming centres on voices often left out of the film industry: LGBTQIA+, Black and Indigenous filmmakers, people of colour, women, neurodivergent and immigrant stories, seniors, body-positive and campy work. Films are screened in themed blocks rather than grouped by format. The festival is run by volunteers under an all-female leadership team and offers submission fee waivers to any filmmaker who asks. Its awards include the Jen Lynn Award for LGBTQIA+ representation and an Indiana Reels category for films with an Indiana connection.

The 11th edition takes place in person at Cinema Center on 22–25 October 2026, with virtual screenings until 10 November 2026; its programme comprises 154 films in 35 blocks.

Country

United States (USA)

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Feature, Short, Student

Awards and prizes

Best of awards in each category: Narrative Feature; Feature-Length Unscripted; Animated Short; Unscripted Short; Fiction Short; Student Work (high school and undergraduate); First-Time Filmmaker and Advanced Student; Indiana Reels (films with an Indiana connection, short and feature-length); Best Comedy. All submitted films are also eligible for the Jen Lynn Award, which honours LGBTQIA+ representation and storytelling.

Festival rules

Films are submitted only through the festival's FilmFreeway page. For the 2026 edition, films completed after 1 January 2025 are eligible; exceptions can be discussed with the festival before submitting. Non-English-language films must have English subtitles, and English captions are encouraged for English-language films. Filmmakers are asked to disclose any use of AI; human authorship is prioritised. Submission fee waivers are available on request by email. The festival does not accept work involving misogyny, certain sexual violence, incest, transphobic content, slurs, fridging of female characters or villainising neurodivergent characters. Selected films may be screened up to five times during the in-person and virtual festival.

Contacts

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