New Orleans Film Festival

New Orleans Film Festival

Also known as: NOFF
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The New Orleans Film Festival is organised by the New Orleans Film Society and shows independent features and shorts at venues across New Orleans, followed by online screenings in a virtual cinema. About 90 percent of the lineup comes from open submissions, and the festival commits to giving at least half of its films to women and gender non-conforming directors and at least half to filmmakers of colour, with particular attention to artists from the American South. Filmmakers in the lineup receive a screening fee once they deliver the required materials, including closed captions.

Jury Awards are presented in competitive categories, and the Documentary Short, Narrative Short and Animated Short winners qualify for the Academy Awards. Outside the festival, the New Orleans Film Society runs development programmes for Southern filmmakers such as the Southern Producers Lab and the South Pitch competition. The 37th edition takes place in person on 22–27 October 2026, with virtual screenings until 1 November 2026.

Country

United States (USA)

Categories

Animation, Documentary, Experimental, Feature, Short

Awards and prizes

Jury Awards are presented in the festival's competitive categories; three jurors decide each category. The winners of the Documentary Short, Narrative Short and Animated Short Jury Awards are eligible for the corresponding Academy Awards categories without the standard theatrical run, provided the films otherwise comply with Academy rules. Audience Awards are decided by audience votes after in-person screenings and on the Virtual Cinema platform. The John-Carlo Monti Memorial Award, with a $500 honorarium, honours a Louisiana-based below-the-line crew member. Films produced or financed by a major studio and films that have acquired distribution can be screened but are not eligible for competitive awards.

Festival rules

Films are submitted only through FilmFreeway, in the Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Animated Short and Experimental Short categories; links sent by email are not accepted. Fees are lower for earlier deadlines and are not refunded. A small number of fee waivers and case-by-case discounts are available on request. There is no premiere requirement: films that have screened at virtual festivals or are available online are eligible. Works in progress are considered if they are picture-locked. Resubmitting a previously declined film is discouraged unless it has changed substantially. Episodic projects can submit the pilot in a short film category. Selected films must provide closed and/or open captions for both in-person and virtual screenings; audio description is strongly encouraged. Accepted films may be screened more than once.

Contacts

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