Florida Film Festival Highlights Orlando’s Place in Film and Storytelling

The Florida Film Festival returns to Central Florida this April for its 35th year, bringing more than 160 films from around the world to screens over the course of its 10 day run.

Centered at the Enzian Theater, with additional screenings at venues including Regal Winter Park Village, the Oscar-qualifying festival positions Orlando as a destination for independent, international and documentary filmmaking. As one of only a select group of festivals in the United States recognized by the Academy in all three short film categories, the event offers both emerging and established filmmakers a platform to share stories with audiences far beyond their place of origin.

This year, 40 films were either fully or partially shot in the state of Florida, with several produced in the greater Orlando and Central Florida area. Among them are The Call, which follows Orlando arts leader Terry Olson as he travels to Morocco to explore the history of the “Green March.” Also featured is In God’s Hands, a world premiere documentary directed by University of Central Florida student Modar Kajo that examines religious legislation impacting schools in Central Florida. Another standout, Welcome, highlights the life and work of Orlando’s first African American poet laureate, Shawn Welcome, offering a deeply local perspective on storytelling and community (full list of Florida and Orlando films at FFF below).

Orlando has become one of the fastest growing and most internationally diverse metro areas in the country, shaped by residents who have arrived from all over the world and chosen to call Central Florida home. As Orlando’s cultural identity continues to grow, so does the conversation around its role in the film industry itself.

In late 2025, Orange County approved a $25 million film incentive program aimed at attracting productions and creating more opportunities for local talent. The initiative is designed to strengthen a pipeline that already exists through programs at UCF, Full Sail, and Valencia College, where thousands of students graduate each year with aspirations to work in film. Local leaders and industry voices say the goal is to ensure that those trained here can build lasting careers without leaving the region.

Festival organizers say the conversation around film incentives is an important part of this year’s programming. The Florida Film Festival will host a panel in partnership with the Orlando Film Commission, featuring Brooke Hill and Film Incentive Coordinator Jennifer Pennypacker, focused on Orange County’s film incentives and the region’s evolving production landscape. Organizers emphasize that long term growth depends on creating consistent opportunities for filmmakers once they graduate. “What we need to really move Orlando forward is for the students at these schools to be able to walk out of the door, degree in hand, and onto sets in Orlando,” said Executive Director Wade Neal. The goal, he said, is to build a sustainable ecosystem where education, production and community are connected.

Festival organizers say that connection between audience and storytelling is part of what makes the event unique. Neal described the festival as an “artistically rich, destination-level festival” and noted that the local audience plays a major role in shaping the experience. “There is a genuine love and excitement for film and its infinite creative potential here that outshines many similar events,” Neal said. “Having an Oscar-qualifying, 35 year young festival with its home at a theater as superb as Enzian is something the whole city can be proud of.”

Among the filmmakers traveling to Orlando, Somewhere To Be director, Christy Chan, shares a connection to Florida and described her project as deeply personal and closely tied to her experiences growing up in the South. “My roots are in the South,” she told Orlando Life, “and Central Florida was where I spent many summers as a child. To have the East Coast premiere of this film in Florida is meaningful. It feels like a coming home to where the story began. I hope that families in Florida watch this film and can see themselves in it, and maybe even find some beauty and joy.”