Black Hills Film Festival

Overview

The Black Hills Film Festival (BHFF) is a three-day independent film festival held annually in Rapid City, South Dakota. The 17th edition runs October 2 through 4, 2026, at the Journey Museum and Learning Center in downtown Rapid City. The festival screens feature narratives, short films, documentaries, and a dedicated program of Native American cinema, with films submitted from across the United States and internationally.

For filmmakers working with Native American stories, particularly those involving Lakota and Plains Indian culture, BHFF offers one of the few festival platforms in the United States that programs this work in direct proximity to the communities it depicts. The festival sits 40 miles from Pine Ridge Reservation and 25 miles from Mount Rushmore, in a region the Lakota call Paha Sapa and consider sacred. Films addressing Indigenous history and contemporary Native life find an informed audience here that few other American festivals can match.

Submissions open via FilmFreeway in November each year. The 2026 edition received entries from South Dakota, North Dakota, California, Idaho, Arizona, Wyoming, New York, Canada, Ireland, Romania, Spain, France, and Germany.

Submission Details

BHFF accepts submissions through FilmFreeway in five categories. Projects must have been completed after January 1, 2023. All films selected for exhibition must be available on DVD, Blu-Ray, or DCP depending on the assigned venue.

Notification date is June 30. Submissions for the 2027 festival reopen in November 2026.

Key Sections

• Feature Narrative Competition - independent feature films from the US and internationally
• Feature Documentary Competition - nonfiction features
• Short Narrative Competition - short fiction films
• Short Documentary Competition - nonfiction shorts
• Native American Film Program - a full day of films by and about Native American filmmakers, introduced with live music by Native American flute player Darren Thompson at the 2025 edition
• South Dakota Film Session - a dedicated session for films made in or about South Dakota
• Student Film Competition - films from emerging filmmakers

Awards

BHFF presents custom bronze sculptured trophies known as the "Bronze Fedora," each valued at over $1,000. The 2026 edition introduced a new award for films shot in South Dakota.

• Best Feature Narrative - Bronze Fedora trophy
• Best Short Narrative - Bronze Fedora trophy
• Best Feature Documentary - Bronze Fedora trophy
• Best Short Documentary - Bronze Fedora trophy
• Rising Star Student Film Award - $250 cash prize
• Reel SD Film Award - best film with scenes shot in South Dakota (new in 2026)
• People's Choice Award - voted by audience over the course of the festival, sponsored by the Custer Area Arts Council

Award sponsorship is available at $600 per category. Individual film sponsorships are also offered: $500 for features, $250 for shorts.

Venue and Format

The Journey Museum and Learning Center at 222 New York Street in downtown Rapid City has been the host venue since the festival moved from its previous multi-city format. The theater provides a single-screen space for film screenings, Q&A sessions, and panel discussions. Free panel discussions are held Saturday morning from 10 AM to 12 PM, moderated by KOTA News anchor Alicia Garcia. The festival opens Friday evening at 6:30 PM with a screening of two adventure films, followed by Saturday and Sunday programs beginning at 1 PM.

Full festival VIP passes and individual session tickets are sold through the Journey Museum website. A discounted hotel rate is available at the DoubleTree by Hilton Downtown Rapid City Convention Center: $129 per night for a double queen room, or $144 including the hotel services fee. The rate cannot be guaranteed after September 12.

What Filmmakers Should Know

BHFF is a small festival with an acceptance rate that is not published, but the programming team selects from a global submission pool. The festival does not require a premiere status, making it accessible to films that have already screened elsewhere. There is no formal film market attached to the festival and no industry accreditation program. Distribution interest is limited but not absent: the festival's audience includes regional media and arts organizations.

For Native American filmmakers, the Sunday program is the primary draw. The 2025 edition dedicated an entire day to Native American films with live musical accompaniment. Films addressing the Lakota experience, Plains Indian history, or contemporary Indigenous life are particularly well-suited to this festival's audience and context.

For South Dakota filmmakers, the Reel SD Film Award and the South Dakota Film Session provide specific recognition for locally produced work. The festival also offers a student category with reduced fees, making it one of the more affordable submission targets for emerging filmmakers in the region.

Festival History

BHFF was founded in 2007 and held its early editions across multiple Black Hills communities including Rapid City, Hill City, Hot Springs, and Spearfish. In 2020, the festival moved from a February date to October and consolidated its programming around Rapid City as the primary host city. The festival switched to FilmFreeway for submissions in 2020. The Journey Museum has been the host venue for the most recent editions. The 2026 festival is the 17th annual edition.

See Also

For Indigenous filmmaking festivals, see imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival. For festival strategy and submission planning, see Film Festival Strategy. Use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator to evaluate whether submitting to BHFF fits your festival budget.