Austin Spotlight Film Festival

Austin Spotlight Film Festival Austin Spotlight is an international film festival held in Austin Texas. We accept all short films,

Austin Spotlight is an international film festival held in Austin TX. We accept all short films, music videos, docs, & even kickstarters.

08/29/2026

🎶 MAKE BELIEVE — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTION
Dir. David Wells, Jimmy Lindsey, ASC & Ruthie Craft |

A fairytale feast erupts into rebellion when a queen rejects her suitors and rewrites the script of love. Shot on 35mm, “Make Believe” is a striking collaboration between Ruthie Craft and Austin cinematographers Jimmy Lindsey and David Wells.

Catch Make Believe in our Opening Showcase on September 12.

🎶 Block 1 — 1:00 PM
📍 Southwest Lake Creek 7
🎟 Tickets: filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

🌀 ANIMATION SHORT — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONSDoomscrolling, ADHD through the eyes of a 9-year-old, and a clown falling ho...
08/28/2026

🌀 ANIMATION SHORT — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Doomscrolling, ADHD through the eyes of a 9-year-old, and a clown falling hopelessly in love with a mannequin.

Meet the Animation Short official selections of Austin Spotlight 2026:
🎬 King Karno — Dir. Richard Thompson |
🎬 Just One Peek — Dir. Mulan Fu
🎬 What does it feel like to have ADHD? — Dir. Robert Glassford |

Catch them in the Opening Showcase — Block 1 on September 12 at Southwest Lake Creek 7.

🎬 Opening Showcase: 1:00 PM
🎟 Tickets: filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

✍️ NARRATIVE FEATURE SCREENPLAY — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONSCongrats to our Narrative Feature Screenplay Official Selectio...
08/28/2026

✍️ NARRATIVE FEATURE SCREENPLAY — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Congrats to our Narrative Feature Screenplay Official Selections for Austin Spotlight 2026:
📄 Death in Poland — Grant Huffman
📄 Kanawha — Robert D Palmer
📄 CODE: 143 — Emma Prescott & Kyler Prescott
📄 7 The Legend — Randall Paul Swearingen
📄 Long Dead — Chad Jackson
📄 Golden Slumbers — MP Soldo
📄 Surf City — Robert A Breedlove |
📄 CAINE — Eduardo Muniz & Danilo Moraes
📄 The Cow — Jonathan Face
📄 Shadow Self — Tom Zimmerman
📄 Joan Bressler Set in Philadelphia — Linda J Collier
📄 After the Sirens Fade — J Vantor & William Suit
📄 What Waters Stain the Innocent — Eric Jared Cook
📄 MINA — Negar Saddigh
📄 Half-Day — Zen Zielke
📄 Entanglements — Amelia Kaya Kazmierczak
📄 LUPAE — Jean Kim Messin
📄 Green Falcons — Patricio O'Donnell
📄 Till the Sun Grows Cold — John Bebout
📄 Transference — Jackie Shelton
📄 Crossroads Texas — Marcus Miller
📄 The Strong — Joshua Rutherford
📄 CLOUD ZERO — Julie Lilly-Belote, Michael Schultz & Duane Humeyestewa
📄 Cracker Jax — Peter William Hassinger
📄 HUMAN — Hüseyin KÜÇÜK
📄 Brink — Beau Adams
📄 The Foundling — Elizabeth Rackley
📄 Bulowville — Beau Adams
📄 Dolla Bill — Anthony Cross
📄 MONTY — Negar Saddigh & Rocsana Saddigh
📄 HEARTSTONE — Michael Williams
📄 Echo Protocol — Ali Muhana
📄 THE MAN WHO BEAT MARK SPITZ — David Bryant Perkins
📄 Themselves — Penelope Kate Pena |
📄 Lord High Executioner — Grant Huffman
📄 Nothing But the Truth — Rebecca Abigail Clark
📄 Holy Cow, I'm In Love — Jeff Brazzle
📄 Richard Spong — Terry Luke Podnar | .podnar
📄 The Empire of the Little Ones — Alejandro Karam
📄 Souled Weight — Adonis Joseph Anthony
📄 The Connecting Betrayal Part One and Part Two — Vivianne Rosenberg | .rosenberg
📄 SOCIABLE WEIRDO — Nobuko Hokari
📄 What The Boy Couldn't Say — Myrta Vida

✍️ Feature Screenplay Q&A — 10:40–11:00 PM
📍 Southwest Lake Creek 7
Learn more about our 2026 screenplay selections:
austinspotlightfilmfestival.com/2026-selections

08/27/2026

👻 CHOCOLATE MILK — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTION
Dir. Wyatt Whipple |

A woman pursued by an ominous stranger takes shelter in a nearby corner store where a gentle clerk is left to defend her.

