DIFF Adds to Line-up for Dallas International Film Festival 2025

DALLAS, April 16, 2025 – DIFF has announced additions to its line-up for the 19th edition of the annual Dallas International Film Festival, April 25 – May 1, 2025. The Festival was named in October as an Oscar® Qualifying Festival by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and will feature screenings of more than 125 films, Q&A sessions, and panels with filmmakers and actors, nightly DIFF Red Carpets, and special events.

Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Victory Park, located steps away from American Airlines Center at 2365 Victory Park Lane, will serve as the host venue. Additional screenings and events will be held in the innovative AT&T Discovery District, the vibrant Harwood District, the historic Texas Theatre, and the artful Virgin Hotels Dallas – which returns for the third year as the Premier Sponsor of the Festival – among other world-class Dallas destinations to be announced. 

New features added to the line-up for DIFF 2025 include:

BLACK SPINES (Narrative Feature) (USA)

Director: Jordon Foss

The film follows Cameron, a high school photographer who investigates a series of murders in his small town. But when mysterious video tapes begin to appear leading Cameron to clues about the killer’s identity, he is forced to reckon with the very terrifying possibility that the killer may be closer than he ever imagined.

CHAIN REACTIONS (Documentary Feature) (USA)

Director: Alexandre O. Philippe

A look at the legacy and cultural impact of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, including Patton Oswalt, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, Stephen King, and Karyn Kusama, through interviews and outtakes exploring how the movie shaped their art and psyche.

JULIET & ROMEO (Narrative Feature) (USA) GLOBAL DEBUT

Director: Timothy Scott Bogart

Based on the real story that inspired Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the film follows the greatest love story of all time, which is set as an original pop musical.

THE UGLY STEPSISTER (Narrative Feature) (Norway, Poland, Sweden, and Denmark)

Director: Emilie Blichfeldt

Following Elvira as she battles against her gorgeous stepsister in a realm where beauty reigns supreme, she resorts to extreme measures to captivate the prince, amidst a ruthless competition for physical perfection.

THE TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE (Narrative Feature) (USA)

Director: Tobe Hooper

In this 1974 horror classic, five friends head out to rural Texas to visit the grave of a grandfather. On the way, they stumble across what appears to be a deserted house, only to discover something sinister within. Something armed with a chainsaw.

The line-up of short films for DIFF 2025 now also includes:

80 FACES OF FREEDOM

BLACK CROWNS

CRUELTY

DIG

I BEG YOUR PARDON

IMPOSSIBLE JOURNEY

VICTORIA VILLASANA

WHAT FREEDOM

TENEZ

TWO HALVES

Music videos added to the line-up for DIFF 2025 include:

AUGMENTALITY

GO FOR LAUNCH

ILLIONAIRE

MY FACE

WALK THE EARTH BY SLOT MACHINE

Live Screenplay Table Reads during DIFF 2025 will include:

Screen Writing Competition Table Read | Pilot Winner

LATE BLOOMER By Kyle Kennan

Television (Half-hour) · Comedy · 40 Pages

After their parents downsize, two adult sisters move back in with them, bringing some extra baggage: a one year old baby and an eighty pound orchestral harp.

Screen Writing Competition Table Read | Feature Winner

UNBOUND By Renn Tan

Feature · Historical · 115 Pages

In Qing dynasty-China, a high-society Han Chinese girl and a runaway Mongol girl fall in love under the roof — and against the wishes — of the Matchmaker, who manipulates the red thread of fate to create perfect marriages.

Screen Writing Competition Table Read | Texas Winner

HOW TO START A CULT By Melinda Scully

Feature · Drama/thriller · 121 Pages

When a young woman challenges the gatekeepers of academia by starting her own cult, her radical research blurs the line between devotion and destruction.

Screen Writing Competition Table Read | Short Winner

THE BEST DAYS OF RICHARD DAVIS By Phoebe Angaye

Short · Drama · 14 Pages

A man lives out the last days of his life after deciding to commit suicide.

The Dallas International Film Festival will feature live screenplay table reads, awards, and other events and activations where filmmakers, screenwriters, film industry leaders, celebrities, sponsors, and audiences come together to experience and discuss film. Films are curated from submissions received by filmmakers worldwide, across Texas, and the United States, and include narrative features, documentaries, and short films of all genres from studios and independent filmmakers.

Grand Jury Prizes for DIFF 2025 will be awarded for Best Texas Short Film, Best Texas Feature, Best Documentary Short Film, Best Documentary Feature, Best International Feature, Best International Short Film, Best Narrative Feature, Best Animated Short Film, and Best Student Film within the Shorts Competition. Additionally, Audience Awards will be given for Best Documentary Feature, Best Narrative Feature, and Best Short Film. There will also be a Dallas County Historical Commission Prize for Best Historical Film and the “ShotDeck Presents the Grand Jury Prize for Best Narrative Short”.

Oscar® Qualifying short film awards at the Dallas International Film Festival are: Grand Jury Prize – Best Animated Short Film; Grand Jury Prize – Best Documentary Short Film; and Grand Jury Prize – Best Narrative Short Film. Films that win qualified awards between October 1, 2024, and September 30, 2025, may be qualified to enter the 98th Academy Awards®, provided that the films meet all the requirements set forth in the official rules for that season.

Passes for the Dallas International Film Festival are on sale at https://dallasfilm.org/diff/passes. The full line-up for this year’s Festival can be viewed here.  

Festival Sponsors as of April 16 include:

PREMIER SPONSOR: Virgin Hotels Dallas

MARQUEE SPONSOR: Cinépolis Luxury Cinemas Victory Park

GOVERNMENT AND FOUNDATION SPONSORS:

City of Dallas Office of Arts and Culture

Dallas Tourism Public Improvement District

Moody Fund for the Arts

National Endowment for the Arts

Texas Commission on the Arts

SPONSORS:

AdChat DFW

Akin

AT&T Discovery District

BestofGuide.com

Bonez Creative Agency

Burned to Light Media and Video Production

Commerce House

Dallas County Historical Commission

Dallas Film Commission

Dallas Producers Association

DFW MSP

DGN Entertainment News

Event Horizon Films

Fade In

FilmFrog

Fons PR

Four Corners Brewing Company

Harwood

H-E-B

History Undressed

Hungry Bull Productions

Keurig Dr Pepper

Mario Zie

MoviCo

Nowadays Orange Productions

OneBarUSA

Panavision

SAG-AFTRA

SDG Releasing

SHOTDECK — “ShotDeck presents the Grand Jury Prize for Best Short Film” 

Sherrill Actors Studio

Victory Park

Videomaker Magazine

For sponsorship inquiries, please contact Beth Wilbins, CEO, bwilbins@dallasfilm.org.

About DIFF | Dallas International Film Festival

DIFF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts and culture organization established as Dallas Film Society, Inc. in 2006.  Through year-round screenings, film series, educational programs, community partnerships, and film festivals, DIFF builds community and raises awareness of the world’s most approachable and inclusive art form.

Named by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as an Oscar® Qualifying Festival, The Dallas International Film Festival is the signature presentation of the organization. Through curation of the broadest range of expression through film, DIFF serves as the region’s most powerfully inclusive and equitable platform for diverse, emerging and underrepresented voices. Since its founding, DIFF has screened more than 2,500 widely diverse new films from 60 countries, provided more than $1.1 million in awards and hosted more than 100,000 filmgoers and filmmakers.

DIFF is committed to celebrating films and their impact on society, honoring filmmakers and recognizing their contribution enhancing both the creative community and the city of Dallas, providing leadership in film education, and celebrating excellence in the art of film. More information is available at www.DIFFDallas.org.

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