The Culver City Film Festival runs December 3 to 11, 2026, nine days of independent shorts, features, documentaries, music videos, and more. Despite the name, every screening happens a few miles west at the AMC Marina Marketplace 6 in Marina del Rey.
This is a festival that casts a wide net. Last year’s awards list ran to dozens of categories, and the 2026 call for entries took everything from TV pilots to vertical promotional videos. The schedule is still to be announced. Here is what the festival has posted as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Thursday, December 3, through Friday, December 11, 2026 |
| Where | AMC Marina Marketplace 6, 4335 Glencoe Ave., Marina del Rey, CA 90292 (all screenings) |
| Program | Shorts, features, documentaries, animation, music videos, web series, TV pilots, experimental films, and promotional content |
| Tickets | At the door or online through the festival site. All tickets are non-refundable |
| Schedule | TBA |
| Official site | culvercityfilmfestival.com |
What’s screening
The 2026 lineup has not been announced. The festival notifies selected filmmakers on December 1, just two days before opening. Its 2026 submission categories give a sense of the range: feature films, short films, documentaries, documentary shorts, animation, music videos, web series, TV pilots, experimental films, and promotional filmed content including verticals. There is a screenplay competition, too.
What last year looked like
The festival’s 2025 awards page is a good preview of the mix. A few of the top honors:
- Grand Prize, Best Feature: Crusty Fouler
- Grand Prize, Best Documentary Feature: Boundless Borders
- Grand Prize, Best Narrative Short: Slipping Away
- Grand Prize, Music Video: Peter Gabriel’s “Secret World”
- Audience Award, Best Feature: Lady in the Urn
- Best Documentary About Southern California: The Price of Progress, LAX and It’s Neighbors
There were also awards for horror, faith-based, dance, and mockumentary work, plus a full slate of screenplay prizes. It is that kind of festival.
Passes and tickets
- Where: at the door or online on the festival’s tickets page. The site notes it works best on a laptop or desktop.
- Refunds: none. All tickets are non-refundable.
- Prices: not yet posted. The online box office was closed as of September 28, 2026.
Venue
AMC Marina Marketplace 6, 4335 Glencoe Ave., Marina del Rey, CA 90292. The festival lists it as the home of all screenings. Every program is under one roof.
How to plan
- Check the schedule close to opening. Selection notices go out December 1, so keep an eye on the schedule page in the days before December 3.
- Buy only what you will use. Since tickets cannot be refunded, wait for the schedule before buying.
About the festival
The Culver City Film Festival describes itself as an independent festival held every year in Culver City. Jon Gursha is the festival director and Peter Greene is the program director, and the two produce it together. The festival’s archive runs back to 2014, and its FilmFreeway listing counts 13 years running.
Still to come
The film lineup, daily schedule, ticket prices, any passes, and parking, transit, and accessibility details have not been announced. The 824 Journal will update this guide when they are released.
Sources
- Culver City Film Festival, official site (venue)
- Culver City Film Festival: Schedule
- Culver City Film Festival: Tickets
- Culver City Film Festival: About Us
- Culver City Film Festival: 2025 Awards
- Culver City Film Festival on FilmFreeway (2026 dates, categories, notification date, years running)
Featured photo: oldhickory49 via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