Catch Chocolate Milk in our Twilight Showcase on September 12. 🌙

👻 Block 4 — 6:10 PM
📍 Southwest Lake Creek 7
🎟 Tickets: filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

👻 HORROR SHORT SCREENPLAY — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONSMeet the Horror Short Screenplay Official Selections of Austin Spotl...
08/27/2026

👻 HORROR SHORT SCREENPLAY — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Meet the Horror Short Screenplay Official Selections of Austin Spotlight 2026:
📄 BE MY BABY — Lynda Hilliker
📄 For Dad — Maddie Smith
📄 Welcome To The Night — Rickey Dawkins
📄 Coercion — Liam Mathison Farmer
📄 A Bad Day in Hell — David R. Schleicher & Bradyn Braziel |
📄 The Mowers — Liam Mathison Farmer | @500.klicks

Congratulations to our wonderfully twisted ASFF 2026 Horror Short writers. 💡
Come hear from our screenplay selections on September 12:

✍️ Short Screenplay Q&A — 10:25–10:40 PM
📍 Southwest Lake Creek 7

Learn more about our 2026 screenplay selections:
austinspotlightfilmfestival.com/2026-selections

🏆 2026 AUSTIN SPOTLIGHT SCREENPLAY NOMINEES 💡Congratulations to every screenwriter recognized for their storytelling thi...
08/27/2026

🏆 2026 AUSTIN SPOTLIGHT SCREENPLAY NOMINEES 💡

Congratulations to every screenwriter recognized for their storytelling this year. Winners will be announced September 12 at the 10th Annual Austin Spotlight Film Festival in Austin.

10 years of putting the spotlight on indie storytellers.

🎟 Tickets: https://filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

🎶 MUSIC VIDEO — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONSDream worlds, R&B longing, leather-laced rock & roll, fairytale rebellion, and a...
08/26/2026

🎶 MUSIC VIDEO — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Dream worlds, R&B longing, leather-laced rock & roll, fairytale rebellion, and a whole lotta style.

Meet our official Music Video selections:
🎬 Make Believe — Dir. David Wells, Jimmy Lindsey, ASC & Ruthie Craft |
🎬 Jeff Hilliard - Love Myself — Dir. Jeff Hilliard |
🎬 Deer Fellow - Beautiful Gray — Dir. Noah Griffin |
🎬 My Fantasy — Dir. Jack Wilkinson
🎬 Realize — Dir. Julianna Revilla & David Goodson |
🎬 Find My Way — Dir. Daniel Castillo |
🎬 The What Four - Long Way To Go — Dir. Julius Charles Ritter |

Catch them in the Opening Showcase — Block 1 on September 12 at Southwest Lake Creek 7.

🎬 Opening Showcase: 1:00 PM
🎟 Tickets: filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

08/26/2026

😂 FRANK & BEANS — 2026 OFFICIAL SELECTION
Dir. Eric Gonzales |

Frank & Beans is an award-winning short film about three people whose lives intertwine in a life-or-death struggle.
Frank (Raul Casso, Fear The Walking Dead), a thirty-something slacker, is completely oblivious as his wife, Nora, gets ready for an office party at a time when she is being considered for a promotion.
Mr. Beans, Nora's boss, encounters Frank at the party and tensions rise. The situation escalates, leading to a confrontation where Frank must make a choice.

Catch Frank & Beans in our Comedy & Short Form Showcase on September 12.

😂 Block 2 — 2:45 PM
📍 Southwest Lake Creek 7
🎟 Tickets: filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

🏆 2026 AUSTIN SPOTLIGHT CAST & CREW NOMINEES 💡Congratulations to the actors, directors, ensembles, and creatives recogni...
08/25/2026

🏆 2026 AUSTIN SPOTLIGHT CAST & CREW NOMINEES 💡

Congratulations to the actors, directors, ensembles, and creatives recognized for their work this year. Winners will be announced September 12 at the 10th Annual Austin Spotlight Film Festival in Austin.

10 years of putting the spotlight on indie storytellers.

🎟 Tickets: https://filmfreeway.com/austinspotlight/tickets

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