International film competition celebrating daring stories, visionary directors, and the spirit of independent film.
Open for submissions • All genres welcome • 40+ countries represented
Film Con Hollywood began as a gathering for independent voices that defy genre, resist formula, and push the boundaries of what film can be. Six years on, that spirit is undiminished.
We curate a competitive programme across feature films, short films, documentaries, student films, and animation — bringing together filmmakers from more than 40 countries for screenings, panels, and industry connections in the heart of Hollywood.
Every film in our programme is selected by working cinema professionals. Every award is judged by a jury of peers. And every filmmaker who submits gets honest, substantive feedback.
Films are selected on artistic merit and screened before a live audience and industry jury.
Narrative features 60 minutes and over. Drama, thriller, comedy, genre — bold storytelling across the full feature format.
Films under 40 minutes. The most competitive category — we receive hundreds of shorts and select only the finest.
Feature and short documentaries. We value rigorous research, a distinct authorial voice, and stories that matter.
Open to enrolled and recently graduated students. The competition where the next generation announces itself.
All animation techniques and styles — 2D, 3D, stop-motion, experimental. Short and feature length accepted.
Work that resists categorisation. Films that stretch the medium itself — form, time, language, image as inquiry.
Our jury selects winners across craft, story, and vision. Every selection receives a laurel for promotional use.
The festival's highest honour — awarded to the film that most embodies cinematic courage and craft.
Recognising the singular directing vision that made a film unmistakably itself.
The finest short film in the competition — proof that brevity and impact are not opposites.
For the documentary that illuminated a truth the world needed to see.
Awarded to the emerging filmmaker who demonstrated the most assured creative voice.
Voted by festival audiences across all screenings. Proof that resonance is its own category.
For the film that demonstrates that language, structure, and story are still cinema's foundation.
At the jury's discretion — for the film that defied every category but demanded recognition.
From our first edition to the fifth, a look back at the films, faces, and moments that shaped Film Con Hollywood.
"Film Con Hollywood gave our film an audience it couldn't have found anywhere else. The jury feedback was genuinely transformative."
— Maria S., Best Documentary Winner"The most professionally run festival we've submitted to. From communication to the screening conditions — everything was first-class."
— James K., Feature Film Finalist"Winning here opened doors I didn't know existed. Distribution inquiries started the night of the ceremony."
— Aisha B., Grand Jury Prize
Read the guidelines carefully before submitting. Questions? Email us at admin@filmconhollywood.com
"Easily the best festival experience we've had. The organisers actually communicate. The jury took our film seriously. We left with a distribution enquiry and two collaborators."
"Film Con Hollywood treats independent filmmakers like professionals, not supplicants. The selection process is transparent, the feedback is honest, and the screening conditions are excellent."
"As a student filmmaker I expected to be an afterthought. Instead I was treated as a peer, given genuine feedback, and our film found an audience that has followed us since."
Hollywood, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Film Con Hollywood takes place at a dedicated screening facility in the heart of Hollywood — the neighbourhood that gave cinema its mythology and still draws the industry's most restless creative minds.
Screenings are held in a professional cinema setting with DCI-standard projection and sound. Filmmaker panels, jury sessions, and the awards ceremony take place in connected event spaces within the venue complex.
Submissions are open for the 6th Edition. Don't let your story wait.
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