A Growing Passion
For Film

Unless you unsubscribe from our mailing list, you should receive at least one email about your film submission.

Haven't heard about the status of your submission? Submissions status for all films and screenplays submitted for LTFF 2023 are scheduled to be released on July 18th.

If you are new, your first step will be creating an account and a “project” for your submission. Please refer to FilmFreeway for help on how to submit. Please do not email us your films. We cannot consider any project that is not submitted officially through FilmFreeway. We only take submissions through FilmFreeway.

We suggest that you use a permanent member of the crew to submit (director or producer). Please use an email address/phone number that is checked regularly in case we need to get in touch with you throughout the submission process. Suppose there is an issue with your submission, and we are unable to get in touch with anyone by our final submission deadline. In that case, we will be forced to disqualify your submission (without a refund of submission fees). PLEASE…do not enter if you cannot provide us with a hi-res version of your film to show.

Each submission must be accompanied by a submission fee paid in full and a workable online screener to be considered. If accepted, please have photos from the film, a poster, and other promotional resources to help us promote you.

In your FilmFreeway account, you'll see a message indicating that your film satisfies all requirements and is “In Consideration.” If you see a yellow or red circle next to your submission, you’ve partially satisfied the requirements. We have either not received your screener and/or payment, there is an issue with the screener, the film was submitted to the wrong category, or there was an upload error with FilmFreeway.
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If your film has not been listed “In Consideration” within seven business days, please contact us as soon as possible so we can look into it.

No. We only accept online screeners through FilmFreeway.

The submitter is responsible for ensuring that their screener link and password are active through July 31st. If a password or URL changes after submitting, email us immediately. If we discover an error with the screener, we will attempt to email the submitter for an update. Failure to respond by the final submission deadline will result in disqualification without a refund of submission fees.

You can submit as many projects as you would like. However, you must pay a separate submission fee for each category. We do not offer bulk discounts.

Only on feature-length projects that may lack final color grading/sound design. No further editing is accepted—no updates to short films.

Final notifications are scheduled to take place no later than July 18th. Some filmmakers may receive notification sooner than this, but you're still in the running if you haven't heard from us yet.

Accepted films will receive an email with plenty of follow-ups. Films not accepted will also be notified by email by the notification deadline. Please make sure the email address associated with your submission remains active throughout the submission process. Your Accepted/Not Accepted status should also be reflected in FilmFreeway by the notification date.

If it’s not your film, it’s advisable to submit it only after you’ve received permission from the filmmakers. Please provide us with the director’s contact information if you are not the director. They will be listed in the program.

For directors and producers, we strongly advise that everyone agrees about the festivals they are submitting to, which festivals they want to play first or premiere at, and which version of the film is submitted.

When disputes arise, for example, a film has been submitted without everyone’s explicit approval, or the festival strategy has changed, we suggest that productions agree with all the critical decision-makers before contacting us or any festivals the film has been submitted to.

Short and long forms of narrative and documentary. Music videos. We also have a category for high school students.

Will you take a look at my film and tell me if I should submit to you? Sorry, but no. We cannot review any films that have not been officially submitted to us. We get so many submissions that we must dedicate our time to watching the films that have gone the official route (and paid their submission fee).

We consider a short film as anything shorter than 45 minutes and anything 45 minutes or over as a feature film. 

We have no cut-off for runtime, but shorter is always better (as shorter films allow for more flexibility when building our schedule). Runtime is especially significant when it comes to short films. We rarely choose to program a 45-minute short film when we could program two 15-minute shorts or three 10-minute shorts (giving an opportunity to more filmmakers). However, there are always exceptions to this rule!

No. You are only considered for the category you submit your film. Please don’t submit your film to a category with a cheaper fee even though it belongs somewhere else. Films submitted to an inappropriate category will be disqualified without a refund. Read the category descriptions carefully, and email us if you have any questions.

We have no rating limitations on films submitted and will screen films with a variety of content, from family-friendly to some more mature themes. We want films that are well-made with stories that matter.

We will have an award category for films with Texas directors or filmed in Texas. Outside of that, we hope to have a broad slate of films from across the globe.

Yes. Jury awards for feature films include Narrative and Documentary. Jury awards for short films include Narrative and Documentary. Also, music videos and student films.

We program shorts thematically. We will not choose the themes ahead of time. We look to see what themes we can build from the submissions received.

No. We prefer great and interesting stories. If a star happens to show up in a great film, fantastic. It is not a requirement.

We use a variety of filmmakers and film enthusiasts to watch films. Some are academics, some are filmmakers, and some are movie buffs. Each film will be viewed at least twice (usually more) before being elevated to the next level.

No. We prefer not to have an inside influence on what films we select.

Sorry, but no. Please don’t call or email us asking for updates on your film. We’re a year-round arts organization. In addition to overseeing the submissions we receive for the festival, we’re constantly planning screenings, running workshops, and hosting events. Furthermore, the submission review process is long and complex and typically doesn’t firm up until very close to our notification date. Some films receive high scores from screeners early on that don’t have a place in the festival. Some films receive so-so scores from screeners that end up being the missing piece in the program. We don’t want to tell you anything we cannot absolutely commit to. You’ll know when we do. 

The Programming Team makes final selections.

We have various deadlines throughout our submission process.

Please check Film Freeway for the most recent deadlines.

Yes, submission fees are cheaper. But ultimately, all submissions are evaluated equally, and we program films submitted throughout the submission period every year. Submitting early won’t increase your chances of getting accepted, but it will increase your chances of a well-rested programmer watching your film.

So sorry, we aren’t able to give waivers.

But I’m a struggling independent filmmaker who spent all my money making my film! We get it; really, we do. But the reality is that most of the filmmakers that submit to us are independent filmmakers with little money to spend. It wouldn’t be fair for us to waive fees for some and not others.

A submission fee guarantees your work is properly viewed and considered, and neither submission fees nor waivers guarantee acceptance. Submission fees support the competition, festival travel for hundreds of attending filmmakers, and the small team of staff and volunteers that will process hours of content for the festival.

Registration (badge pickup and check-in) will be located at the festival, where you will pick up your credentials. They will not be mailed to you OR sent virtually. 

Badge pick-up is available at the registration area (Check the daily schedules on the website for locations/times)

The full schedule will be available on July 18th.

The festival's official lodgings are on this site. We recommend staying in one of our partner hotels in Bee Cave and Lakeway, TX, for ease of travel and pricing reductions.

Downtown Austin is between 30 and 40 minutes from the Lake Travis area.

Bee Cave and Lakeway are neighboring cities, only a five-minute drive apart.