DIFF Announces Line-up for Dallas International Film Festival 2025
This week, DIFF announced the line-up for the 19th edition of the annual Dallas International Film Festival, April 25 – May 1, 2025. The Festival was named an Oscar Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in October, and will feature screenings of more than 120 films, Q&A sessions, and panels with filmmakers and actors, nightly DIFF Red Carpets, and special events.
Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Victory Park, located steps away from American Airlines Center at 2365 Victory Park Lane, will serve as the host venue. Additional screenings and events will be held in the innovative AT&T Discovery District, the vibrant Harwood District, the historic Texas Theatre, and the artful Virgin Hotels Dallas – which returns for the third year as the Premier Sponsor of the Festival – among other world-class Dallas destinations to be announced.
“For our first year as an Oscar® Qualifying Festival, we have curated a powerful collection of feature, documentary and short films. One particular highlight will be the world premiere of HAPPY AS LARRY – last year, the screenplay for that film was a semifinalist in our first-ever Screenwriting Competition, and it has now returned to DIFF as a completed film, a testament to the role film festivals like ours play in furthering the art of film… Another highlight will be a music and film panel with Abraham Alexander, who was nominated for an Academy Award® for Best Original Song for SING SING, which played at DIFF in 2024. Movie lovers have come to us for nearly two decades to discover the gems of cinema, and this year will not disappoint.” – James Faust, DIFF Artistic Director
The Dallas International Film Festival will also feature live screenplay table reads, awards, and other events and activations where filmmakers, screenwriters, film industry leaders, celebrities, sponsors, and audiences come together to experience and discuss film. Films are curated from submissions received by filmmakers worldwide, across Texas, and the United States, and include narrative features, documentaries, and short films of all genres from studios and independent filmmakers.
Grand Jury Prizes for DIFF 2025 will be awarded for Best Texas Short Film, Best Texas Feature, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best International Feature, Best International Short Film, Best Narrative Feature, Best Animated Short Film, and Best Student Film within the Shorts Competition. Additionally, Audience Awards will be given for Best Documentary Feature, Best Narrative Feature, and Best Short Film. There will also be a Dallas County Historical Commission Prize for Best Historical Film.
