As 2018 slowly fades into the rearview mirror, we are intrigued that, year after year, more and more submissions head our way. Why? Why over the past 4 years have we seen such growth in festival interest, submissions, discussions, etc?

We of course want to believe that we are getting better, year after year, in curating a film festival. But maybe more importantly, we hope to be better at connecting filmmakers with resources and a fertile and ongoing ecosystem for networking and discovery. We hope so. Regular submission deadline is on. Get those films in and let’s continue to show Philadelphia what a true independent film festival is all about.

Let us know what you think. We look forward to the coming 12th annual festival May 8 – 11th, 2019. Want to speak? Contact us with your idea.

Connect! @PhilaIndie or on ROKU by searching PIFF.

See you out there,

The Festival Team

Welcome. We’re off to another great year as festival #11 has seen steady submissions and a real interest in the business of film. Our infamous Animation Festival tickets are on sale! Get them here BUY Animation Festival tickets. We have a great program lining up with selections from Iran, the US, Holland, and more already accepted to screen. Tickets are $5 for this special event (that takes place during the annual festival). Thank you to #PRSguitars and Gearstuff.com for your ongoing support.

We are excited to share our festival with everybody and this includes integrating with Philly Tech Week even more. We have been passive about this venture the past few years as we scoped out the possibilities. We feel now we are ready to stand up and show you what we have in mind. Expect our VR efforts to finally come to the front. 🙂

More updates soon. Visit us on Twitter for daily news and discussions @PhilaIndie

See you at the festival!

Archive:8/11

Thank you to Tel Aviv Actors and Theatre Artists Yael Rasooley, This was clearly the best year we have had and they just seem to be getting better. As artists we can’t thank you enough for working through our kinks and 24 hour days. Shalom!

Archive: 5/16

Welcome back! As we work towards festival #10 in May 2017, we are looking forward to demonstrating and discussing what’s next in Independent film. We hope you join us online and in the theater. If you see us out, please say hello. We have been setting up at Dave & Busters at Ken McGregor and John Mitchell’s event. Stop by and say hello. this is a fantastic event and we’re proud to take part! Until then, we’ll see you at the theater.

end

It’s been a few months since the festival partnered with Philly Tech Week #PTW16 and camped out at the University of the Arts. We had never tried to screen in one space and in the spirit of us moving around the city since 2011, we took the task to heart. It was an exciting time for all of us.

The combination of 87 films with yet another fantastic and enthusiastic crowd showed Philadelphia and the world that the Independent film is alive and well. We are proud to have screened films from as far away as the Middle East (Iran and Israel), Italy, Montenegro, UK, Spain, Holland, all over the United States and much more. We produced multiple live webcasts that drew more people than attended the festival live. Our on going (circa. 1997) discussion of our (human) relationship with digital media continues to push the envelope. Local Independent film is thriving and will always be well represented at the festival.

It was great to see so many new faces. It shows the #PHL film community is much, much larger than anybody knows. We are proud to be part of and contribute regularly to the ever evolving landscape in Philadelphia film for almost 20 years. We support the #PHLfilm creative and business community and so should you!

What’s next for us? We plan to continue our UArts, Philadelphia Art Alliance and or Philly Nexus events where we discuss and introduce new and evolving artists, filmmakers, tech heads and people who want to discuss the current memes. We’ll continue to do these events and focus on working with local filmmakers to premier local films. The UArts Gershmon Y and the Corzo Center for the Creative Economy are fantastic venues to premier films. The Gershmon Y has a 600 seat capacity theater with some of the best projection the city has to offer.  We feel honored to present at such venues with such talented people.

Thank you again for continuing to make our festival such a success. We hope the past 9 years have shown our dedication to the craft as a craft and we look forward to seeing you out, online and buying tickets to all screenings (that’s all festivals people) through out the year and for many years to come. If you see an independent shoot on the streets of Philadelphia, buy the set some joe from a local shop. They’ll love you back for sure!

Feel free to contact us or interact with us online where we are active daily.

FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM

 

Yours in the arts,
Benjamin Barnett, Festival Director #piff

We are proud to claim this fact. Yes it is true. With a sophisticated and unique curriculum and a torrent of interest, we launched in 2014 the worlds first crowdfunding accelerator. What does this mean?

Read the Technically Philly article here to find out: Inside coPhilly’s #PHLMade Demo Day. The daylong event showcased more than 20 early-stage companies, including members of the coPhilly accelerator program.

~ ed