The George Lindsey UNA Film Festival is now taking submissions for 2015 

Submissions are now open for the 2015 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, to be held March 5-7.  This year, the Lindsey Film Festival will take film and screenplay submissions through FilmFreeway, and all submissions are free!  Click on the green FilmFreeway submission button to get started.

once again, great films, great fun, great festival!  click here for photos from the 2014 lindsey film festival.

2014 winning filmmakers and screenwriters - acceptance speeches and comments - check out our new page.

2014 Lindsey film fest winners

Prof Narrative - "Pechorin"
Prof Documentary - "The Man Left Behind"
Student Narrative - "East of Kensington"
Student Documentary - "Ditching School to Whistle"
Vanguard - "System Preferences"
Young Filmmaker - "Writing the Big One"
Feature Screenplay - "A Second Last Breath"
Short Screenplay - "More than Life"
Best of Fest - "East of Kensington"
Clyde "Sappo" Black Sweet Home Alabama Award - "Mt. Pleasant"
Hero of Film Award - “Regione Caecorum (In the Land of the Blind)” Drew Goldsmith 

Screeners selected for the 2014 George Lindsey UNA Film Festival

The Lindsey Festival is pleased to announce the films selected for screening at this year's festival, March 6-8, 2014. 

YOUNG FILMMAKERS
      Writing the Big One
      The Models of Bekonscot
       Regione Caecorum “In the Land of the Blind”

VANGUARD
     System Preferences
     Judith
     Mt. Pleasant

PROFESSIONAL NARRATIVE
     Stock Exchange
     Pechorin
     Love is Like a Snake

STUDENT NARRATIVE
     East of Kensington
     Butterfly Dreams
     113 Degrees

PROFESSIONAL DOCUMENTARY
    The Man Left Behind
    Unstoppables
    Mobile in Black and White

STUDENT DOCUMENTARY
    Ditching School to Whistle
    Not a Statistic
    Arde Lucus

2014 Festival Dates
March 6-8

The 17th Annual George Lindsey UNA Film Festival will take place March 6-8.  Screeners will be announced the week of January 13. 

2013 Lindsey Fest Gallery

If you were unable to attend this year's George Lindsey UNA Film Festival, you missed out on lots of great film and other fun events.  Here are a few of the highlights; to see more, visit the UNA photo page.

About the festival

Bringing Southern Hospitality to the Best in Independent Film!

The George Lindsey UNA Film Festival is hosted each year by the University of North Alabama in Florence, one of the four cities comprising the culturally rich Shoals. The Shoals is an entertainment Mecca with long roots, which reach to the heart of rock and roll, southern rock, and the blues. It is the birthplace of “America’s First Lady of Courage” (Helen Keller), "The Father of the Blues" (W.C. Handy), and the legendary “Father of Rock and Roll” (Sam Phillips), who first recorded the likes of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and the list goes on.

The Shoals area has always been known for its creative spirit and energy. It is now building on its rich musical heritage by devoting many of its resources toward enhancing its emerging film industry.  Since 1998, The Lindsey Film Festival has contributed to that effort through the exhibition of independent films from across the world and the appearances of many special guests, including Oscar winners Billy Bob Thornton and Ernest Borgnine; "Sling Blade" co-stars Lucas Black and Natalie Canerday; character actors Rance Howard (“Cool Hand Luke”) and Stephen Root ("O Brother, Where Art Thou?"); renowned film critic and Florence native Jonathan Rosenbaum; makeup-effects artist Robert Hall (“Angel” and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"), actors Michael Rooker (“The Walking Dead,” “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer),  James Tolkan ("Back to the Future" and "Top Gun"), Lee Majors (“The Six Million Dollar Man”) and Cedric Pendleton (“The Shield"); screenwriter and producer Bob Gale; radio personality Mark Thompson (of "Mark & Brian" fame), and many more.

As a competitive film festival, we welcome local, national, and international entries.  First place winners in each category receive a substantial prize.  A special award, gifted in memory of George Lindsey’s dear childhood friend, Clyde “Sappo” Black, is given to the best film made in Alabama.  Past winners have included Shane Acker's Oscar nominated "9," Steve Guttenberg's "P.S. Your Cat is Dead," Robert Hall's "Lightening Bug" and the Kathryn Tucker Windham documentary "Kathryn: A Story of a Teller."

The George Lindsey UNA Film Festival was founded by celebrated entertainer George Lindsey, along with now deceased Communications professor Bobby Hurt and now retired Office of Communications Director Bill Jarnigain, George Lindsey is well known for his role of Goober Pyle on the "Andy Griffith Show" and many other credits in television, including episodes of “Hee Haw,” “The Twilight Zone," "The Alfred Hitchcock Hour," "Gunsmoke," "M*A*S*H," and as the host of Turner South's Emmy award-winning "Liars & Legends."

We encourage you to submit your film and come experience southern hospitality at its finest!

Mission and Objectives

The festival, presented in a university setting and around the beautiful Shoals area, provides attendees with an exceptional lineup of quality workshops, panels, screenings, networking opportunities and informal interaction among filmmakers and all guests. Our priority is to discover emerging talent and promote their work by reaching, educating, inspiring, and entertaining audiences with the best in cinematic art. Our hope is that a representative of each selected work will be in attendance for the invaluable opportunity to discuss their work with other attendees in provided forums. We strive to be as eco-friendly as possible and we support our submitters and guests in being equally as mindful.