Key West Film Festival
Named one of Moviemaker Magazine’s “25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World,” the Key West Film Festival shines a spotlight on creativity and cinematic brilliance amid the island’s tropical charm. From premieres and filmmaker Q&As to star-studded celebrations, the festival brings movie magic to paradise with screenings, awards, and events.
A diverse and artistically rigorous lineup of films is featured across a wide range of categories, offering both aspiring and established filmmakers the chance to share their work, connect, and exchange ideas in Key West’s historic and vibrant setting.
A major highlight of this year’s festival is the Golden Key Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to legendary comedian and film star Billy Connolly, set for Friday, Nov. 14, at 8:30 p.m. at Williams Hall. The ticketed event will be followed by a 20th-anniversary screening of “The Aristocrats,” the documentary in which Connolly and 100 other comedians famously riff on the world’s dirtiest joke.
The festival also celebrates the art of costume design with its signature Golden Key Award for Costume Design — the only award of its kind at any film festival. This year’s honoree is Academy Award-winner Deborah L. Scott, renowned for her collaborations with James Cameron on “Titanic,” “Avatar: The Way of Water,” and the highly anticipated “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” (releasing Dec. 19). The free ceremony takes place Friday at noon at Hank’s Hair of the Dog Saloon.
Saturday’s lineup includes Florida Filmmaker Shorts, featuring Q&As with emerging creators, and a special screening of “Mile Zeros: Claw and Order,” starring Florida Keys Film Commissioner Chad Newman, at 12 p.m. at Williams Hall.
Throughout the five-day celebration, audiences can enjoy new and classic feature films, documentaries, student shorts, critics panels, and awards presentations each afternoon and evening.
The festival concludes with “Hamnet,” the current frontrunner for Best Picture, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley and directed by Academy Award-winner Chloé Zhao.’
Individual tickets and All-Access passes are available at KeyWestFF.com. Check the full schedule for showtimes, event details and links to individual tickets.
