Key West Film Festival · Since 2012

About

Island-made, people-powered

A festival built by islanders, for film lovers.

KWFF is a year-round volunteer army of programmers, students, critics, and locals who turn Key West into a five-day cinema town every November. Founded in 2012, we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit rooted in the Conch Republic’s art, history, and community.

2012
Founded
15th
Edition
501(c)(3)
Status
Nov 18–22
Dates
01 · Our Story
Since 2012

KWFF strives to showcase the best of Florida filmmaking talent while highlighting visiting filmmakers and industry leaders through discussions and workshops, with access to some of the biggest names in the film business.

The festival also supports the next generation of local student filmmakers with scholarships and other key awards. The Festival's Critics’ Focus program, enhanced with the juried Critics’ Prize, together with the Costume Design Focus, marks the Key West Film Festival as a vital stop on the awards season’s fall festival circuit — with programs designed to support film criticism and craft while giving audiences greater context through public conversations guided by expert voices.

Key publications represented in KWFF’s Critics’ Focus program include the Los Angeles Times, Vulture, Rolling Stone, Indiewire, Vanity Fair, Washington Post, TimeOut NY, and Roger Ebert.

— Critics’ Focus Program
Historic Key West festival venue
Old Town Key West street
Festival audience
02 · The People
2 listed

Founders, leadership, programmers, and the year-round jury of advisors who shape the KWFF lineup — filter to browse each group.

Julia Pacetti
Director of Communications
Christopher Moryl
Creative Director
04 · Our Community
Locals first

A film festival on a two-by-four-mile island only works one way: together.

Key West has always taken care of its artists. For fourteen years this town has given KWFF its theaters, its living rooms, its afternoons off and its endless opinions about the movies — and we love it right back.

Our Neighbors

The island shows up — every single November.

KWFF is built by the people who live here: teachers, bartenders, boat captains, artists and retirees who line up on Eaton Street, save seats for each other, and stay for the Q&A long after the credits roll.

  • Locals-first seating and community screenings
  • Neighborhood word-of-mouth is our biggest marketing channel
  • Post-screening conversations that spill onto the sidewalk
Our Neighbors
Key West, Florida — Our Neighbors
05 · Golden Key Honorees
Lifetime achievement & craft

Each November the festival presents the Golden Key to artists whose work has shaped the screen — from lifetime achievement to costume design and documentary filmmaking. Tap any honoree for their full citation, selected work and photographs from the night.

06 · Festival Moments
From the archive
Red carpet, Key West Theater
Red carpet, Key West Theater
Awards reception, 2023
Awards reception, 2023
10th annual Critics Chat, 2024
10th annual Critics Chat, 2024
Burt Reynolds, 2016 awards
Burt Reynolds, 2016 awards
Mariel Hemingway, awards night
Mariel Hemingway, awards night
Filmmakers on the carpet
Filmmakers on the carpet
Awards Celebration, 2024
Awards Celebration, 2024
Critics Chat, 2018
Critics Chat, 2018
Get Involved

Press, sponsorship, volunteering, or just saying hello — we’d love to hear from you.

brooke@kwfilmfest.com
Fourteen years in pictures

The festival, as it actually happens

Honorees, critics, filmmakers and a whole lot of islanders — photographs from across our history.

25 photographs