A filmmaker-first festival, CIFF’s program celebrates the myriad of possibilities that nonfiction cinema has to offer. Our programming team cherishes the medium not only for its ability to connect audiences to the wider world through heartfelt stories, but also for the ways it engages with provocative questions through exciting and innovative forms. With each year’s slate of films, CIFF creates multiple entry points into the contemporary conversation about what nonfiction cinema can be. 

We’re interested in films that tune into the sensory, radical, and tender. We value a diversity of approaches, and refer to these ideas while engaging with current cultural shifts, actively positioning CIFF as a place of interrogation and discovery. We’re unafraid to go out on a limb with you. We love to be surprised.

Founded in 2005 and recognized as one of the top documentary film festivals in the world, the Camden International Film Festival (CIFF) gathers the world’s most boundary-pushing storytellers and industry leaders for a four-day celebration of non-fiction cinema. 

CIFF is an experience just as unique as the films we exhibit. Hosted on the rugged coast of Maine, the Festival Weekend is packed with a hearty roster of filmmaker Q&As, interactive installations, and networking sessions – with plenty of opportunity for surprise and discovery. At CIFF, the emphasis is on building relationships – between filmmakers, industry, and audiences. 

In CIFF’s program, you’ll find films, performances, and installations that move the documentary artform’s conversations two steps forward. We’re interested in films that are curious about cinema’s potential, engaged in urgent conversations, and rooted in the perspectives of thoughtful, unique creators. 

Have a project in production? Check out our Artist Programs page for more information on our professional and creative development opportunities for filmmakers. 

A filmmaker-first festival, CIFF’s program celebrates the myriad of possibilities that nonfiction cinema has to offer. Our programming team cherishes the medium not only for its ability to connect audiences to the wider world through heartfelt stories, but also for the ways it engages with provocative questions through exciting and innovative forms. With each year’s slate of films, CIFF creates multiple entry points into the contemporary conversation about what nonfiction cinema can be. 

We’re interested in films that tune into the sensory, radical, and tender. We value a diversity of approaches, and refer to these ideas while engaging with current cultural shifts, actively positioning CIFF as a place of interrogation and discovery. We’re unafraid to go out on a limb with you. We love to be surprised.