Study Abroad Film Festival
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IES Abroad Student Stories on the Big Screen.
Over the past six years, 500+ student films have put us on the edge of our seats, demonstrating the transformative power of study abroad and the creative abilities of IES Abroad students.
Experience the magic for yourself by watching this year's top films and by re-watching our 2020 Film Festival livestream below!
About the Festival
Founded in 2014, the IES Abroad Study Abroad Film Festival was the first student-focused study abroad film festival in the industry. Celebrating its seventh anniversary in 2020, the IES Abroad Film Festival has provided students a platform to voice their global journey through their own words and video footage, capturing unique views into their life-changing study abroad experiences – showing what the experience meant to them and how it redefined their world.
This is the first year the Film Festival is hosting a virtual event. Originally, the entire Film Festival was hosted as on-demand content on Facebook. In 2017 it was hosted as a live event for the first time at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago and emceed by Kate Flannery– best known for her 9 seasons as Meredith, on NBC’s hit show, The Office. The 2018 and 2019 Festivals were hosted by Richard Roeper, best known as the film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and for his 10 years as co-host of the television series, “At The Movies with Roger Ebert,”.
Over the past three years, the Film Festival event has raised more than $70,000 for IES Abroad Scholarships and more than 160+ colleges and universities have been represented through 500+ student film submissions!
How the Winning Film Is Selected
1. Initial Review: IES Abroad staff bring their popcorn and tissues and spend hours watching and whittling down student film submissions. Staff check that films meet contest requirements, and select the pool of Semi-Finalists to be sent to the international jury.
2. Jury Review: Our highly esteemed jury from around the world watch and score all Semi-Finalist films. The top three student filmmakers become our Finalists.
3. You Vote! The Finalists' films are announced in early fall and public voting starts shortly after. The film with the most votes at the end of the voting period is announced as the Grand Prize Winner live at the Study Abroad Film Festival and awarded $1,500.
Watch Past Films
Year after year we are awed by how thoughtful and talented our student filmmakers are. From poignant music videos to compelling documentaries to humourous reenactments, our students stop short of nothing to creatively depict their experiences from abroad.
Grab a comfy seat, give these films a watch, and get inspired about study abroad. We hope to see your film on the big screen next!
Hear What Others Are Saying
We've always known that our students tell the story of study abroad the best, that's why we're so thrilled with the recognition our Film Festival has recieved since it began in 2014.
Join The Festival
We know you have an amazing story to tell and we don’t want to just hear it, we want to see it. Make us laugh. Make us cry. Teach us. Challenge us to think about the world that we live in and move us to do something about it.
We invite you to submit your short films—up to three!—that encompass the spirit of study abroad and how it redefined you!
Check back here for info on when the 2022 Festival is open for submissions.
Study Film Abroad
Could your homework win you $1,500?
Students on any of our programs are welcome to compete in the study abroad film festival, but when you study film abroad your class project can become your festival submission!
Check out our range of programs that offer courses in film studies and film production.
