SIFF announces its call for submissions for the 51st annual Seattle International Film Festival running 15-25 May, 2025 at SIFF Cinemas and venues throughout the city.

Continuing the Festival’s 50 year history, the 2025 Seattle International FIlm Festival will spotlight new voices alongside established directors, films from more than 80 countries, sensational hit independents, and films that have yet to break through to the US audiences.

Every year, SIFF gives out the Golden Space Needle Audience Awards for Best Narrative Film, Best Documentary Film, Best Director, Best Performance, and Best Short Film, and the Lena Sharpe Award for Persistence of Vision (presented by Women in Film Seattle, this audience award is given to the feature film by a woman director that receives the most votes in our Golden Space Needle balloting). In addition, the Festival sponsors ten (10) juried awards, awarding over $30,000 in cash prizes.

Seattle International Film Festival 2025 Awards and Prizes

• Official Competition: The SIFF Official Competition celebrates some of the year’s most accomplished films, ranging from first-time directors to established masters. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.
• New Directors Competition: The New Directors Competition features a selection of directors who are clearly emerging as major talents. SIFF programmers choose films from around the world, a debut or second feature by the selected director, each chosen on the basis of its original conception, striking style and overall excellence. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.
• New American Cinema Competition: The New American Cinema Competition features a selection of US films which are clearly emerging as showing considerable vision, a unique voice, and promising future. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.
• Ibero-American Cinema Competition: The Ibero-American Cinema Competition features a selection of films from Ibero-America who are firmly expressing issues, styles, and talent from the area. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.
• Documentary Film Competition: A selection of exceptional non-fiction films will be judged by an international panel of jurors who will choose the documentary they feel best illuminates and captures the human spirit, pursues the search for truth, and feeds our insatiable hunger to learn. The films must also be without US distribution at the time of selection. A cash prize of $5,000 will be awarded to the winner of this competition.
• Short Film Competitions: Approximately 100 shorts are selected to play before features or in one of our SIFF ShortsFest programs. This is a popular and exciting section of SIFF that has launched the careers of many writers and directors. All shorts selected for the Festival are eligible for this prize. Three cash prizes of $2,500 each will be awarded in the categories of Live Action, Animation, and Documentary. SIFF is an Academy Award^® qualifier in all three short film categories.
• FutureWave Features Competition: A selection of films curated for young adults will be judged by youth aged 13-18.
• Films4Families Features Competition: A selection of films curated for family audiences will be judged by youth aged 8-12.

Entry Deadlines

• Earlybird Deadline – 3 October 2024
• Regular Deadline – 19 December 2024
• Late Deadline – 9 January 2025
• Futurewave Deadline – 23 January 2025

About Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF)

The Seattle International Film Festival is consistently ranked as one of the top festivals in North America, and is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for short films, presenting more than 260 features, documentaries, and short films to an audience of roughly 90,000 each year. The Festival’s emphasis on keeping the event aimed first and foremost at filmgoers provides the films themselves with the kind of genuine audience response that has attracted the participation of filmmakers and film distributors for over 50 years.

Submission Fees

• If your film is 40 minutes or less, the fees are:
  • $70 – Received by Regular Deadline
  • $90 – Received by Late Deadline
• If your film is 41 minutes or more, the fees are:
  • $90 – Received by Regular Deadline
  • $100 – Received by Late Deadline

The FutureWave Submission Fees are $30 until the Futurewave Deadline.

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