New Orleans Film Festival
The New Orleans Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the non-profit organization New Orleans Film Society, a film society founded in 1989. The festival has been held since the society's inception and takes place in October. It has been nicknamed "Cannes on the Mississippi", and features national and international feature films and short films.
The festival had one off-year when New Orleans suffered the effects of Hurricane Katrina in 2005., the festival had grown into an internationally respected annual event that attracts 20–25,000 people, 400+ filmmakers, and 240 films.
It is an Academy Award-qualifying festival in the Narrative Short and Animated Short categories, and it's been recognized by MovieMaker as one of the “Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” in 2025, and one of the “Top 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World” in 2024.
Notable screenings include Causeway, Fingers in the Wind, Empire of Light, and Street Punx.
Diversity and discovery
Paste Magazine praised the festival for offering “a platform to voices that still fight to be heard.” We honor three vital commitments to filmmakers and to audiences hungry for fresh work with perspectives less often represented on the silver screen:- 90% of the 230+ films in the festival will come from submissions, ensuring New Orleans Film Festival is a place of discovery where all voices have an opportunity to be heard
- 50% or more of the films will be helmed by women and gender non-conforming filmmakers
- 45% or more will be helmed by filmmakers of color
Emerging Voices Program
The Emerging Voices Mentorship program, an initiative of the New Orleans Film Society, was created in 2014 and founded on the principle that to create a more diverse storytelling landscape, filmmakers of color in Louisiana need greater access to gatekeepers.Applicants include filmmakers with narrative or documentary projects, experimental films and music videos in the development/pre-production stage. Once selected, during the annual New Orleans Film Festival, selected filmmakers are paired with a Film Industry leader who acts as a mentor through one-on-one meetings. Mentees also participate in short intensive meetings with other industry professionals during the NOFF Industry Exchange to pitch their projects and build further connections.
The program works to empower the local community as well as to promote the unique perspectives and cultures created in Louisiana to the rest of the country, and the world.
Screenplay competition
In an effort to expand its offerings and services to support diverse makers, the New Orleans Film Festival launched its first to coincide with the 2018 New Orleans Film Festival. The competition is open to short, episodic and feature-length screenplays. Winners of each category as well as one screenwriter from Louisiana receives a cash prize. The winner and top three finalists in all categories receive an All-Access Pass to attend the New Orleans Film Festival. The writers are invited to all panels, roundtables, receptions, networking events, and screenings over the course of the nine-day event.Awards
Narrative Features Competition
2020 – Inspector Ike2019 – Test Pattern
2018 – Chained for Life
2017 – Victor’s History
2016 –The Other Kids
2015 – Embers
2014 – ''Proud Citizen''
Documentary Features Competition
2020 – Two Gods2019 – Pier Kids
2018 – For the Birds
2017 – Ask the Sexpert
2016 – Jackson
2015 – Hotel Nueva Isla
2014 – ''When the Bell Rings''
Audience Award (Louisiana Feature)
2019 – Mossville: When Great Trees Fall2018 – This Taco Truck Kills Fascists
2017 – Do U Want It?
2015 – Delta Justice: The Isleños Trappers War
2014 – ''Big Charity''
Audience Award (Narrative Feature)
2019 – Straight Up2018 – Solace
2017 – Sambá
2016 – My First Kiss and the People Involved
2015 – ''Driving While Black''
Best Louisiana Feature Award
2020 – To Decadence with Love, Thanks for Everything!2019 – The Long Shadow
2018 – The True Don Quixote
2017 – Buckjumping tied with A Tuba to Cuba
2016 – Five Awake
2015 – Consequence
2014 – ''Big Charity''