Austin Film Festival is dedicated to furthering the art, craft, and business of screenwriting and filmmaking by providing unique, year-round cultural events and services, enhancing public awareness and participation, and encouraging dynamic and long-lasting community partnerships. Austin Film Festival is a not for profit 501c3 corporation. Click here to learn more.

Sure. Lots to do.

Link to Volunteer page.

See Refund Policy

Join AFF todayfor a year’s worth of exclusive advanced screenings, film premieres, script readings, Conversations in Film, party invitations, and more! AFF Members not only receive free access to most of our events, but also gain priority seating! Skip the long lines and enjoy first entry into the theatre as an AFF Member . You’ll also receive discounts around town at participating businesses.
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The AFF Coverage Program provides constructive and Hollywood-savvy feedback that will show you exactly how industry professionals gauge a script’s power and functionality.   Learn More

The 28th annual Austin Film Festival is October 21 – October 28, 2021. Join Us!

Both! We’re hosting our Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference live event in Austin, TX featuring 8 days of live film screenings, 4 days of live panels, and select live parties. If you are unable to make it to Austin, we’re taking things digitally with our Virtual Festival. A Virtual Badge will give you access to 35+ on demand content from the Festival + virtual only sessions, 25+ virtual feature films and 55+ short films, On Demand Filmmaker Q&As, and special virtual programming for Second Rounders, Semi Finalists, and 2021 Selected Filmmakers (programming subject to change).

*Programming subject to change

8 days of live film screenings, 4 days of live panels, and select live parties – all of it from downtown Austin, Texas. Experience the live event with our selection of Badges and Passes: Producers, Conference, Weekend, Lonestar, Film Pass. Get your Badge or Pass today!

• Access to 35+ on demand content from the Festival + virtual only sessions
• Access to 25+ virtual feature films
• Access to 55+ short films
• On Demand Filmmaker Q&As
• Special virtual programming for Second Rounders, Semi Finalists, and 2021 Selected Filmmakers.

Programming subject to change. 

Get your Virtual Badge today!

The Film Festival shows movies at theaters throughout downtown Austin and the surrounding area. Venues include the Paramount Theatre, State Theatre, Long Center Rollins Theatre, The Galaxy Theatre, Vesper Austin. (Venues are subject to change each year). The Conference panels take place at the Driskill Hotel, Omni Hotel, St. David’s Church, Central Presbyterian Church, and 800 Congress in the heart of downtown Austin, and in East Austin.

When a Virtual Badge is purchased, the buyer will create a customer account (in Eventive). Festival programs will primarily be accessible on the Austin Film Festival website via one’s Eventive account with few exceptions.

Our main goal is to make sure that all our attendees feel safe. To ensure this, we are keeping a watchful eye on recommended health guidelines along with those encouraged by our local community. You can find our most up to date Festival and partner venue policies here.

Yes. The Conference Panels occur for the first four days of the Festival with Films screening through all eight days. Panels usually end around 5pm and films run throughout the evening. Stay tuned for more details!

The Conference provides over 175 inspiring and interactive panels, roundtables, and meet & greets with established screenwriters and filmmakers. The Conference conducts workshops on the core elements of screenwriting and filmmaking, including dialogue, story structure, and character development. Some popular panels focus on writing scripts that producers want to develop, overcoming writer’s block, producing your film on an indie budget, marketing your project, and more.

Panelists’ photos and bios can be found on the Panelist page. All Panelists are confirmed, schedules permitting and may be subject to change without notice.

Yes, lots! There are meet and greets with many writers and producers as well as parties where you can meet lots of industry people. In fact, many people have gotten their scripts sold and found new opportunities by attending the festival. To hear some of our success stories, visit the Success Stories page.

Check your Badge of choice to see what parties you have access to, here.

Virtual panels will be available to stream until Monday, October 25, 2 AM CDT. Virtual films will be available to stream until Friday, October 29, 2 AM CDT.

Access it all with our Virtual Badge or Producers Badge – buy yours today!

With few exceptions, our virtual programs can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Certain film titles may be subject to geo-blocking restrictions at distributors discretion.

Review the programs you wish to watch so you know if they are scheduled or available at your leisure. The overall program includes a number of each type! 

All scheduled programs are in Central Standard Time. 

Presentations do not carry an MPAA rating.

The Festival schedule and guests are subject to change. Our website and social media platforms will have the most up-to-date information.

