You may enter Shorts, Features, Student Films, Experimental Films, Screenplays, Music Videos and New Media via the wonderful FilmFreeway platform. However, if you want to enter the Television & Cable Categories and the Film & Video Categories (100's of specialized TV, Documentary and Corporate/Business Categories, simply visit our main website at
worldfest.org - click to Enter, then click on Enter Film Festival! Welcome to the 48th Annual WorldFest-Houston International Film & Video Festival!
WorldFest Artistic and Program Director Kathleen Haney stated, “We feel that it is impossible to properly emphasize individual films when the festival screening schedule is too large. We must consider both our festival audience and our independent filmmakers. A huge slate of 150-300 films cannot possibly do justice to each individual film. Further, it is impossible to see more than 50-60 films (with four shows a day) in a ten-day festival, so it is foolish to program more than that.” Haney continued, “We will concentrate on only the very best, selecting new American & Foreign Independent films that truly deserve a premiere at WorldFest. By doing so, we can concentrate on the films and their filmmakers and enable our faithful audience the opportunity to see each and every film!” All 35mm films and Digital entries are screened at the AMC Meyer Park Theatre, WorldFest – the Indie Film Festival for the New Millennium!
In addition to honoring a different country each year, WorldFest will continue with its annual Short Film Showcase, a special review of 100+ new short and student films…from the festival that discovered Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Ang Lee, John Lee Hancock, Randall Kleiser, Ridley Scott, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Townsend, The Coen Brothers, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone and David Lynch with their very first awards. WorldFest has emerged as the oldest film festival management in the world, with the same continuous director for 39 consecutive years. A few other festivals are older, but they have had as many as ten different directors. WorldFest is uniquely the only film festival in North America that is staffed and managed totally by filmmakers. All staff members have active film and video production experience, which gives them a very unique point of reference in relation to the entering filmmakers and their work. WorldFest, founded in 1961, is the oldest Independent film festival in the world, and the 3rd oldest film festival in North America.
Among the remarkable number of WorldFest discoveries, we include just a few, listed in alphabetical order: John Alvidson, John Badham, Ralph Bakshi, Carroll Ballard, John Boorman, Marty Brest, Michael Cimino, The Coen Brothers, Bryan De Palma, Jonathan Demme, Michael Demme, Atom Egoyan, John Frankenheimer, Leslie Linka Glatter, Charles Guggenheim, John Lee Hancock, Hal Hartley, Randall Kleiser, Ang Lee, Spike Lee, George Lucas, David Lynch, Paul Mazursky, Steve Poster, Robert Rodriguez, John Sayles, Ridley Scott, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Robert Townsend, Will Vinton, Peter Weir, Hugh Wilson and hundreds more. The winners this year will be the Spielbergs of tomorrow and you can meet them before they are famous. WorldFest-Houston…”Fiercely Independent” WorldFest is one of the oldest film festivals in the world, founded in 1961 as a film society.
Awards & Prizes
Because of our 12 major competitions and the 200+ sub-categories, WorldFest does give a lot of awards, but they are both earned and deserved. No awards are given in any category unless the scores from the juries are high enough to place for honors. Overall only 15-20% of the total category entries actually win an award at WorldFest. However, everyone attending the Grand Awards Gala wins an award, because we only invite the actual winners, which makes for a delightful and very enjoyable evening, since there are no disappointed “nominees” that do not win anything. Those that do not win an award are informed by email or letters prior to the festival. (For Shorts over 15 Minutes, please scroll down to LONG SHORTS to enter. We accept shorts to 69:59 Minutes, after that we consider them to be Featurettes).
Rules & Terms
A BLURAY OR A DVD MUST BE INCLUDED WITH YOUR ENTRY. FAILURE TO DO SEND THE REQUIRED MATERIALS WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION. WE JUDGE ON BIG THEATER SCREENS, NOT ON LITTLE LAPTOPS!
All filmmakers understand and accept that if their film is accepted for presentation and screening at the film/video festival, they grant full and unrestricted permission for HIFF, Inc. to screen the film/video at times of the festivals choice and to charge an admission fee for the presentation of the digital video program. All the presented film/videos do win a Remi Award from the festival (HIFF). WorldFest only screens winners.
The Filmmaker understands and accepts that they do not participate in receiving any funds from the Box-office proceeds which are fully retained by the festival to help cover the cost of the festival presentation. It should be noted for the record that box-office proceeds never cover the cost of presentation of the Features and Short Film Programs. The Festival (HIFF) is a non-profit, 501-c-3 Educational/Cultural Organization with Federal, State, County & City Tax-Exemptions.
The filmmaker releases the festival (HIFF) from any and all liability for damages or destruction of the entered DVD/BluRay. The Filmmaker understands that the entered DVD or BluRay will be retained in a secure facility by the festival, and every effort will be taken to protect and control the viewing of this production. The festival assumes no liability whatsoever for theft, copyright violations or piracy of the entry.
The Filmmaker accepts and understands that the festival, in conjunction with AMC Studio 30 Dunvale will do everything possible to present the video in the best possible manner but the festival (HIFF) is not responsible for any and all malfunctions during the presentation of the production at its festival screening. We use Professional Pioneer BluRay/DVD International playback systems, all formats, all regions, including Region 0. All entries are carefully pre-screened prior to the public showing to assure that the BluRay/DVD does perform to industry Standards. The Festival (HIFF) assumes no responsibility for any technical difficulties in the presentation of this video at the actual event.
The Film Festival (HIFF) reserves the complete right to make changes in the program dates and times and to possibly not screen the video, despite it’s being selected for screening.
The filmmaker will endeavor to present to The Festival (HIFF) a new and pre-checked BluRay/ DVD for the actual presentation of the video at the festival. If this is not possible, the festival reserves the right to present the actual entered video if a special Presentation Screening BluRay/DVD is not available or provided.
You may send just one DVD/BluRay for multiple category entries. You may combine multiple TV commercial entries on a DVD, with no color bars, no automatic looping feature to begin again and a 5 second break between spots. Make sure their titles and order/sequence are correct on the DVD. Screenplays must be properly bound in some way, and can be optioned but not currently produced, and there is no limit to the number of screenplays that can be entered. DVD Entries can be NTSC, PAL, or SECAM, – any and all regions. There is no extra charge for PAL or other formats. We accept all regions and all formats. We also accept Blu-Ray discs, any region.
A short paragraph, 50-100 word synopsis, is required for all scripts and all entries (except TV commercials, music videos), which is for the jury and if selected, for the program book. Shorts and features are to provide (when selected into program) a color or B/W production digital still photo (resolution of 300 Dots per square inch DPI or higher, higher is much better) for the program book jpeg photo files are OK. (Photos not required for video, cable, TV commercials, website entries, or screenplay entries). If accepted, feature entries should also send several production still photos of a high resolution (300 DPI or better), a press kit, and short CV (resume) with photo of the director(s).
Special note for script entries: Synopsis need to accompany the script. You may ID the script with title, your name & contact details, and your WorldFest entry ID. Scripts must be bound in some way! We do prefer scripts to be printed in Courier 12pt – 14pt if at all possible. We will not accept loose pages in a box. Unproduced scripts only, please, and no digital files. Our judges like to hold the script in their hands and feel the paper!
