One film collected three prizes at San Sebastián. A genre pitch won production money and a distribution deal at Fantastic Fest. New York opened with a world premiere built for a huge screen.
BIG MOVES
San Sebastián gives one film three reasons to celebrate
San Sebastián closed September 26 with Mike Leigh's Tender Loving Care winning the Golden Shell for Best Film. Leigh also won the Jury Prize for Best Screenplay, and Kate O'Flynn shared the Silver Shell for Best Leading Performance with Asta Kamma August for Growth of the Soil.
That is an unusually broad result for one film. The jury recognized the film as a whole, its writing, and one of its performances. The same awards list also made room for newer filmmakers, including Naëmi Ada, who won the New Directors Award for Body of Glass.
Read San Sebastián's September 26 awards announcement
Strategic takeaway: Read a festival's full awards list, not just the top prize. One selection can create recognition for the film, the screenplay, the cast, or another part of the work. Before submitting, check which awards fit your film and your team. That will tell you more than the festival's biggest headline alone.
Fantastic Fest turns a pitch into a financed feature
Variety reported on September 22 that Fantastic Fest's second annual Fantastic Pitches competition awarded first place to Father Figure, a 1970s wedding folk-horror feature from writer-director Connor Martin and producer Josh Farnworth. The team received $100,000 in financing from Chroma, a distribution deal, and a premiere at Fantastic Fest in 2027.
The festival also announced its film awards, with Girl in the Night, Adult Supervision, and Ghost in the Cell taking top feature prizes in three different competitions. For filmmakers developing genre work, the pitch prize offers a concrete route from an idea to financing, distribution, and a future premiere.
Read Variety's Fantastic Fest awards report
Strategic takeaway: Festival opportunities are not limited to finished films. Check whether the festivals you follow also run pitch competitions, labs, or markets. If they do, prepare a clear deck, a realistic budget, and a short explanation of why this team should make this film now. Those materials can open a door before production begins.
NYFF opens with a major world premiere
The 64th New York Film Festival opened September 25, then gave Godzilla Minus Zero, Takashi Yamazaki's sequel to Godzilla Minus One, its world premiere as the Spotlight Gala on September 26. Yamazaki and actors Ryunosuke Kamiki and Minami Hamabe joined the festival for the premiere and a press conference.
The first weekend also included shorts, experimental work in the Currents section, filmmaker Q&As, and James Gray in conversation with Jim Jarmusch. The blockbuster brought attention, while the rest of the schedule gave filmmakers several ways to study the work and meet one another.
Watch NYFF's September 26 Godzilla Minus Zero conversation
Strategic takeaway: If you attend a major festival without a film in the program, plan more than one kind of event. See a headline premiere, then choose a shorts or experimental block and stay for the Q&A. If you cannot be there, watch Film at Lincoln Center's festival conversations online and take notes for your own work.
FESTIVAL SPOTLIGHT
Brooklyn Film Festival - Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
Brooklyn Film Festival is accepting work for its May 20 through June 3, 2027 edition. The festival says its final program will include about 140 to 150 projects, and every selected film comes from submissions. That makes Brooklyn a strong fit for independent filmmakers who want a real theatrical audience and an open route into the lineup.
· The festival accepts narrative and documentary features, plus narrative, documentary, experimental, and animated shorts. Features must run at least 50 minutes.
· All selected films can compete for category awards. The Grand Chameleon is chosen from the six category winners, so a short, documentary, animation, or experimental film can take the festival's top honor.
· The festival pairs screenings with Q&As, panels, parties, pitch events, and filmmaker gatherings. If selected, plan to attend and use the full schedule, because the value goes beyond the screening itself.
Upcoming deadlines: FilmFreeway lists the Early-bird Deadline for Features as October 30, 2026, and the Early-bird Deadline for Shorts as November 30, 2026.
Submit to Brooklyn Film Festival via FilmFreeway
DEADLINES & OPEN CALLS
deadCenter Film Festival - Academy Award Qualifying
Oklahoma City, OK | June 9-13, 2027 | Earlybird Deadline: October 15, 2026. deadCenter accepts features, shorts, episodic work, music videos, and Indigenous and Oklahoma-specific categories. Its Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short awards are Academy Award qualifying. Films entered for award consideration must retain an Oklahoma premiere.
Submit to deadCenter Film Festival via FilmFreeway
Cleveland International Film Festival - Academy Award and Canadian Screen Award Qualifying
Cleveland, OH | April 1-30, 2027 | Regular Deadline: September 30, 2026. CIFF accepts films completed after June 1, 2025 and requires at least a Cleveland theatrical premiere. The festival says each paid submission is watched in full by at least three screening-team judges. Its Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short awards are Academy Award qualifying.
Submit to Cleveland International Film Festival via FilmFreeway
Manchester Film Festival - BAFTA Qualifying
Manchester, UK | March 11-21, 2027 | Penultimate Deadline: October 27, 2026. Manchester accepts narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, and music-video features and shorts. All competition films come through open submissions. It is BAFTA qualifying for British short film and requires a Manchester premiere, except for music videos.
Submit to Manchester Film Festival via FilmFreeway
Garden State Film Festival
Asbury Park and Cranford, NJ | March 18-21, 2027 | Final Submission Date: November 1, 2026. GSFF accepts films, screenplays, and other work. Features need a New Jersey premiere. Shorts must disclose previous and planned New Jersey screenings; a state premiere is preferred, though it is not required.
Film Festival Insider discount: Use code FFI for 25% off through November 1, 2026.
Submit to Garden State Film Festival via FilmFreeway
FINAL THOUGHT
This week's news shows that a festival can recognize more than one member of your team, help finance a project, or give you a place to learn and meet people. Before you submit, decide which of those results you actually want.
If you're sorting through those choices now, start here: filmfestivalinsider.com/start-here
Until next week,
Heather Brittain
Founder, Film Festival Insider™
Festival Programmer - Filmmaker - Strategist
