Oct. 21-28, 2023

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 narrative 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.

Submit your film

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival receives more than 2,000 film submissions annually for competition series. To submit a film for consideration or to learn more, visit FilmFreeway.

Submissions for the 2023 festival are closed. Submissions for the 2024 festival will open Friday, Dec. 1.

To submit your film for consideration for the 2024 SCAD Savannah Film Festival, visit 

2023 dates and deadlines

Submission period opens: Dec. 1, 2022
Early bird deadline: April 28, 2023
Regular deadline: June 1, 2023
Late deadline: June 15, 2023
Extended deadline: June 30, 2023
Notification date: Sept. 15, 2023
Festival: Oct. 21-28, 2023

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.

Global Shorts Forum

This collection of more than 30 powerful short films from a variety of international perspectives tackles pressing challenges faced by our global community, including BIPOC topics, homelessness, health, and women's issues.

LGBTQ+ Shorts presented by Amazon Studios

Recognizing the need for more inclusive storytelling, the SCAD Savannah Film Festival and Amazon Studios have partnered to create a dedicated short film competition that offers a platform for emerging queer filmmakers to share their stories and gain mentorship and exposure.

Narrative Features

From side-splitting comedies to heart-wrenching dramas, narrative feature films selected represent diversity in storytelling, excellence in acting and directing, and exemplary cinematography and editing.

Shorts Spotlight

These short films transcend the traditional modes of filmmaking with stories that make us laugh, consider the challenges many people face, and change the way we think about the world around us.

Documentary Features

Beyond simple subject matter, documentaries present compelling stories that illuminate and educate audiences in a thought-provoking and timely manner.

Professional Shorts

Running the gamut of topics and styles, these short films are selected based on their individual merits in storytelling and execution.

Student Shorts

In this collection, student short films represent emerging visions from a broad range of styles, including live action, narrative, 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

2022 award winners

Winning submissions from the 2022 SCAD Savannah Film Festival explored a wide range of themes and viewpoints.

Professional competition

  • Best Animated Short — New Moon, directed by Jeremie Balais, Jeff LeBars, and Raul Domingo
  • Best Documentary Feature — Sam Now, directed by Reed Harkness
  • Best Documentary Short — The Flagmakers, directed by Cynthia Wade and Sharon Liese
  • Best Professional Short — North Star, directed by P.J. Palmer
  • Best Narrative Feature — Pinball: The Man Who Saved the Game, directed by Austin Bragg and Meredith Bragg
  • Best Director — Reed Harkness, Sam Now
  • Best Editing — Butterfly in the Sky, edited by Bradford Thomason
  • Jury Award for Animation Excellence — Black Slide, directed by Uri Lotan.
  • Jury Award for Best Ensemble Cast — The Big Bend, directed by Brett Wagner
  • Jury Award for Excellence in Inspirational Storytelling — Afghan Dreamers, directed by David Greenwald
  • Jury Award for Excellence in Cinematography — Crows are White, directed by Ahsen Nadeem
  • Jury Award for Comedic Excellence — Miss Patti, directed by Kate Hamilton and Grasie Mercedes
  • Jury Award for Powerful Storytelling — Angola Do You Hear Us? Voices from a Plantation Prison, directed by Cinque Northern

Student competition

  • Best Student Short — This Wild Abyss, directed by Thomas Mendolia
  • Best Student Animation — The Soloists, directed by Mehrnaz Abdollahinia, Feben Elias Woldehawariat, Razahk Issaka, Celeste Jamneck, and Yi Liu
  • Student Shorts Jury Award for Artistic Excellence — Maayanagri (A City of Dreams), directed by Sourab Reddy*

Global Shorts Forum

  • Global Shorts: Best of Show — Wax and Wane, directed by Beidi Wang
  • Best Global Short: Of The Land — Mulsotan — The Rooted, directed by Janantik Shukla*
  • Best Global Short: XX — Hysterical, directed by April Moreau
  • Global Shorts: Jury Award for Artistic Excellence — Murmurs of the Jungle, directed by Sohil Vaidya
  • Global Shorts: Jury Award for Unique Storytelling — Feeling the Apocalypse, directed by Chen Sing Yap

Shorts Spotlight

  • Shorts Spotlight: Best of Show — Burros, directed by Jefferson Stein
  • Shorts Spotlight Best Short: Amusing Perspectives — Chasin' Butterflies, directed by Joshua Harding,* Adam Hobbs, and Matt Klug. 
  • Shorts Spotlight Best Short: Person First — Murder Tongue, directed by Ali Sohail Jaura

*SCAD student or alum

Rules

To see the rules and terms for submission, visit filmfreeway.com.

Awards and prizes

The SCAD Savannah Film Festival honors the top films in competition categories and will award additional recognitions at the discretion of festival jurors.

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.