We do not offer a specific area to park; however, there are several options to park downtown. There are parking garages and meters. Parking garages are available all around the downtown area and are only a few dollars to park there. Metered Parking hours are as follows: Monday-Wednesday: 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Thursday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.-Midnight, Saturdays: 11:00 a.m.-Midnight. The hours listed will apply to all meters between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street, and between IH-35 and Lamar Blvd. Outside of that area, meters will begin operating from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Unless otherwise marked, metered on-street parking has a three-hour time limit.

Film Submissions FAQ

Screenplay & Teleplay FAQ

Digital Series FAQ

Yes! You can get involved by helping us prepare for the festival or by working at the actual event. Please feel free to give us a call at 512-478-4795 or email at volunteer@austinfilmfestival.com for more information. More details can be found at the Volunteer Information page.

Yes, individual movie tickets for the virtual Festival are available at our Eventive platform. Individual tickets for our live Festival will be available for purchase soon. Please stay tuned for more. 

Badges give you priority access to all Festival films plus access to panels at the Conference as well as the parties and meet & greets offered by the Festival. Click here to purchase a Badge.
A Film Pass allows you the opportunity to see over 180 films in 8 days and grants you priority in line over single pass tickets giving you more time to get seats, popcorn, and drinks. Click here to purchase a Film Pass.

• The Producers Badge grants you access to everything, including panels, front-of-line entry to all Film Festival films and to all parties.
• The Conference Badge grants you access to the four days of panels at the conference, unlimited access to the film screenings throughout the festival, and entry to some of the parties, including the Late Night Welcome Party, the Pitch Finale Party, and the Heart of Film Conference Party.
• The Weekend Badge grants you access to the Conference on Saturday and Sunday, all films, and entry to the Pitch Finale Party and the Heart of Film Conference Party.
• The Lone Star Badge grants you access to Saturday panels and entry to all of the films and the Pitch Party. To purchase a badge, visit the Badges and Passes information page.

For more information, visit the Badge Page

For live event: The Producers, Conference, Weekend, and Lone Star Badges as well as Film Passes will have a price increase on midnight, June 14th, and midnight, September 17th. Badges and Passes will then go to full price up to the Festival. Individual tickets go on sale the day of the screening, 20 minutes prior to showtime at the designated theater if seating is still available. For more information and pricing visit The Shop Page, or order over the phone (1-800-310-FEST (3378)).

For virtual event: Virtual Badge will have a price increase on midnight September 30th, and will go to full price up to the Festival.

If you buy your Badge or Pass online or over the phone prior to the event, it will be available for pickup at Festival Registration located in the Driskill Hotel (604 Brazos) starting on Wednesday afternoon, October 20th.

Driskill Hotel:

Wednesday, October 20, 12:00pm–11:00pm
Thursday, October 21, 8:00am–11:00pm
Friday, October 22, 8:00am–11:00pm
Saturday, October 23, 8:00am–9:00pm
Sunday, October 24, 10:00am–5:00pm

Tech Center (221 E 9th St., Austin, TX 78701):
Monday through Tuesday: October 25–26, 12:00pm-6:30pm
Wednesday through Thursday: October 27–28, 12:00pm–5:00pm

Refund requests for the Festival must be in writing, postmarked by July 15th, 2021, and all refunds will incur a $75 processing fee. Please send refund requests to:

Austin Film Festival
1801 Salina Street
Austin, Texas 78702

After July 15th, 2021, all payments are non-refundable for any reason, including, but not limited to illness, acts of God, or travel-related problems. Badges are non-transferable and are the property of Austin Film Festival, Inc. Unused registrations cannot be credited for future year’s attendance. Find more information on our Refund & Policy Page.

Discounts are available to Austin Film Festival members – depending on the level of membership. For more information on membership, visit the Membership page.

The AFF Awards Luncheon presented by Alice Kleberg Reynolds Foundation will be held on Saturday, October 23rd, and you can buy tickets by calling 1-800-310-FEST or purchase online with your Badge. Tickets are $70 and only Conference and Producer badge-holders may purchase a ticket. The Awards Luncheon honors the 2016 Awardees, Screenplay Competition winners, and Film Competition winners.

Yes. To see what badges get you into what parties, please see the grid on the Badge Page.

No. The Film & Food party is a separate charity event that raises money for our Young Filmmakers Program the night before the festival at the Driskill Hotel. Badge-holders do receive a discount on the ticket price. For more information, visit the Film & Food information page.

The Film Festival shows movies at theaters throughout downtown Austin and the surrounding area. Venues include the Paramount Theatre, State Theatre, Long Center Rollins Theatre, and The Galaxy Theatre. (Venues are subject to change each year). The Conference panels take place at the Driskill Hotel, Intercontinental Stephen F. Austin Hotel, and St. David’s Church in the heart of downtown Austin.

