Overview
The Wilmington International Film Festival (WIFF) is Delaware's primary international film festival. Produced by Film Brothers and founded by Gordon DelGiorno, the festival made its debut October 9 to 12, 2025, across four venues in downtown Wilmington. The 2nd annual edition runs October 8 to 11, 2026. WIFF screens 50 to 60 films from international and regional filmmakers, with a focus on first-run films that have not yet hit streaming platforms.
The festival is a multi-day, multi-venue event combining film screenings with food, live music, and community programming. It includes the 18th Annual Film Brothers Festival of Shorts, the Brandywine Award competition for local filmmakers across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware, and a scholarship initiative with Wilmington University.
Wilmington is 25 miles south of Philadelphia, positioning WIFF within the Delaware Valley metro area. WIFF uses venues like Theatre N at Nemours, The Screening Room at 1313, Delaware Contemporary, and Penn Cinemas to create a distributed festival footprint across the city.
Submission Details
Submissions are accepted through FilmFreeway. The 2025 inaugural edition had the following deadline structure (2026 deadlines expected to follow a similar pattern):
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Submission Platform | FilmFreeway |
| Early Bird Deadline | April 25 |
| Regular Deadline | July 2 |
| Late Deadline | August 8 (for 5 categories) |
| Notification Date | August 22 |
| Festival Dates (2026) | October 8 to 11, 2026 |
| Film Count | 50 to 60 films |
| Eligibility | Films not publicly broadcast or streaming online before the festival |
| Language Requirement | Non-English films must have legible English subtitles |
| Multiple Entries | Allowed, each with its own entry fee |
Submission Categories
WIFF accepts submissions in the following categories:
- Best Narrative Feature
- Best International Feature
- Best Short (including the 18th Annual Film Brothers Festival of Shorts)
- Best Production Design
- Brandywine Award (for local filmmakers from NJ, PA, MD, and DE)
Films publicly broadcast in the US or publicly streaming online before the festival are not eligible. Films screened at other festivals are eligible. Music videos and commercials are not eligible. Specific fee amounts for 2026 have not been published; check the WIFF FilmFreeway page for current fee tiers.
Awards and Prizes
WIFF presents awards across its competition categories (Best Narrative Feature, Best International Feature, Best Short, Best Production Design, Brandywine Award, and Audience Award). The 2026 awards brunch takes place Sunday, October 11, at The Chancery Market.
Wilmington University Scholarship
WIFF's standout offering is a full four-year Wilmington University scholarship valued at approximately $80,000, awarded to a promising young filmmaker from a Delaware high school. The scholarship is awarded through a competitive summer program for local high school sophomores and juniors. Participants create short films screened during the festival weekend, with a panel of judges selecting the winner. This is one of the largest scholarship commitments offered by any US regional film festival.
Festival Program and Screenings
Venues
WIFF uses four venues across downtown Wilmington:
- Theatre N at Nemours - dedicated art-house cinema. Hosts the Festival of Shorts and feature screenings.
- The Screening Room at 1313 - hosts the VIP opening night party and feature film screening.
- Delaware Contemporary - contemporary art space used for screenings and events.
- Penn Cinemas - multiplex venue used for additional screenings.
The 2026 edition also uses The Chancery Market for the Sunday awards brunch.
Festival Schedule Structure
The festival runs Thursday through Sunday: VIP opening party with feature screening on Thursday, films at all four venues Friday and Saturday (11 AM to 9 PM), and brunch with awards ceremony on Sunday.
Film Brothers Festival of Shorts
The 18th Annual Festival of Shorts screens as part of WIFF on Saturday at 6 PM at Theatre N. This program has been running for 18 years as a standalone shorts festival. It screens creative films under 30 minutes. The 2026 edition includes a Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize nominee: "How to Build a Library" (Kenya, documentary, 100 min) with Q&A.
Brandywine Award
The Brandywine Award competition highlights work from local filmmakers across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware. This regional focus gives Mid-Atlantic filmmakers a dedicated competition track separate from the international categories.
Festival History
The Wilmington International Film Festival was founded in 2025 by Gordon DelGiorno of Film Brothers, a Wilmington-based film production and events organization. The festival grew out of the Film Brothers Festival of Shorts, which had been running for 17 years as a standalone shorts program. The inaugural WIFF in October 2025 combined the shorts festival with a broader multi-day, multi-venue international film festival format.
The festival's creation filled a gap in Delaware's film cultural infrastructure. Prior to WIFF, Delaware was one of the few US states without a significant international film festival. The partnership with Wilmington University added an educational dimension.
Past Winners
The inaugural 2025 edition presented awards across 8 categories. Best Narrative Feature went to I Hate Myself and Want to Die, directed by J. Davis. Best International Feature went to How to Build a Library, directed by Maia Lekow and Chris King. Best Short went to Operation Babylift, directed by Dirk Braun.
