The 2026 Film Festival at UC Davis showcases short films created by UC Davis students and recent alumni as well as submissions from student filmmakers from Northern California colleges and universities. This year’s festival is being produced by a team of students who are mentored by Julie Wyman, associate professor of cinema and digital media.
Featuring a different set of films each night, the festival will be held Thursday and Friday, May 28 and 29 in Room 1002, Cruess Hall, and begin at 6 p.m. Doors open at 5 p.m. The event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
The festival includes films that are eight minutes and 59 seconds in length or less, which span a variety of genres and styles from narrative to documentary to experimental. In addition, the jury panel evaluates short original screenplays. Over the years, the jury panel has presented awards in each genre (narrative, documentary, experimental, animation), and on specific accomplishments, such as best original soundtrack, production design, ensemble acting and editing.
A joint student and faculty production team hosts the annual festival which offers a space for current filmmaking students to network with each other, the wider campus and local community, and our alumni who work in the media industry. The goal is to share and cultivate the joy of cinema and filmmaking as well as enriching cultural participation across our campus and the larger community.
The Film Festival at UC Davis was founded in 2000 by students involved in filmmaking in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Filmmakers who have submitted for the festival have gone on to submit works to numerous regional film festivals.
The festival is co-sponsored by departments at UC Davis including Art and Art History, Cinema and Digital Media, Design, and Theatre and Dance, all in the College of Letters and Science at UC Davis.
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