Overview
The LA Women in Film Festival is a specialty screening festival operated by LA Film Festivals (LAFFS), an umbrella organization running 12 affiliated festivals in Hollywood. The 13th edition runs September 24-27, 2026, with submissions open via FilmFreeway. The festival accepts work from female-identifying directors, writers, crews with at least 50% women, and/or female-driven stories of any genre. Films must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2025.
LAFFS began with the biannual LA Comedy Festival in 2001, added the LA Indie Film Fest in 2007, and has since expanded to 12 affiliated festivals covering horror, action, sci-fi, animation, Black, Asian, Latinx, queer, women's, Indigenous, and student cinema. The Women in Film Festival is one of the newer additions to the LAFFS family. Screenings take place at the Let Live Theater and The Other Space Theater, two 80-seat venues in Hollywood equipped with Laser DLP projectors and JBL sound systems.
For filmmakers, the festival offers live screenings in Hollywood, networking events with attending filmmakers, and awards consideration across 19 categories. Accepted filmmakers receive free passes to screenings and invitations to networking events. The festival is not Academy Award-qualifying and does not have FIAPF accreditation. Submit via FilmFreeway and review the full rules on the LAFFS submissions page.
Submission Details
Submissions are processed exclusively through FilmFreeway. The base submission fee is $65, with discounts applied at checkout based on deadline.
2026 Submission Fees and Deadlines:
| Deadline | Date | Discount | Effective Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| Early Bird | March 20, 2026 | $40 off | $25 |
| Regular | April 17, 2026 | $30 off | $35 |
| Late | May 15, 2026 | $20 off | $45 |
| Fashionably Late | June 5, 2026 | $20 off | $45 |
| Final | June 26, 2026 | $10 off | $55 |
| 11th Hour | July 17, 2026 | Full price | $65 |
| Last Chance | August 7, 2026 | Full price | $65 |
- Notification Date: August 19, 2026
- Festival Dates: September 24-27, 2026
- Completion Cutoff: Films must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2025
All fees are nonrefundable. Multiple entries are permitted, but each entry requires a separate submission form and fee. Submissions received after the final deadline are considered for the following year's festival.
Submission Categories
| Category | Max Runtime | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Feature Film | 120 min | Must be Los Angeles premiere |
| Short Film | 10-30 min | |
| Short Short | Under 10 min | |
| Animated Short | Under 30 min | |
| TV Pilot | 22 min | Industry standard length |
| Web Series | 30 min total | Up to 3 episodes, combined runtime |
| Sketch Comedy | Under 10 min | |
| Music Video | Under 10 min |
Films submitted in the wrong category are not eligible for programming or awards consideration. All non-English films must be subtitled or dubbed.
Eligibility Requirements
The festival accepts submissions that meet any of the following criteria:
- Female-identifying directors
- Female-identifying writers
- Majority female crew (at least 50%)
- Female-driven stories of any genre
Films by male directors are eligible if the story is female-driven or the crew meets the 50% women threshold. All genres are accepted. Feature films require a Los Angeles premiere status.
Awards
The festival presents 20 award categories across feature and short film divisions.
Feature Film Awards (6 categories):
- Best of Fest
- Best Foreign Feature
- Best Direction
- Best Screenplay
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Ensemble
Short Film Awards (13 categories):
- Best of Fest
- Best of Fest: Short Short
- Best Foreign Film
- Audience Choice Award
- Best Direction
- Best Screenplay
- Best Actor
- Best Actress
- Best Ensemble
- Best Animated Short
- Best Music Video
- Best Web Series
- Best TV Pilot
Additional Award:
- Kickass Original Filmmaker Award (all films eligible)
Venue and Screening Format
Screenings take place at the Let Live Theater and The Other Space Theater in Hollywood. Both are 80-seat venues equipped with Laser DLP projectors and JBL speakers. Accepted filmmakers receive free passes to screenings and invitations to networking events. The intimate venue size means every screening has direct filmmaker-audience interaction, though the limited capacity also means the festival cannot accommodate large industry delegations.
What Filmmakers Should Know
Festival scale: The LA Women in Film Festival is a small-scale, community-oriented festival. The 80-seat theaters limit audience size, and the festival does not have an attached film market or industry accreditation program. It is not a discovery festival in the way Sundance or SXSW are. Filmmakers should approach it as a screening and networking opportunity, not a market event.
LAFFS ecosystem: The festival is one of 12 under the LAFFS umbrella. Filmmakers whose work fits multiple festival profiles (e.g., a horror film by a female director could fit both LA Horror Film Fest and LA Women in Film Fest) can submit to multiple affiliated festivals, though each requires a separate submission and fee.
No Academy Award qualification: The festival is not an Academy Award-qualifying festival for any category. Short film winners do not receive Oscar eligibility.
