SUBMISSIONS CLOSED
Extended Deadline for Short Films is closed.
Feature Film Submissions is closed.
Past Event Dates 2025: APRIL 25, 26 & 27 in San Diego, California
What’s in store for the mobile filmmaking community in 2025? The future of smartphone filmmaking is here.
We created the world’s first official International Mobile Film Festival launched in the Spring of 2009. IMFF was the first film festival to screen films shot with ONLY mobile phones of all brands on a big screen in a traditional film festival setting. We celebrate art and filmmaking featuring you, our community, as the stars! Join us and hang out with new and existing friends in your community!
SPONSORS 2025: Thank you!
FilmConvert | Zacuto | Angaelica | Engraving Pros | Science Fiction Coalition | Endolyne | Hall H Show Podcast |Chi Forest | SBP Podcast
Festival Focus
1. Short & Feature Length Films: The festival showcases short and feature films made using smartphones.
2. Global Submissions: Filmmakers from around the world can submit their work.
3. Community Building: The IMFF aims to bring together smartphone filmmakers, industry experts, and enthusiasts.
SBP is working on something for you, and the best part is that we’re building it with you. Join us and get involved!
*Look for a subscription confirmation email after you sign up to activate it.
Have you heard the origin story of how our pioneering film festival was conceptualized? Did you know our vision of the world making movies for the big screen in the future began on September 11th, 2001?
IMFF is THE industry event for mobile smartphone filmmakers.
As one of the longest established festivals in the world for mobile smartphone filmmakers, we transformed our film festival for the 2022 11th edition and beyond, as a leading global film festival for professional mobile films for both, short and feature film competitions. We’ve added a separate competition for less experienced filmmakers: The Rookie Award.
We continue our reputation of professionalism within the industry and continue to raise the bar. Since 2009, we’ve been involved with the global mobile filmmaking universe in many ways. Over the course of many years since launching, our festival and the SBP Podcast have created an organic international community brought together by founder Susy Botello. IMFF has garnered a reputation for its intimacy, claimed by mobile filmmakers.
Our brand, International Mobil Film Festival™ is an annual event that takes place in San Diego, California. The festival brings people together to celebrate storytelling through mobile filmmaking. We showcase short and feature films shot with smartphones on a big screen. In 2023 we brought a smartphone photo contest to the lineup.
We present a unique awards ceremony with our “Red Carpet Extravaganza!” honoring contenders from all competitions; actors, and crew of all ages. All participants are escorted by sponsors Dude Vader and members of the Science Fiction Coalition on the red carpet.
Each year, the festival recruits a number of volunteer judges with no interference from our festival, or each other, to select the winners for each competition.
Participants in our film festival enjoy networking with industry professionals, learning through workshops and many special presentations, Q & A’s, and make new friends and genuine connections.
How a father and his 11 year-old daughter made it to the IMFF red carpet to celebrate each other’s films shot with smartphones. Read and be inspired!
The International Mobile Film Festival was created by founder Susy Botello of S. Botello Productions™ who launched it in the Spring 2009.
The expenses of running the film festival and the podcast are difficult. Susy Botello, through her company, has been and continues to be an ongoing, passionate and supportive advocate for everyone in this growing international community since 2009.
Thanks to our fiscal sponsor Angaelica, we are now able to accept donations. ANGAELICA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) and will provide tax deductible donation receipts to donors. Donate today.
You can support, and give back, by becoming a patron or one time supporter.
International Mobile Film Festival is a GOLD Member Film Festival on FilmFreeway.com and an IMDb qualifying film festival.
SOME HISTORY
Our Transformation in 2022:
Submit on FilmFreeway.com! Read the detailed criteria and categories.
The Feature Film Competition seeks high quality well produced story based narrative feature length films. Three films will be selected to screen and compete for the Best Feature Film Award.
The Short Film Competition seeks short high quality films of all genres. Winners in each of the categories in the short film competition (see categories in FilmFreeway.com) will compete for the top three awards: First, Second, and Third Place. 2023 new time limits are 3-10 minutes!
Both feature and short film competition selected films will screen during our main event screening in our film festival.
The Rookie Award is a separate competition for less experienced, and new mobile filmmakers to showcase their films in a separate session during our film festival. The length of the short films in this category/competition is 1-5 minutes. All genres accepted. One of a handful of selected films will receive special recognition during the awards ceremony and one film will be recognized as the winner of The Rookie Award.
Mobile Film School in San Diego
The San Diego Mobile Film School (non-accredited) was officially launched in September 2012. It has since held workshops during each film festival event and on it’s own.
During the pandemic 2020-2021, we found it impossible to provide “hands-on” instruction, lectures and seminars. We continue to look for opportunities for in-person events, and maintain the tradition through our in-person film festival in San Diego.
Look for Community Events coming to San Diego in person and online in 2025. If you are in another area and would like to host an in-person IMFF event, get in touch with us.
Is it 30 seconds or 4 seconds? Learn how long you have to capture your viewer’s attention, and some tricks to help you get your viewers engaged with your video content from the second they click play.
Read about the Community Stories Program.
Festival founder Susy Botello hosts and manages the SBP Podcast Mobile Filmmaking (October 2017). The Voice of Mobile Film™ is for everyone who ever wanted to or is curious about making movies and videos using smartphones.
The SBP Podcast is free to the public. Help us keep it going. Become a member on Patreon with a paid membership. Unlock exclusive episodes with the $5 a month membership, less than the price of a taco or a coffee per month. Listen to 25 plus exclusive episodes.
Register as a paid member in your web browser instead of the Apple Store to save the cost of Apple Store fees.
Susy sits down with smartphone filmmakers to discuss their projects and inspire listeners with in-depth conversations.
Our podcast inspires storytellers as filmmakers and gives a voice to creators in the mobile filmmaking community.
On July 18, 2023 SBP Podcast premiered a new program called “Fade In To Film,” where podcast host Susy Botello sits down with guests to discuss topics of interest affecting the filmmaking and mobile filmmaking community jointly, with a foundation in storytelling through film.
“Fade In To Film” discusses current events and news of interest to indie and smartphone filmmakers with an effort to solidify the connection between smartphone and indie filmmaking.
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