UKY Student Film Festival call for submissions now open
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 23, 2026) — The University of Kentucky Student Film Festival is returning Saturday, April 30.
The blue carpet event, which starts at 7 p.m. at The Kentucky Theatre, is free and open to the public.
All UK students are eligible to submit a film or media project for consideration — simply turn in your submissions through the UKY Film Festival form by 11:59 p.m. Sunday, April 12.
The festival showcases outstanding student films across multiple genres — celebrating the creativity of young filmmakers and providing them the opportunity to screen their work before a live audience. Films selected to screen will be reviewed by a panel of judges composed of local media industry professionals.
The event is in collaboration with Media Collaboratory and Omni Media Productions, while awards are sponsored by Courage Media.
Ten awards will be presented on the night of the festival.
- Audience Choice: Selected by the live viewing audience the night of the show.
- Best Narrative Film: Awarded to the narrative fiction film with the highest combined judges scores.
- Best Experimental Film: Awarded to the experimental film with the highest combined judges scores.
- Best Documentary: Awarded to the documentary film with the highest combined judges scores.
- Best Animation: The best animated film with the highest combined judge scores.
- Honorable Mention: Favorite film determined by the selection committee.
New awards for 2026 include:
- Best Writing
- Best Cinematography
- Best Sound Design
- Best Performance
You can also view award-winning films from last year at www.ukyfilmfestival.org or on the YouTube channel @ukyfilmfestival.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.