Hamptons International Film Festival

Overview

The Hamptons International Film Festival (HIFF) is a competitive fall festival held annually in October on Long Island's East End. The 34th edition (HIFF 34) runs October 2 to 12, 2026. HIFF programs approximately 60 films over 10 days and has awarded close to $5 million in cash and in-kind prizes across its 34-year history. The 2026 edition offers $196,500 in cash, goods, and services.

HIFF's audience density is what separates it from other American festivals. The Hamptons has one of the highest concentrations of entertainment industry professionals outside Los Angeles, and the October timing places the festival squarely in awards season. Films featured at the 2025 festival received 43 Academy Award nominations. Over the last 17 editions, HIFF films have received 665 Oscar nominations total. Variety has called HIFF "Telluride East" and noted the festival "has grown a reputation for being able to read the Academy voting tea leaves and routinely promotes Oscar race front-runners."

HIFF is one of MovieMaker Magazine's 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World and one of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. Two of its short film competition categories (Best Narrative Short and Best Documentary Short) are Academy Award-qualifying, meaning winners automatically qualify for Oscar consideration without a standard theatrical run, provided they meet all other Academy requirements.

Submission Details

Submissions are made through FilmFreeway. For the complete rules, eligibility requirements, and technical specifications, visit the HIFF FilmFreeway page.

HIFF 34 (2026) submission deadlines:

• Submissions open: February 26, 2026
• Earlybird deadline: March 16, 2026
• Regular deadline: April 2, 2026
• Late deadline: April 23, 2026
• Extended deadline: May 14, 2026

HIFF 33 (2025) submission deadlines (for reference):

• Earlybird deadline: March 17, 2025
• Regular deadline: April 3, 2025
• Late deadline: April 24, 2025
• Extended deadline: May 15, 2025

Submission questions: email programming@hamptonsfilmfest.org

Key Sections

• Narrative Feature Competition - emerging directors competing for Best Narrative Feature
• Documentary Feature Competition - new voices in documentary competing for Best Documentary Feature
• Narrative Short Competition - Academy Award-qualifying category
• Documentary Short Competition - Academy Award-qualifying category
• Films of Conflict & Resolution - films focusing on human conflict and injustice, with a $5,000 award from the Brizzolara Family Foundation
• Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights - films raising awareness about social concern and animal rights
• Air, Land & Sea - environmental and nature programming
• Views From Long Island - films with Long Island connections, with a $3,000 Suffolk County Next Exposure Grant
• Conversations With - in-depth filmmaker talks
• Special Events - tributes and special screenings
• Year-Round Programming - additional events held throughout the year in New York City and the Hamptons, including Summer Movies screenings

What Filmmakers Should Know

HIFF accepts open submissions through FilmFreeway for its competition categories. The festival's competitions focus specifically on early-career filmmakers, with the goal of supporting emerging directors at a critical juncture and generating discussion around their work within the film community.

The competition awards carry significant material value. The Best Narrative Feature winner receives a $2,500 cash prize plus a film production package of in-kind goods and services valued at $92,500, for a total award value of $95,000. The Best Documentary Feature winner receives $2,500 cash plus $50,000 in in-kind goods and services. The 2025 Narrative Feature award went to The President's Cake by Hasan Hadi. The 2025 Documentary Feature award went to To the West, in Zapata by David Bim.

The short film categories are Academy Award-qualifying. Best Narrative Short receives a $1,000 cash prize and qualifies for consideration at the Academy Awards for Best Live Action Short Film. Best Documentary Short receives $1,000 and qualifies for Best Documentary Short Film. The 2025 Narrative Short winner was Sammi, Who Can Detach His Body Parts by Rein Maychaelson.

HIFF also offers several themed awards with significant cash prizes. The Raise the Vibration Award for Social Impact provides $10,000, sponsored by the Artemis Rising Foundation. The Peter Macgregor Scott Memorial Award provides $10,000 for narrative short filmmakers who demonstrate creative approaches to solving practical production challenges. The Sherzum Award provides $10,000 for films about LGBTQ+ people and communities. The Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict & Resolution provides $5,000. The Suffolk County Film Commission Next Exposure Grant provides $3,000 for films in the Views From Long Island section that have completed 50% of principal photography within Suffolk County. The Zelda Penzel "Giving Voice to the Voiceless" Award provides $2,500 for films in the Compassion, Justice and Animal Rights section. The Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice provides $2,000 for films embodying values of peace, equality, global justice, and civil liberties.

For awards contenders, a HIFF selection generates coverage in Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, and other trades that reach Academy voters directly. HIFF runs alongside Chicago and the tail end of NYFF in the October festival circuit, making it a component of the fall awards strategy.

Major Awards

Competition awards:

• Best Narrative Feature - $2,500 cash + $92,500 in-kind production package ($95,000 total value)
• Best Documentary Feature - $2,500 cash + $50,000 in-kind production package ($52,500 total value)
• Best Narrative Short - $1,000 cash, Academy Award-qualifying
• Best Documentary Short - $1,000 cash, Academy Award-qualifying

Audience awards (voted by festival attendees):

• Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature
• Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature
• Audience Award for Best Short Film

Festival awards:

• Raise the Vibration Award for Social Impact: $10,000
• Peter Macgregor Scott Memorial Award: $10,000
• Sherzum Award (LGBTQ+ stories): $10,000
• Brizzolara Family Foundation Award for Films of Conflict & Resolution: $5,000
• Suffolk County Film Commission Next Exposure Grant: $3,000
• Zelda Penzel "Giving Voice to the Voiceless" Award: $2,500
• Victor Rabinowitz & Joanne Grant Award for Social Justice: $2,000

Festival History

HIFF was founded in 1993 by Denise Kasell. The festival has grown from a regional Long Island event into a strategically positioned fall festival with national industry significance. The festival's 34-year history reflects the sustained appetite among the Hamptons community for serious cinema and the consistent ability of HIFF to attract major films during awards season.

The festival has awarded close to $5 million in cash and in-kind prizes to emerging filmmakers over its history. The competition structure focuses on early-career directors rather than established names, differentiating HIFF from festivals that program primarily for premiere status. The four signature programs (Films of Conflict & Resolution; Compassion, Justice & Animal Rights; Air, Land & Sea; and Views From Long Island) give the festival a thematic identity beyond general programming.

HIFF also operates year-round programming in New York City and the Hamptons, including Summer Movies screenings and other events that extend the festival's footprint beyond the October dates.

See Also

To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For awards season strategy and festival circuit planning, see Film Festival Strategy. For understanding distribution timing and deal structures, see Distribution Deals Explained. For full submission rules and technical specifications, visit the HIFF FilmFreeway page.