Submit your film
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival's competition series features the very best in independent filmmaking. Showcasing cinematic creativity that ranges from compelling feature-length fiction and documentary films to innovative international shorts, the festival's continuous pursuit of spotlighting excellence in filmmaking results in a diverse and enriching experience each year.
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival receives more than 2,500 film submissions annually for competition series. Submissions for the 2026 festival open Monday, Jan. 5, 2026.
2026 dates and deadlines
Submission period opens: Jan. 5, 2026
Early bird deadline: March 15, 2026
Regular deadline: June 1, 2026
Late deadline: June 15, 2026
Extended deadline: June 30, 2026
Notification date: Sept. 15, 2026
Competition categories
Animated Shorts
With the ability to delight and excite, these animated short films represent the diversity of the process — from hand-drawn figures to stop-motion and digital rendering — and showcase unique storytelling at its finest.
Fiction Features
From side-splitting comedies to heart-wrenching dramas, fiction feature films selected represent diversity in storytelling, excellence in acting and directing, and exemplary cinematography and editing.
Fiction Shorts
Professionally produced films that run the gamut of subject matter and style, Fiction Shorts are selected on their individual merits in storytelling and execution.
Documentary Features
Beyond simple subject matter, documentaries present compelling stories that illuminate and educate audiences in a thought-provoking and timely manner.
Documentary Shorts
Showcasing powerful nonfiction storytelling, Documentary Shorts bring together bold voices and fresh perspectives from around the world, capturing real lives, urgent issues, and voices of truth in cinematic miniature.
Student Shorts
In this collection, student short films represent emerging visions from a broad range of styles, including fiction, documentary, and animation.
"There are festivals that are a business and there are festivals that genuinely care about the films, the filmmakers and nurturing new and up-and-coming talent. SCAD is certainly the latter."
— Chris Overton, Academy Award-winning filmmaker, The Silent Child
2025 award winners
Winning films from the 2025 SCAD Savannah Film Festival explored a wide range of themes and viewpoints.
Audience awards
- Audience Award Winner — Frankenstein, directed by Guillermo del Toro
- Audience Award Runner-Up — Rental Family, directed by HIKARI
- International Audience Award Winner — No Other Choice, directed by Park Chan-wook
Professional competition
- Best Professional Short — Rise, directed by Jessica J. Rowlands
- Best Narrative Feature — Charliebird, directed by Libby Ewing
- Best Documentary Feature — Yanuni, directed by Richard Ladkani
- Best Director — Richard Ladkani, Yanuni
- Best Cinematography — The Singers, directed by Sam Davis
- Jury Award for Social Impact — All the Empty Rooms, directed by Joshua Seftel
- Jury Award for Ensemble Acting — Beyond Silence, cast members Henrianne Jansen, Sigrid ten Napel, and Tamar van den Dop
Student and animated shorts
- Best Professional Animated Short — Murmuration, directed by Janneke Swinkels and Tim Frijsinger
- Jury Award for Environmental Impact — Snow Bear, directed by Aaron Blaise
- Best Student Animated Short — Dragfox, directed by Lisa Ott, National Film & TV School
- Best Student Short — Breastmilk, directed by Ifeyinwa Arinze, NYU
The Katie Spikes Legacy Award Scholarship
Katie Spikes was a senior story editor for CBS' 60 Minutes and a beloved friend of the SCAD Savannah Film Festival for many years. After her passing in 2023, the Katie Spikes Legacy Scholarship was created to honor excellence in filmmaking by a SCAD student.
- Award Winner — Drag Me to Church, directed by Isabella Sullivan (B.F.A., film and television, 2025)
Global Shorts Forum
- Best Global Short — The Return, directed by Jeremy S. Levine
- Best Global Short: For the Love of Sport — Hoops, Hopes, & Dreams, directed by Glenn Kaino
- Best Global Short: Portraits of Perseverance — The Return, directed by Jeremy S. Levine
- Best Global Short: A Place in This World — Largo, directed by Salvatore Scarpa and Max Burgoyne-Moore
- Jury Award: Savannah Spotlight — Art with Every Breath, directed by Caroline Josey Karoki (M.F.A., film and television, 2013; M.A., arts administration, 2015)
- Jury Award: Humanitarian Spirit Award — Inside, The Valley Sings, directed by Nathan Fagan
- Jury Award: Excellence in Acting — Bonnie Hellman, Susana
Shorts Spotlight
- Best Shorts Spotlight — Two People Exchanging Saliva, directed by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata
- Best Shorts Spotlight: Dearest Daughter — Miriam, directed by Josie Andrews
- Best Shorts Spotlight: Reality Askew in Black & White — Two People Exchanging Saliva, directed by Alexandre Singh and Natalie Musteata
- Best Shorts Spotlight: Sweetness in the Bitter — The Second Time Around, directed by Jack Howard
- Best Shorts Spotlight: After Dark — The Pearl Comb, directed by Ali Cook
- Special Jury Award for Excellence in Animation — Playing God, directed by Matteo Burani
- Special Jury Award for Excellence in Acting — Pearl Scarlett Gold, Miriam
Rules
To see the rules and terms for submission, visit filmfreeway.com.
Awards and prizes
The SCAD Savannah Film Festival awards best-of honors in every competition category, as well as various cash prizes per category.
Judging
Films chosen for competition at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival are judged by a select panel of jurors who are journalists, filmmakers, producers, and executives with industry experience and have a keen eye for the best in cinema. Awards are announced at the annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival awards brunch.
2025 professional competition jurors
- Alex Barasch (writer and editor, The New Yorker)
- Clifton Collins Jr. (actor)
- Leslye Headland (director and writer)
- Richard Lawson (critic)
- Mary Neely (actor, producer, and writer)