West Coast Film Awards

A festival for filmmakers, highlighting creative films that challenge limits, celebrate stories, and raise the art of film

Submit Your Film

Our Festival

We invite filmmakers of all genres to submit their films to our festival, where creativity and innovation thrive. West Coast Film Festival offers a respectful space for creators to share their work with film lovers, industry experts, and critics, providing valuable exposure and networking. We stand out by supporting diverse voices, carefully selecting films, and offering a luxurious experience that honors filmmaking. Join us in celebrating the art of storytelling on the screen.

    • Short Narrative Film

    • Feature Narrative Film

    • Short Documentary Film

    • Feature Documentary Film

    • Short Screenplay

    • Feature Screenplay

    • Trailer

    • All Official Selections will receive a custom digital laurel for promotional use

    • All Award Winners will be presented with a personalized certificate at the award ceremony

    • The winner of “Best of the Fest” will receive a trophy as the big finale of the award ceremony

    Potential Awards:

    • Best Short Film

    • Best Feature Film

    • Best Animation Film

    • Best Action

    • Best Documentary Film

    • Best Horror Film

    • Best Comedy Film

    • Best Cinematography Film

    • Best Trailer

    • Judge's Choice Best of the Fest

    • Audience's Choice Best of the Fest

    • Best Feature Screenplay

    • Best Short Screenplay

    • Best Horror Screenplay

    • Best Comedy Screenplay

    • Best Sci-Fi Screenplay

    • West Coast Film Awards will be live again March 2027

    • Screenings will be played in blocks with built-in short breaks

    • Merch, Photo opportunities, Networking, and more can all be found throughout the event in the lobby

West Coast Film Awards logo featuring a palm tree over a film strip with green and red text.
Submit Your Film

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Tyler Darkow, Aaron Carlson, Rion Smith, Aaron Switzer. Photo by: Dan McCormack

For Filmmakers,

By Filmmakers

From filming with a small hand-held camera to running a full production company, our journey shows the passion and hard work true filmmakers know well. We have shed our own blood, sweat, and tears to make meaningful stories to then wade through the murky waters of sending submission after submission. These experiences have deepened our drive to provide a silver screen for the projects that proudly display their creativity, passion, and storytelling skills in unique ways.

After years of enjoying the scares and thrills of The Thing In the Basement Horror Fest, a film festival focused on all things terrifying, the love for film began to grow for more. We wanted to explore all kinds of stories, the laughs, the action, and the mind-blowing fantasy. This led to the creation of the West Coast Film Festival, celebrating creativity in all genres of the art. Now, we welcome filmmakers whose stories guide us to an experience full of emotion, excitement, and endless possibilities.