San Antonio Black International Film Festival

San Antonio Black International Film Festival

Also known as: SABIFF, SA BIFF
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The San Antonio Black International Film Festival (SABIFF) showcases independent films by, for and about people of African descent, aiming to support Black filmmakers and to bring under-represented stories of the global Diaspora to audiences in San Antonio, Texas. It was founded by San Antonio filmmaker Ada M. Babineaux, a former producer at Black Entertainment Television, and first took place in 2019. Each edition is built around a theme, and films selected through an open call screen in competition blocks of narrative and documentary features and shorts, animation, music videos and student films, alongside workshops, a student matinee, an awards gala and a San Antonio Black history tour.

The 2026 edition, themed History upRising!, took place from 2 to 4 October 2026 at venues including the Carver Community Cultural Center, with online screenings on the festival's video-on-demand platform.

Country

United States (USA)

Awards and prizes

Films-in-competition awards across the competition categories, with Best of Show winners in documentary, narrative and student shorts; an Audience Choice Award voted by festival audiences; the Ankh Achievement Award; Ubuntu Community Award honorees.

Festival rules

Films must be by, for and/or about people of African descent, Black, Indigenous and/or People of Color (BIPOC), with BIPOC filmmakers in key creative and production roles. Filmmakers of all ethnic groups may submit, and all genres, styles and storytelling approaches are accepted. Submissions are accepted through an open call on FilmFreeway; for 2026 the open call ran from 26 January to 14 June.

Contacts

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