Mobile Filmmaking 2025
2024 was a very interesting year for mobile filmmaking and it came with $75M! Does that vindicate you as a smartphone filmmaker?
We’re looking forward to what the new year brings to all of us in this mobile filmmaking community.
There are 14 annual editions of the International Mobile Film Festival in San Diego as of April 2025. There were three years before that where we were officially launched making the challenging call for films–shot with mobile phones.
That’s a long time. We have 75 million stories we adore and hold close to our “cause” and we’ll share why. Our mission with this film festival was designed from a deeply personal place in the heart of founder Susy Botello. IMFF wants to help you make the world a better place through storytelling using the most accessible device in the world to make films.
We are still “burning the midnight oil” here at SBP, when it comes to this platform as a community. That’s the ultimate goal for all artists, isn’t it? Mobile filmmakers are joined at the hip, literally, with the phone in their pockets.
Starting with IMFF 2025, we’re working to present you as we represent you and advocate for you. We’re in San Diego, but we’ve been very connected to our friends globally since we launched.
When we first launched, before the first inaugural film festival, we were corresponding behind the scenes with many people from different parts of the world from Egypt to Macedonia, New Zealand and beyond.
Over the last two years, after coming back from the pandemic’s in-person event shutdowns, we’ve been excited about the adoption of smartphone filmmaking here in the U.S.
While Danny Boyle gets movie studio support to fund the making of their new “28 Years Later” to be released in the summer, we celebrate the true stars of smartphone filmmaking: YOU!
IMFF’s mission has not changed since the day we launched!
SBP’s connection with artists and filmmakers was born years before the festival launched.
It was that connection, and the love for the people who work on films, that helped energize our founder to take action and propose a unique challenge to the world. It wasn’t targeted at only filmmakers. It was a call to all humans on earth, of any age, with access to a cell phone camera. The challenge was one we knew was destined to be the future.
“Make a movie with your cell phone, send it to us, and we’ll put it on a big screen in our film festival in San Diego where only films shot with mobile phones qualify.”
As pioneers and the first festival of this kind, we have many stories about the mobile filmmaking industry, its history, the people…we have many stories about our own involvement in this industry as we participated in its development, joined by others.
But the stories we personally cherish are those from the attending filmmakers. The stories they’ve shared with us about their journey into mobile filmmaking and indie filmmaking. Some had lots of hoops to jump through to attend in person from another country.
We provide a dream come true for a “non-celebrity” or Hollywood studio filmmaker. These stories take place just about every year we’ve held the festival. They continue–and we cherish each and every one.
Last month we had the honor of welcoming Angaelica as our fiscal sponsor. Angaelica is a 501(c)(3) organization that shares our mission. Under their umbrella, we can now accept donations to help us bring IMFF to its full potential and Angaelica will provide tax deductible donation receipts to our donors.
The International Mobile Film Festival has provided a film making platform that remains unique, and has provided a safe space where a diverse community of filmmakers from the beginner to the professional from all walks of life, a genuine indie opportunity, to share their stories and films. We connect and inspire you.
We spend all year long promoting and providing opportunities to share your talent globally.
We appreciate every individual, company or organization that can help us in support of our efforts.
We look forward to provide the platform that is instrumental in giving filmmakers a space to meet and share their skills, talents and experience with each other through an annual intimate unique film festival in beautiful San Diego. We continue embracing this community and hope to bring much more your way in 2025.
Another way we provide opportunities is through the SBP Podcast by Susy Botello. The podcast, hosted and produced by Susy Botello, also serves as the most thorough resource for mobile filmmakers around the world. As an advocate, Susy gives filmmakers a voice through her podcast to share in-depth stories on their mobile filmmaking journey and process. There are 210 episodes at this moment.
We have some other things in store, but we’re just a few hours into 2025, we’ll bring you up to speed soon. Want to stay up-to-date? Just bookmark our Social page for almost daily updates.
This year’s theme for the film festival is now in the works. Do you have any suggestions for 2025? Tag us on social media with yours!
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