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Immigration Film Fest (12)

Deadlines

15 Mar 2025
Call for entries

15 May 2025
Final deadline

1
mth

15 Jul 2025
Notification date

19 Sep 2025
12 Oct 2025

Address

U Street, 20001, Washington, D.C., United States

Festival description

Short film festival 30'<

Feature film festival >31'

Festival requirements

Film festival

Fiction

Documentary

Animation

Fantastic

Terror

Experimental

Music Video

Other

Any Genre

Themes

Has submission fees

International Festival

Physical Location

Production date: Any

Production countries: Any

Shooting countries: Any

Director nationalities: Any

Debut Films

School projects

Short Films 30'<

Feature Films >31'

Any language

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English

Festival description (Edition: 12)

Festival start: 19 September 2025 Festival end: 12 October 2025

Celebrating its 12th year, the Immigration Film Fest (IFF) will be held in Washington, DC in Fall 2025!

The Immigration Film Fest is a festival hosted by KAMA DC, a volunteer-run nonprofit that is dedicated to promoting cultural exchange and celebrating the skills and stories of immigrants in the DMV area. We believe that immigrants bring unique perspectives and experiences that make our community stronger and more vibrant.

In the 12th year of the Immigration Film Fest, we seek thoughtful films that tell the stories of ordinary and extraordinary immigrants and refugees. The Immigration Film Fest is dedicated to bringing the power of film to spotlight and honor the stories of immigrants in society. We particularly encourage immigrant and student filmmakers to submit your films.

The 2025 Immigration Film Fest will be a hybrid festival with live screenings at DMV area venues and hosted online. Selected films will be provided exposure in Washington DC, where policy discussions about immigration are held by decision-makers, international media & thought leaders and where there is an enthusiastic audience for unique, creative films.

We appreciate your interest and encourage you to be part of the Immigration Film Fest in 2025.

We welcome you. Submit your film now!

Prizes and qualifications

For the 2025 festival, we will be awarding Laurels for all selected films.

Rules

The Immigration Film Fest (IFF) is delighted to have you submit your film for consideration to be shown in private live hosted online events and at various theater venues in the greater Washington DC area. Here are the rules and terms you agree to with your submission:

All films must be submitted on Festhome. The rules and terms of the Festhome web site are incorporated into the Terms and Conditions.

Films must deal with the topics of immigrants and refugees living or working in a new country, legally or undocumented, or their host communities. We seek works that recognize how deeply immigrants affect the lives of those around them. These films are ultimately creative works about people's lives, as such, comedy and imagination are greatly encouraged.

Films must be respectful and sensitive to the human needs and issues that arise. They may provide different points of view and show entrenched prejudice but films that have a hate motivation will not be selected and should not be submitted. The IFF is under no obligation to screen any of the films submitted and may reject any entry at its sole discretion.

Films must be available for screening in MP4 format in English or with English language subtitles. Official selections will be screened at venues or online events on dates set by IFF organizers.

By submitting your film to IFF, you grant the Immigration Film Fest, at no charge, the right to view, show, advertise, and make internal copies, if necessary, for the evaluation, showing and other functions of the Festival's mission and for promotion of the Festival and its educational purposes.

IFF may charge or accept donations for the viewing of the films at the Festival. All proceeds related to IFF’s promotion and showing of the films will be the property of IFF.

IFF will issue laurels to selected films, so the filmmaker may use them for further promotion and advertisement of the film.

In 2025, the Immigration Film Fest seeks thoughtful films of human endeavor and accomplishment - ordinary and extraordinary - in the communities in which they live. The IFF also seeks a cross section of nationalities, issues and other criteria in making a final selection. Thus, a very worthwhile film may not be selected. We may consider a film that is not selected for future years. We encourage you to take the IFF into account on any new or on-going projects. If your film is selected for the festival, we may show a preview of your upcoming work, if it meets with the general objectives of the IFF. Pre and post film discussions and workshops are an integral part of our programming, the availability of filmmakers and persons associated with a film during the Festival may also be a selection factor.

Documentary

Short and Feature Films

Standard Fee 25$
-8% 23$
PRO 33% 16.75$

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
15 May 25

Save up
8.25$

Submit

Film that is a nonfictional motion picture intended to document some aspect of real events, primarily for the purposes of instruction, exposing, or maintaining a historical record. A factual film which is dramatic.

Short

Short Films 30'<

Standard Fee 20$
-8% 18.4$
PRO 33% 13.4$

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
15 May 25

Save up
6.6$

Submit

Films of all techniques, including animation, which are short in duration (usually less than 30 minutes) dealing with the film festival's theme.

Narrative Feature

Short and Feature Films >31'

Standard Fee 25$
-8% 23$
PRO 33% 16.75$

Get an Annual Pass and get the maximum discount on festival and submission fees

Submissions deadline
15 May 25

Save up
8.25$

Submit

Film that tells a story. The story may be purely fictional or based on historical events. The filmmaker has the freedom to create story lines and alter facts as he or she sees fit for the narrative. Film may develop characters through whom the audience can experience the story. Generally films are 30 minutes or longer run time

Festhome holds accountable fees festivals by holding the payment of the fees of most newer festivals until they have viewed the submissions, held their festivals and other methods.