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2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List

Here is the Qualifying Film Festival List for the upcoming Academy Awards.

2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List Top Entries

#21

Beirut Shorts International Film Festival

The Beirut Shorts International Film Festival (Beirut Shorts) is an annual event dedicated to celebrating short films.

#22

Bengaluru International Short Film Festival

The Bengaluru International Short Film Festival (BISFF) is a prominent annual event dedicated to celebrating the art of short filmmaking.

#23

Berlin International Film Festival

The Berlin International Film Festival, commonly known as Berlinale, is one of the world's most prestigious film festivals, renowned for its artistic excellence and political relevance.

#24

Big Sky Documentary Film Festival

The Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, established in 2003, is the largest documentary film festival in the American West, showcasing over 150 nonfiction films and supporting filmmakers worldwide.

#25

BitBang International Animation Festival

The BitBang International Animation Festival, established in 2014, is a premier event held annually in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

#26

BlackStar Film Festival

The BlackStar Film Festival is an annual event celebrating the visual and storytelling traditions of the African diaspora and global Indigenous communities.

#27

Bogoshorts – Bogotá Short Film Festival

Bogoshorts is an annual international film festival held in Bogotá, Colombia, dedicated to celebrating the art of short filmmaking.

#28

British Academy of Film and Television Arts

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) is a world-renowned British institution dedicated to celebrating excellence in film, television, and video games.

#29

BronzeLens Film Festival

The BronzeLens Film Festival (BLFF) is an annual event held in Atlanta, Georgia, dedicated to celebrating the work of filmmakers of color.

#30

Brussels Short Film Festival

The Brussels Short Film Festival (BSFF) is an annual international event dedicated to celebrating the art of short filmmaking.

#31

Bucheon International Animation Festival

The Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) is an annual event held in Bucheon, South Korea, dedicated to celebrating genre cinema, with a special focus on fantasy, horror, science fiction, and thrillers.

#32

Busan International Short Film Festival

The Busan International Short Film Festival (BISFF) is one of Asia's premier platforms dedicated to celebrating short films.

#33

Cairo International Film Festival

The Cairo International Film Festival (CIFF) is one of the oldest and most prestigious film festivals in the Arab world, founded in 1976.

#34

Calgary International Film Festival

The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a premier annual event in Calgary, Canada, established in 2000 to celebrate cinematic excellence and promote both Canadian and international films.

#35

Camden International Film Festival

The Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) is a renowned annual event held in Camden, Maine, dedicated to showcasing innovative non-fiction storytelling.

#36

Canadian Screen Awards [Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television]

The Canadian Screen Awards (CSA) is the premier awards event celebrating excellence in Canadian film, television, and digital media.

#37

Cannes Film Festival

The Cannes Film Festival, established in 1946, is one of the world’s most prestigious film festivals, renowned for showcasing groundbreaking films and celebrating artistic excellence in global cinema.

#38

Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival

The Cartagena de Indias International Film Festival (FICCI) is the oldest film festival in Latin America, founded in 1959.

#39

Chicago International Children’s Film Festival

The Chicago International Children’s Film Festival (CICFF) is one of the largest and most prestigious film festivals dedicated to children and young audiences worldwide.

#40

Chicago International Film Festival

The Chicago International Film Festival (CIFF) is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America, founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza.

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2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List Top Entries

#121

New Hampshire Film Festival

The New Hampshire Film Festival (NHFF), launched in 2001 as the New Hampshire Film Expo, has grown into a flagship cultural event for New England.

#122

New Orleans Film Festival

The New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF), founded in 1989 by the New Orleans Film Society, is an annual cultural celebration held every mid-October.

#123

New York International Children’s Film Festival

The New York International Children’s Film Festival (NYICFF), established in 1997 by Eric Beckman and Emily Shapiro, is North America’s largest film festival dedicated to young audiences.

#124

Nordisk Panorama Film Festival (Five Nordic Countries)

The Nordisk Panorama Film Festival, founded in 1990 by Filmkontakt Nord, is a leading annual event dedicated to showcasing Nordic short and documentary films.

#125

The Norwegian Short Film Festival

The Norwegian Short Film Festival (Kortfilmfestivalen) is Norway's largest and only Academy Award®-qualifying short film festival, showcasing Norwegian and international short films, documentaries, and music videos.

#126

OFF – Odense International Film Festival

The Odense International Film Festival (OFF), established in 1975, is Denmark’s oldest and most prestigious film festival dedicated exclusively to short films.

#127

Ottawa International Animation Festival

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF), founded in 1975 by the Canadian Film Institute, held its inaugural event in 1976, marking the first major animation festival in North America.

#128

Out On Film, Atlanta’s International LGBTQ Film Festival

Out On Film, founded in 1987 by Rebecca Ranson and other community leaders, is one of the oldest and most respected LGBTQIA+ film festivals in the United States.

#129

Palm Springs International ShortFest

The Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films, widely known as ShortFest, is an annual celebration of short films held in Palm Springs, California.

#130

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival

The Pan African Film & Arts Festival (PAFF), founded in 1992 by Danny Glover, Ja'net DuBois, and executive director Ayuko Babu, is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting cultural understanding among people of African descent through the exhibition of films and arts.

#131

Premi David di Donatello – David di Donatello Film Awards

The David di Donatello Awards, founded in 1955 by Italo Gemini, stand as Italy’s most prestigious film honors, often referred to as the Italian equivalent of the Academy Awards.

#132

Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano

The Platino Awards, officially known as Premios Platino del Cine Iberoamericano, were established in 2013 to celebrate and promote excellence in Ibero-American cinema.

#133

Provincetown International Film Festival

The Provincetown International Film Festival (PIFF), founded in 1999, is a celebrated annual event held in Provincetown, Massachusetts, each June.

#134

Raindance Film Festival

The Raindance Film Festival, founded in 1992 by Elliot Grove, is the largest independent film festival in the UK, dedicated to showcasing and promoting independent films from around the world.

#135

Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival

The Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival & Lecture Series, founded in 1997 by African Voices magazine and Long Island University's Brooklyn Campus, is the first Brooklyn-based festival dedicated to supporting films produced, directed, and written by women of color.

#136

REGARD – Saguenay International Film Festival

REGARD – Saguenay International Short Film Festival, commonly referred to as REGARD, was founded in 1996 by Éric Bachand, a recent art graduate from the University of Quebec in Chicoutimi.

#137

Rio de Janeiro International Short Film Festival – Festival Curta Cinema

The Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival, also known as Festival do Rio, is an annual event established in 1999.

#138

RiverRun International Film Festival

The RiverRun International Film Festival, founded in 1999, is an annual spring event in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, showcasing a rich diversity of films from around the world.

#139

Run&Shoot Filmworks – Martha’s Vineyard African American Film Festival

The Martha's Vineyard African American Film Festival (MVAAFF), founded in 2002 by Floyd and Stephanie Rance, is an annual event held in Oak Bluffs, Massachusetts.

#140

St. Kilda Film Festival

The St Kilda Film Festival, founded in 1983, is Australia’s longest-running short film festival and a premier event for celebrating Australian short films.

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2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List

2026 Academy Awards Qualifying Film Festival List Top Entries

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