Premiere requirement: Only feature films require a Los Angeles premiere. Shorts, web series, TV pilots, music videos, and sketch comedy entries do not have a premiere requirement stated in the rules.
Promotional use: By submitting, filmmakers grant LAFFS the right to use stills and excerpts of up to two minutes from the film for promotional purposes across their website, sponsor websites, press releases, and other promotional materials.
Festival History
LA Film Festivals was founded by festival director Lawrin Goulston Salazar. The organization launched with the biannual LA Comedy Festival in 2001, added the LA Indie Film Fest in 2007, and gradually expanded to 12 affiliated festivals covering genre, identity, and demographic categories. The LA Women in Film Festival was added as part of this expansion, with the 2026 edition marking its 13th year.
The LAFFS model operates differently from standalone festivals. All 12 affiliated festivals share the same physical venues (Let Live Theater and The Other Space Theater) and organizational infrastructure. Each festival runs as a separate event with its own submissions, programming, and awards, but the shared backbone reduces overhead and allows the organization to run multiple niche festivals throughout the year.
Past Winners
The festival publishes full award lists for each edition on the LAFFS awards page. Selected winners:
12th LA Women in Film Fest (2025):
- Best Short: Another Saturday (directed by J.A. DellaRipa)
- Best Director: Patience (Adrian Hernandez)
- Best Actress: Patience (Ellie Rose Boswell)
- Best Documentary: Breaking Ice
- Best Ensemble: The Ex-Wives of Beverly Hills
- Kickass Short: Matched
11th LA Women in Film Festival (2024):
- Best Short: Animals
- Best Director: Good Night June (Kourtney Gleason)
- Kickass Original Filmmaker: Good Night June
- Best Feature: Shambhala Story
- Audience Choice: Animals
- Best Foreign Film: Her Name is Libertad (Colombia)
10th LA Women in Film Festival (2023):
- Best Short: Stronghold
- Best Director: Rani Demuth (And Now I Lay Me Down)
- Best Feature: Goody
Notable Alumni Films and Where They Ended Up
Another Saturday (2025 Best Short winner): Directed by J.A. DellaRipa and starring Scarlett Abinante (Good Girls, Animal Kingdom), this 14-minute drama about a teenager caring for her mentally ill mother also won Best Story at the FEEDBACK Female Film Festival and received an Award of Merit at The Indie Fest.
Good Night June (2024 Best Director and Kickass winner): Directed by Kourtney Gleason, this dystopian short screened at LA Shorts International Film Festival and Indy Shorts International Film Festival in 2025. Gleason founded Happy Misfit Productions, a women-owned production company in Los Angeles.
And Now I Lay Me Down (2023 Best Director and Audience Choice winner): Directed by Rani Demuth and featuring Jane Kaczmarek (Malcolm in the Middle), this film swept both jury and audience prizes at the 10th edition.
Submission Tips Specific to This Festival
- Understand the eligibility breadth. The festival accepts films with female-identifying directors, writers, majority female crews (at least 50%), or female-driven stories. Films by male directors qualify if the story is female-driven or the crew meets the 50% threshold.
- Submit early to save money. The Early Bird fee is $25, compared to $65 at the final deadline.
- Check your LA premiere status. Only feature films require a Los Angeles premiere. Shorts, web series, TV pilots, music videos, and sketch comedy entries do not.
- Consider multiple LAFFS festivals. A single film may fit multiple affiliated festivals. A horror film by a female director could fit both LA Horror Film Fest and LA Women in Film Fest, though each requires a separate submission and fee.
- Mind the completion cutoff. Films must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2025.
- Prepare for an intimate setting. The 80-seat venues mean screenings are small and conversational. Expect direct audience interaction rather than large industry delegations.
Industry Reputation Notes
The LA Women in Film Festival operates as a community-oriented screening festival rather than a major industry event. It is not Academy Award-qualifying and does not have FIAPF accreditation, nor does it host an attached film market or offer industry accreditation.
The LAFFS umbrella model, running 12 affiliated festivals with shared venues, gives the organization staying power. The Women in Film Festival has run for 13 years as of 2026. However, the shared backbone means it lacks the dedicated resources of a standalone event.
Filmmakers should approach this festival as a screening and networking opportunity within a supportive community. It is not a discovery festival in the way Sundance or SXSW are, and it does not attract significant distribution or sales agent attention. Its value lies in exhibition opportunities, peer networking, and awards recognition.
Watch
See Also
For festival circuit strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To evaluate whether the submission fee makes sense for your project, use the Festival Entry Fee ROI Calculator. For the WIF Honors gala (Women in Film, Los Angeles advocacy organization), see WIF Honors. For independent filmmaking strategies, see Independent Filmmaking. Submit via FilmFreeway or the LAFFS website.
