Rules & Categories | International Mobile Film Festival

IMFF 2025 is our 14th Annual Edition

The red carpet is in your pocket™

IMFF 2025

SUBMISSIONS CLOSED

Extended Deadline for Short Films is closed.

Feature Film Submissions is closed.

Festival Event Dates: APRIL 25, 26 & 27 in San Diego, California

There are a few steps to take after the final deadline to the contest or competition you submit a film to, in order to validate your submission for competition and distribution through our film festival.

Once you have been notified of our intention to select your film. You’ll receive an email directly from us with all the details. Once all requests have been met, you’ll receive a status update on FilmFreeway that your film or project has been officially selected.

All films and projects should be original works created by the submitting filmmaker(s). Plagiarism or unauthorized use of others’ work is prohibited.

Using AI (artificial intelligence) is not allowed for any competition or contest in the festival.

We strive to promote, encourage and inspire artists and storytellers in the world using their smartphone cameras to make films.

If you want to announce your selection on social media, let us celebrate it with you by following and tagging us!

Be part of an evolutionary filmmaking revolution — the 14th annual edition of the International Mobile Film Festival took place April 25, 26 & 27, 2025 in San Diego, California. Submissions for IMFF 2026 open June 19.

You don’t need to submit a film to celebrate mobile filmmaking with our community in San Diego. Join us April 25, 26 & 27, 2025 for our 14th Edition.

Come and join the global mobile filmmaking community to celebrate, learn, and enjoy the funnest international film festival for smartphone movies. Mark the dates for IMFF’s 15th Edition April 24, 25 & 26 in San Diego! Be inspired.

2026 SUBMISSION RULES AND CRITERIA WILL BE UPDATED SOON! The 2025 Criteria Page has all the details including FAQ. Check submission deadlines.

Since 2009, IMFF has recognized and celebrated international filmmakers who used only their smartphones to create feature films, short films, documentaries, narrative films, music videos, and many more.

See how far the art of mobile filmmaking has come since our launch in 2009, and be a part of the ever-growing mobile filmmaking movement.

Make your mark in the world of film! Showcase your smartphone-only creations to an audience of industry professionals and join hundreds of other filmmakers in being celebrated for amazing works of art.

Don’t wait — start creating now to submit your films, screenplays and smartphone story photos to be part of next year’s 15th Edition of the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego, April 24-26, 2026!

But first…Stay Tuned to NEW 2026 Rules and Criteria!

You need to know the rules before you submit your film.

“International Mobile Film Festival proudly accepts entries on FilmFreeway, the world’s #1 way to enter film festivals and creative contests.”

How do you submit? Click the button below to submit your films, screenplays and smartphone photos. But first, read all the details. There are no refunds.

IMFF 2026 Submissions Open June 19

SUBMIT

Check our Criteria page for updates and changes to IMFF 2025.

Narrative – Documentary – Ultimate Mobile – Cosplay – Screendance – Geography, Wildlife and Travel – Experimental – Music Video *Cosplay is being replaced with a new category announced at the festival April 27. Watch the announcement.

Things to know for IMFF 2025

Time Limit for the Short Film Competition (no change) minimum 3 minutes and maximum 10 minutes.

*Read about our festival’s transformation which began in 2022.

Rookie Award Films (no change) minimum 1 minute and maximum 5 minutes.

Feature length films (no change) minimum 60 minutes (1 hour) and maximum 120 minutes (2 hours).

About The Rookie Award: This is a separate contest 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 with The Rookie Award.

Community Stories

Festival founder Susy Botello created Community Stories as the first official category for IMFF in 2009. However, it’s not a category on its own at this time. Simply, we select a qualifying film that meets the criteria of the Community Stories program from the short film competition, or we select a film that meets the criteria for the program outside the competition, at the sole discretion of IMFF.

“I was working in the video production industry at the time. I was editing interviews and B roll from local communities, in San Diego. Their stories seemed to have no voice outside of the videos we created for our client. As I launched the festival, I thought, ‘What if a community member could share the story of their community themselves, from their own perspective, using a mobile phone camera and I could present it in our film festival?” —Susy Botello, IMFF Founder.

Community Stories is not an official category. However, if you submit a short film to The Rookie Awards or Short Film Competition, your film may qualify to be featured as a Community Story during our live in-person film festival. Let us know if you’d like us to review it after you’ve submitted your short film. Read more. Filmmaker must be a part of the community or culture the story is about.

Frame A Story (One story in one frame)
Storytelling with a photo: Your photo should inspire the imagination of the viewer and it tells a story. Photos may be incorporated into a video montage sharing your photo and name on the large screen during the festival. Up to the limit allowed by FilmFreeway with a maximum of six photos. Get the details!

Listen to one of the judges for the Smartphone Photo Contest share many great photography tips! Ant Pruitt has a show on TWIT TV (This Week In Tech podcast): Hands On Photography.