Each year, Austin Film Festival holds film competitions in 8 categories, including: Narrative Feature, Narrative Short, Narrative Student Short, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short, Comedy Vanguard, Dark Matters, and Animated Short.

AFF also presents out-of-competition Marquee Screenings, giving audiences their first opportunity to see films that will grab the spotlight during Oscar© season.

The festival will show over 180 films during the 8 day event.

We’re still working to get our programming information lined up for our Live and Virtual Festival. 

To stay in the loop with all happenings, be sure to subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the most current updates and announcements.

For our Live Festival: Opening night typically starts at 7 pm on Thursday. Films are screened all day on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Afternoon matinees and evening shows are offered Monday thru Thursday. The full film schedule will be released closer to the Festival.

For Virtual Festival: Please check Eventive for film schedule. 

With few exceptions, our virtual programs can be accessed from anywhere in the world. Certain film titles may be subject to geo-blocking restrictions at distributors discretion.

The selection for screening will be announced a month prior to the festival. Filmmakers will be notified regarding the status of their film by late September at the latest.

After the screening you will be handed a ballot to cast your vote.

The awards will be presented during the Austin Film Festival Awards Luncheon. Awards are based on overall merit of the entries. In-competition awards are determined by a distinguished group of jurors, all established within the film industry.  All awards will be presented to the writer of the winning films with the exception of the Documentary awards which will be presented to the director.

While there are many great options for places to stay in Austin, Austin Film Festival has several special rates for those attending the Festival.  To get the special rate, the room must be booked through Austin Film Festival. Please call 1-800-310-FEST(3378) to book today! For more information and a list of our partner hotels, please visit the Travel & Lodging page.

It’s a common saying here: if you don’t like Texas weather, just wait five minutes. While Austin weather is not so dramatic, it can change from hot to chilly very quickly. In general, Austin sees highs of around 80 degrees Fahrenheit and lows around 60 degrees Fahrenheit in October.

Visit Austin Weather Forecast for more up-to-date info.

We do not offer a specific area to park; however, there are several options to park downtown. There are parking garages and meters. Parking garages are available all around the downtown area and are only a few dollars to park there. Metered Parking hours are as follows: Monday-Wednesday: 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m., Thursday-Friday: 8:00 a.m.-Midnight, Saturdays: 11:00 a.m.-Midnight. The hours listed will apply to all meters between Cesar Chavez and 10th Street, and between IH-35 and Lamar Blvd. Outside of that area, meters will begin operating from 8:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Unless otherwise marked, metered on-street parking has a three-hour time limit.

The Capital Metro Bus System, taxis, and walking are options for transportation downtown.  Bus day passes are $2.50 and are good for 24 hours; a one-way fare is $1.25.  Plus, the downtown area is very accessible for walking.

For the complete Capital Metro Bus schedule, visit their website.

Dedicated to fostering creativity in the next generation of storytellers, Austin Film Festival established its comprehensive, art-education program within its inaugural year. Now known as the Young Filmmakers Program, AFF provides a year-round exploration of creativity, collaboration, and storytelling to Texas students ages 9 to 18.

The Program consists of four key initiatives: the Young Filmmakers Competition, its Annual Summer Film Camp, the Festival and Conference Scholarship Program, and its signature, in-school, Digital Storytelling program, which provides English and Language Arts, TEKS-aligned curriculum on the arts of screenwriting, narrative podcasting, and film production.

To learn more, click here.

Showcasing, both local and national student work, our Young Filmmakers Competition is FREE to young filmmakers ages 13-18. At the Young Filmmakers Showcase, selected animated, documentary, and narrative short films from all around the world will play on the big screen in front of a supportive Festival audience.

Selected filmmakers will receive badges to Austin Film Festival and Writers Conference, which are intended for an accredited writer of the film and his/her legal guardian. AFF’s appointed jury will award one film the Young Filmmakers Program Jury Award.

To learn more, click here.

Digital Storytelling, the Program’s signature, in-school initiative, provides English and Language Arts TEKS-aligned curriculum on the arts of screenwriting, narrative podcasting, and film production. Offered at no cost to participating schools, Digital Storytelling encourages students to harvest stories from their own lives, transform those stories into scripts, and experience the challenging, yet rewarding process of turning personal narrative into art. To learn more, click here.

Through AFF’s Festival and Writers Conference Scholarship program, the Festival awards nearly 450 Festival badges to local students and educators. The Festival creative team curates student-specific programming aimed at deepening students’ understanding of the entertainment industry and illuminating paths to creative careers.

To learn more, click here.