Cinequest

Major legitimate festival with strong credentials

Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival is Silicon Valley's largest independent film festival, held annually in San Jose and Mountain View, that uniquely merges cinematic arts with technological innovation including AI and virtual reality. It is an Academy-qualifying festival for short films, offering winners of Best Short Narrative and Best Short Animation a path to Oscar eligibility, and has been voted USA Today's Best Film Festival by readers.

Last updated Jul 16, 2026

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In the News

• My self-funded feature film, Party USA, Is premiering at Cinequest next month. Here's how I made it.
  redditFeb 19, 2026Neutral

  Logline: "When Taylor can't get her party store shift covered after her dad dies, she makes a deadly mistake that sparks a downward spiral of red, white and blue-collared chaos." Well folks, after coming up with an idea 4 years ago I couldn't put down, to completing the script 3 years ago, to shooting the thing in October of 24' and spending a year in post... all while working a full time job... we are onto the next stage of festivals, marketing, and distribution. My film, […