Celebrating 'True-Indie' Filmmaking & Connecting Global Talent
Austin is the boom town of the creative world right now, and the Lift-Off festival there runs on that same energy. The city pulls a hungry indie crowd, filmmakers who came for the scene and the momentum, and the festival turns that into a week of screenings and real connection.
It’s made for filmmakers near the start: first and second films, shorts, low-budget features. Austin rewards a bit of nerve, so bring the film you’re not sure anyone will programme. This is the room for it.
Your film screens online to a global audience, and there’s in-person and online networking around the screenings, so you leave with people who get what you’re doing. Standout Austin films go through to the Lift-Off Season Awards at the end of the year, judged across all 12 city festivals.
Austin Lift-Off Season #17 screened in March 2026. Submissions are now open on FilmFreeway for Season #18. Selected films get an online screening to a global audience, and entry to the festival’s networking events. Standout films get a place in the Austin Network Round, and winners are shortlisted for the 17th Lift-Off Season Awards.
Recent Winners
Festival Events
Each festival hosts a series of online and in-person events, connecting filmmaking talent across the globe
Focus Group Feedback
Meet fellow filmmakers, exchange feedback and discuss your projects. Focus Group participants attend an online meeting to pitch their work before participating in the Feedback Session.
In-Person Networking Speeddate
Join us in the city for a showcase & networking event held in conjunction with the festival’s online screenings. Attendees chat to everyone in the room in a 'speed-date' style networking session.
Online Networking SpeedDate
Pitch your future projects or share previous work. Attendees can screen a trailer or pitch deck before meeting with everyone in a 'speed-date' style network session.
Questions?
Once a year, as part of the Lift-Off season. Screenings & events run in March.
Emerging independent filmmakers, especially first and second-time directors working in shorts and low-budget features.
Films screen online to a global audience, with in-person networking in Austin alongside the festival.
Through FilmFreeway: Click here.
Winning films are shortlisted for the Lift-Off Season Awards, judged at the end of the season across all 12 city festivals.