San Luis Obispo International Film Festival Announces 2026 Dates And Exciting New Additions

Published on September 24, 2025

The San Luis Obispo International Film Festival SLOIFF for short conscionable dropped nan dates for its upcoming 32nd year. Get fresh for six days of slayer movies from April 23–28, 2026. Whether you’re a die-hard movie buff, a pro successful nan biz, aliases personification dreaming of making movies, there’s thing present for everyone. Expect a lineup packed pinch caller voices, basking caller trends, and stories that enactment pinch you agelong aft nan credits roll. The show will footwear disconnected pinch an Opening Night Reception wrong nan beautiful, historical Fremont Theater connected Thursday, April 23. It’s nan cleanable chance to swipe elbows pinch indie filmmakers and drawback a front-row spot to nan productivity that will style nan early of cinema.

New Categories and Special Awards

In 2026, nan show will present 2 breathtaking caller additions to its programming. A caller Episodic category will subordinate nan lineup, reflecting nan evolving scenery of storytelling successful film. With nan emergence of serialized contented done online platforms and broadcast television, this class will supply a shape for episodic bid successful some fabrication and non-fiction formats. The show intends to observe nan increasing request for episodic storytelling, which has seen important fame complete nan past decade. Filmmakers tin taxable aggregate episodes, arsenic agelong arsenic nan full runtime doesn’t transcend 40 minutes, aliases taxable a azygous section of up to 30 minutes.

Another caller characteristic is nan Best Genre/Horror Film award. Building connected nan occurrence of nan festival’s Red Eye Cinema programming, which has tested nan audience’s appetite for genre and scary films complete nan past 5 years, this caller grant class highlights nan expanding value and request for independent scary and genre works. With these additions, SLOIFF continues to innovate and grow its scope wrong nan world movie community, embracing caller ideas while keeping its signature tone of celebrating imaginative look alive.

The Festival Experience and Highlights

Aside from its accepted categories of communicative features, short films, documentaries, and more, nan show promises to beryllium an immersive taste acquisition pinch respective cardinal highlights. The Surf Nite is simply a highly anticipated event, bringing together surf civilization and cinema successful a unsocial ceremony of coastal life. Additionally, nan Music Video Showcase provides a abstraction for artists and board to showcase cutting-edge euphony videos that push boundaries and research pinch nan audiovisual format.

The Central Coast Filmmaker Showcase, Cal Poly Short Cuts, and Filmmakers of Tomorrow connection an opportunity to spotlight section talent from California’s Central Coast arsenic good arsenic young filmmakers from astir nan globe, giving them a level to showcase their activity connected an world stage.

Guidance for Travelers

San Luis Obispo, located halfway betwixt Los Angeles and San Francisco, offers a unsocial and scenic backdrop for nan festival. The charming, laid-back ambiance of nan city, mixed pinch its earthy beauty, provides nan cleanable situation for a movie show acquisition dissimilar immoderate other. Filmmakers, visitors, and movie enthusiasts tin bask nan city’s historical downtown, which features a assortment of cafes, shops, and section attractions, alongside nan stunning surroundings of California’s Central Coast.

The festival’s main venues see nan Fremont Theater, a classical creation deco venue, and nan SLO Film Center astatine nan Palm Theatre, wherever screenings, events, and exhibitions will return place. Visitors tin easy research nan surrounding region, which offers stunning coastal views, wineries, hiking trails, and more.

For travelers readying to attend, nan nearest awesome airdrome is San Luis Obispo County Regional Airport (SBP), which offers nonstop flights from awesome cities crossed nan U.S. From nan airport, it is simply a short thrust to nan show venues. Additionally, Amtrak provides work to nan area, offering different convenient proscription option.

Submissions and Deadlines

The show is unfastened for entries successful each category, now adding 2 caller ones: nan Episodic Award and Best Genre/Horror Film. Creators tin nonstop successful their films via FilmFreeway until nan deadline of November 30. It’s a world call, truthful makers from immoderate state tin return part, and nan chosen films will surface astatine nan event. To publication nan complete submission rules and study much astir nan show itself, spell to nan charismatic tract astatine https://slofilmfest.org