Submissions open for San Luis Obispo Film Festival
Festival adds new episodic category, horror film award
– The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival has announced dates for its 32nd edition, scheduled for April 23–28, 2026. The festival will open with a reception at the Fremont Theater on April 23, offering attendees an opportunity to meet special guests, filmmakers, and major contributors.
This year, the festival will introduce two additions: a new Episodic category and a special award for Best Genre/Horror Film. Submissions are open in all categories, including narrative features, short films, documentary features, documentary shorts, episodics, and horror films. The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is an Academy Award-qualifying festival for documentary shorts.
“We’re really excited to introduce our new Episodic program to the festival. Over the last 10 years, the way we tell stories has changed, and we believe that in addition to traditional film formats, episodics have a place in our festival too. Adding this category creates a new opportunity for indie storytellers to showcase their work,” said San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Executive Director Skye McLennan. “We are also adding an award for ‘Best Genre/Horror.’ We have been testing the appetite for this category with our Red Eye Cinema programming over the last five years, and each year the demand for and the quality of the films has increased. We believe this is a trailblazing space in independent film – we want to encourage it and bring new works to our audiences.”
Festival highlights will include Surf Nite, the Music Video Showcase, the Central Coast Filmmaker Showcase, Cal Poly Short Cuts, and Filmmakers of Tomorrow, which features emerging youth filmmakers from around the world and local talent from California’s Central Coast.
Submissions are open through the end of November. For details, visit www.filmfreeway.com/slofilmfest. More information is available at www.slofilmfest.org.
