TheDallas International Film Festival (DIFF) is an annual film festival that takes place in Dallas, Texas. The 2025 edition will be held April 25-May 1, 2025.
DIFF 2024 was held April 25-May 1, 2024.
DIFF 2023 was held April 28-May 5, 2023. The 2023 Dallas International Film Festival was cited by Travel + Leisure magazine in naming Dallas among the "12 Best Places to Travel in April 2023".[1] The festival was also cited by MovieMaker magazine in naming Dallas among the "Best Places to Live and Work as a MovieMaker 2023".[2]
Since its inception, the Dallas International Film Festival has contributed more than $1M in filmmaker awards, brought more than 2,000 filmmakers to Dallas, and screened more than 2,500 films from more than 50 countries.[3]
The Dallas International Film Festival began in 2007 as the AFI Dallas International Film Festival. The festival was cofounded by advertising executive Liener Temerlin and Deep Ellum Film Festival founder Michael Cain[5] with the intention that "film should be placed on the same pedestal as all of the other arts".[6] The Festival was held March 22 to April 1, 2007. The Opening Night Gala film was Steven Sawalich’s “Music Within” and Sarah Polley’s directorial debut, “Away From Her,” closed the fest. The newly inaugurated AFI Dallas Star was presented to Lauren Bacall, Jack Valenti, David Lynch, Sidney Pollack, Marvin Hamlisch, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Sarah Polley and posthumously to Gregory Peck, who served as the first chairman of the AFI’s board.[7]
2008
In 2008, the AFI DALLAS International Film Festival was held from March 27 to April 6, 2008. The Opening Night Gala film was Helen Hunt's directorial debut film, Then She Found Me. The Closing Night Gala film was Stuart Townsend's Battle in Seattle. Mickey Rooney attended a presentation of the 70th anniversary of Boys Town. Helen Hunt, Mickey Rooney, Charlize Theron and Todd Wagner each received the AFI DALLAS Star Award. Director Chris Wedge received the Tex Avery Animation Award, which honors lifetime achievement in animation filmmaking. Special guests included Robert DeNiro, Barry Levinson, Art Linson, Keke Palmer, Michelle Rodriguez, Stuart Townsend amongst others.
2009
The 3rd annual festival was held from March 26 to April 2, 2009. Kathryn Bigelow was presented with the AFI DALLAS Star Award before a screening of her film, The Hurt Locker.
Adrien Brody was presented with the AFI DALLAS Star Award prior to the screening of the Opening Night Gala film, The Brothers Bloom. Robert Towne received the AFI DALLAS Star Award at a presentation of the 35th anniversary of the film, Chinatown.
2010
In 2010, the name of the festival was changed to the Dallas International Film Festival after the contract with AFI expired.[8][9] The 11-day 2010 Dallas International Film Festival, ran April 8-18th, its full schedule encompassing 153 features and shorts making up a total of 170 screenings. Opening Night has a unique look too, as the festival presented not just a single opening night film, but instead took over 8 screens at the Angelika Film Center and showcased multiple films from the festival. Amber Heard received the inaugural DALLAS Shining Star Award. Dallas Star Award Recipients were cinematographer Wally Pfister, Pixar animation wizard Brad Bird, writer/director John Lee Hancock and writer/director Frank Darabont.[10] The 4th annual festival was held from April 8 to April 18, 2010.
The 6th annual festival was held from April 12 through April 22, 2012.[12] Dallas Star Award Recipients included award winning actress Laura Linney and Gabourey Sidibe and behind-the-scenes legends Glen Keane, Eric Pleskow and Bernie Pollack. A special tribute to RoboCop included star Peter Weller.
2013
In 2013, the 7th annual festival was held from April 4 through April 14, 2013, and presented more than 160 features, documentaries, shorts, and student films from 28 countries.[13]
2014
The 8th annual festival was held from April 3 through April 13, 2014.[14]
The 10th annual festival was held from April 14 through April 24, 2016. The opening night film was The Land, starring Erykah Badu.[16] The Dallas Star Award was presented to cinematographer Ed Lachman and the inaugural L.M. Kit Carson Maverick Filmmaker Award was presented to Monte Hellman.
2017
In 2017, the 11th annual festival was held from March 30 through April 8, 2017.[17][18] The Dallas Shining Star Award was presented to Zoey Deutch (Before I Fall). A posthumous Dallas Star Award was presented to Bill Paxton. The L.M. Kit Carson Maverick Filmmaker Award was presented to David Gordon Green.
2018
The 12th annual festival was held from May 3 through May 10, 2018.[19] In 2018, the festival screened more than 130 films from 22 countries, including several movies that were released nationwide later in the year: Eighth Grade, Won’t You Be My Neighbor, Dead Pigs, and Blindspotting.[20]
2019
In 2019, the 13th Dallas International Film Festival powered by Capital One was held from April 11 through April 18, 2019.[21] The festival screened more than 130 films from more than 35 countries, including five world premieres, one U.S. premiere, 37 Texas premieres, and 15 Dallas premieres.[22] World premieres included: After So Many Days,El Corazón de Bolívar (Bolivar's Heart), Hurdle,The Pursuit, and This World Won't Break.
2020
The 2020 Dallas International Film Festival as an in-person event was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Dallas Film presented summer drive-in movie screening events in Dallas at Four Corners Brewing Company.[23] Dallas Film and Ozarka also collaborated to present the first-ever Ozarka® Brand Drive-In Film Festival events, held in Dallas, Austin and Houston in fall 2020.[24][25]
2021
After the 2020 festival was postponed during the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2021 Dallas International Film Festival returned under the direction of artistic director James Faust with an abbreviated in-person event from October 8 through October 10, 2021, at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - Cedars.[26]
The 2023 edition of the Dallas International Film Festival (DIFF) was held April 28-May 5, 2023, at Violet Crown Cinema in the West Village district of Dallas.[29]
2024
DIFF 2023 was held April 28-May 5, 2023. The 2023 Dallas International Film Festival was cited by Travel + Leisure magazine in naming Dallas among the "12 Best Places to Travel in April 2023".[1] The festival was also cited by MovieMaker magazine in naming Dallas among the "Best Places to Live and Work as a MovieMaker 2023".[2]