Best Documentary Short or Feature went to About Face, directed by Jennifer Lin. Best Production Design went to Magnet Brain, directed by Kurt St. Thomas. The Brandywine Award went to 4 Clones Alone, directed by Maximillian Remmler. Audience Choice went to Four Mothers, directed by Darren Thornton.
The Screenwriting Contest winner was Teresa Rodriguez for No More Candy. The winning script will be produced into a short film by Film Brothers Productions in 2027. The Student Scholarship winner was George Smallwood from Delcastle Technical High School, who received the President's Emerging Storyteller Award and a full 4-year Wilmington University scholarship valued at $80,000.
The inaugural festival attracted over 3,000 attendees and screened 56 films from 21 countries.
Notable Alumni Films
How to Build a Library (2025 Best International Feature winner) is a Kenyan documentary by Maia Lekow and Christopher King. The film premiered at Sundance 2025 in the World Cinema Documentary Competition. It won the Golden Alexander Award at Thessaloniki and screened at over 70 festivals across 6 continents. PBS broadcast the film on POV in August 2026. Autlook Filmsales handles world sales.
Four Mothers (2025 Audience Choice winner) is an Irish comedy-drama directed by Darren Thornton. The film won the BFI London Film Festival Audience Award. Break Out Pictures released it in Ireland in April 2025, and BFI released it across the UK. The film stars James McArdle and Fionnula Flanagan.
Shuffle (2025 featured film) won the SXSW 2025 Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary Feature. Benjamin Flaherty directed the film about addiction treatment fraud. Abramorama planned theatrical release in early 2026.
Shelf Life (2025 opening night film) won Best Cinematography in a Documentary Feature at Tribeca 2024. Ian Cheney directed the film about cheese and aging. WIFF opened with Shelf Life on October 9, 2025, followed by a wine-and-cheese reception.
I Hate Myself and Want to Die (2025 Best Narrative Feature winner) is a dark comedy directed by J. Davis. The film premiered at the Austin Film Festival in October 2024. The 84-minute film stars Mike Castle and Ali Gallo.
Submission Tips
- Submit through FilmFreeway. The 2026 deadlines follow a tiered structure: early bird, regular, and late. Submit early for the lowest fees.
- WIFF focuses on first-run films that have not appeared on streaming platforms. Films publicly broadcast in the US or publicly streaming online before the festival are not eligible. Films screened at other festivals remain eligible.
- Non-English films must have legible English subtitles. The festival accepts multiple entries, each with its own entry fee. Music videos and commercials are not eligible.
- Mid-Atlantic filmmakers from New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Delaware should submit to the Brandywine Award category. This regional competition track gives local filmmakers a dedicated award separate from the international categories.
- The 18th Annual Film Brothers Festival of Shorts screens as part of WIFF on Saturday at 6 PM at Theatre N. Short films under 30 minutes qualify. Submitting a short to WIFF enters it for both the Best Short award and the Festival of Shorts consideration.
- Delaware high school sophomores and juniors can apply for the Wilmington University scholarship program. Participants create short films during a summer workshop. A panel of judges selects the winner, who receives a 4-year scholarship valued at $80,000.
Industry Reputation Notes
WIFF is a community and regional festival, not a market festival. The inaugural edition in 2025 attracted over 3,000 attendees and screened 56 films from 21 countries. No formal film market operates alongside the festival. No documented distribution deals have emerged from WIFF screenings.
Compared to the Rehoboth Beach International Film Festival (Delaware's other significant film event), WIFF offers a different geographic position. Rehoboth serves southern Delaware and beach communities. WIFF serves Wilmington and the Delaware Valley, drawing audiences from Philadelphia (25 miles north), Baltimore, and Washington DC.
Compared to the Philadelphia film festival landscape, WIFF benefits from a gap in the market. Philadelphia lacks a major competitive international film festival. WIFF positions itself as the primary festival option in the Delaware Valley region.
The festival's standout offering is the $80,000 Wilmington University scholarship for a Delaware high school filmmaker. No comparable scholarship exists at peer festivals in the region.
WIFF does not publish a travel stipend policy for selected filmmakers. Downtown Wilmington is accessible by Amtrak (Northeast Corridor line) and by car from Philadelphia (40-minute drive). The intimate scale of 50 to 60 films gives filmmakers direct access to audiences, judges, and organizer Gordon DelGiorno.
See Also
For Mid-Atlantic US festivals, see Film Festival Strategy. For independent filmmaking, see Independent Filmmaking Strategies. To calculate the return on festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. Visit the official WIFF website or the WIFF FilmFreeway page for current submission information.
