Blog: Film festivals

The Poppy Jasper International Film Festival (PJIFF) has been entertaining audiences in the greater San Francisco Bay Area for more than 15 years. We promote inclusion, diversity, and women empowerment; educate people of all ages about filmmaking; and encourage everyone to “find their voice through film.”

In 2021, like many other festivals, Poppy Jasper’s annual festival turned all-virtual. For the first time, our wide variety of films, panel discussions, and filmmaker conversations was available worldwide. We have as a result forged a stronger bond with the international filmmakers whose films made up 2/3 of the festival’s 2021 offerings. Circumstances permitting, we anticipate a hybrid festival in April of 2022.

PJIFF is based just south of Silicon Valley in the towns of Morgan Hill, Gilroy, Hollister, and San Juan Bautista. The festival’s name is drawn from a semiprecious mineral found only in this region. We look forward to once again welcoming visitors to the historic downtowns of our host communities, where local restaurants, breweries, and wineries join in making festival visitors feel right at home.

PJIFF was honored to receive “Best of the Fest” honors at the 2019 Fest Forum in Santa Barbara, and we are thrilled to be one of MovieMaker Magazine’s Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee for 2021.

Before You Submit

Please submit your film to the category in which you would want your film to be considered for selection and “Best Of” honors.

If submitting in a Student or Local category, your film will be considered for selection for Student or Local day. Remember to include proof of student status or contact address with California zip code. If as a student or local filmmaker you prefer to be considered for selection and honors in the main festival, please submit in a genre / type specific category instead.

We are committed to inclusion and diversity, and strive to select films that honor that ethic. Half of our selected films will be from women directors. We typically have a program of shorts and a few feature-length films. English closed captioning and audio description are encouraged but not required. Foreign-language films must have English subtitles.

Learn more about our communities by visiting their websites: https://visitgilroy.com/ , https://www.visitmorganhill.org/ and http://www.discoversanbenitocounty.com/