Published 5:40 am Sunday, September 20, 2026
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Woman enters Liberty Hall during the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guest getting his ticket checked at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Pamphlets at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Stewart Smith, emcee of the Tyler Film Festival welcomes guests during the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guest at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Tyler Film Festival filmmaker bags at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests and volunteer at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests enter the Liberty Hall at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Popcorn at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Liberty Hall’s Tyler Film Festival sign at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests enter Liberty Hall at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Adriana Rodríguez, pio team lead for the City of Tyler and board member of the Tyler Film Festival, makes popcorn at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests getting concessions at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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Guests at the first night of the Tyler Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. (Leeza Meyer/Tyler Morning Telegraph)
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The smell of popcorn filled the air as filmmakers and movie fanatics spilled into Liberty Hall for the first night of the 14th annual Tyler Film Festival on Friday.
The East Texas celebration of independent filmmaking, showcasing international and local short films, ran from Sept. 18 to 19 in downtown Tyler. The films shown during the festival were the top 20 out of 84 submissions, which were then judged during the two-day themed showing and awarded Saturday evening.
“Movies are, I believe, one of the great art forms because they are the convergence of so many other artists united in their pursuit of something wholly unique,” said Stewart Smith, emcee of the Tyler Film Festival. “Writers, concept artists, set and costume designers, cinematographers, gaffers and countless people both in front of a camera and behind it bring these minor miracles to life, and that’s really what movies are.”
The 10 films were categorized each night into themes including changing landscapes, family ties and twisted tales on Friday, and unwritten rules and made here on Saturday, which unveiled the artists’ unique concepts and ideas on the big screen.
“Some filmmakers make it seem easy, but even the best of them will tell you that it is truly amazing that any film ever gets made, much less if any of them turn out to be good, and that in part, is why we have this film festival,” Smith said. “The creation and presentation of art is wonderful and exhilarating, funny, dramatic, heartbreaking and life-affirming, and these artists who have poured so much of themselves into their work deserve to have their films seen and be experienced by all of us.”
A total of 167 tickets, that cost up to $30, were sold early online across the two days, breaking the festival’s record from previous years.
Festival Director Craig O’Daniel said the organization can measure the growth of the film community concentration in Tyler and East Texas by watching the Tyler Film Festival grow each year.
“We’re seeing a lot of excitement around town, and it’s becoming more present in people’s lives,” O’Daniel said. “We are excited that we’re seeing growth in ticket sales and in the submissions that we have.”
O’Daniel said a team of independent individuals watched each film in the screening process and narrowed submissions to the 20 films for judging. Films were viewed at least three times by different people to create a well-rounded opinion before moving on.
“We had some really powerful stories,” O’Daniel said. “It doesn’t matter what it’s shot on, or how beautiful it is, if your story is not there, then you probably aren’t going to make it in the festival, especially in our festival where we have to really whittle it down to such a small number compared to how many submissions we get, so we really want those strong stories and something that’s really captivating people.”
The judging
A panel of judges viewed each film over the two-day festival, looking for quality in lighting, photography, cinematography, audio and narrative.
Trevor Hicks, festival judge and founder and president of the East Texas Film Society, said the best films are the ones that stay with you long after the screen has gone black.
“For me, I’m paying attention to what I feel from it and how the images and all of that express something to me,” Hicks said. “I know if I like the way something looks and the technical aspect of it that I think is worthy of some kind of second take.”
Hicks said judges of short films versus feature films must understand that the stories will most likely not follow a classic three-act structure of the exposition, the conflict and the resolution.
“Short films will be more of an open-ended concept where it’s not telling a beginning, middle and end,” Hicks said. “There are also varying degrees of quality because many non-local short films tend to be higher production quality.”
Each film lasted 5 to 15 minutes and did not have production or idea constraints.
“Sometimes all it takes is a really good concept,” Hicks said. “One of the films called ‘Beach Bagels’ was one of the more unique ones where the subject matter is obscured, and then as you get through the short film, it starts to become apparent what’s happening. I think hiding the concept of it and then slowly opening it up at the end is so powerful, and it makes you think.”
Hicks said low-budget concepts that work really well narratively can be the most captivating films, especially in a short format.
“We have to think about what things the audience might come out with some lasting impression or something that’ll make them keep talking about it afterwards,” Hicks said.
Hicks said he remains impressed with how the Tyler Film Festival has helped his own mission of bringing together East Texas filmmakers through the East Texas Film Society.
“We’re starting to feel the momentum, that locomotive momentum of people starting to know each other and collaborate,” Hicks said. “That’s exactly the reason that we’re trying to do all of this, is because we know there are artists out there that don’t have a lot of collective areas of clusters of filmmakers. It’s not Austin or Dallas, so we’re trying to get people to come to things and interact with each other, and the film fest has been a huge piece of that.”
Attendee Oliver Simmons, who previously won third place in Mineola’s film festival and is part of the East Texas filmmaker community, said he loves supporting fellow local artists.
“I wanted to come and watch some cool local films,” Simmons said. “Events like this are very good opportunities because it’s really important to support the interested people and give them a place and outlet to show their work.”
The Tyler Film Festival created an experience for any guest who passed under Liberty Hall’s twinkling lights and walked through the glass doors, with complimentary popcorn and beer from True Vine Brewing Company and Q&A’s with the filmmakers.
“I think it’s really important for the local people to see locals come out and support them,” O’Daniel said. “To be playing and competing alongside filmmakers that are going to other film festivals around the world is pretty cool.”
The awards given to the filmmakers at the end of Saturday included the Jury Award or Best of Festival, Best Cinematography, Best Actress, Best Actor, Best Young Actor, Film with the Biggest Heart Award, Funniest of the Fest and Audience Choice Award.
O’Daniel said the winners of the Tyler Film Festival will also receive a filmmaker laurel, a symbol awarded at film festivals that recognize achievements in cinema.
“It’s having a logo saying that you were an award-winning filmmaker, so when you go to the next festival, they already know you are award-winning, so your chances are more likely to be selected,” O’Daniel said. “The more awards you win, the more likely your film either goes on to do something else, becomes a feature film or just gets you that foot in the door to bigger festivals.”
Over the past year, Tyler Film Festival expanded outside of its two-day celebration by hosting East Texas’s first 48-hour film competition in April, which allowed the winning film “The Chat” to be automatically entered into the festival.
“They put so much of themselves into these works that it’s important that we recognize the work that they do and embrace the meaning and depth and emotion that comes with these works,” Smith said. “To the artist that makes this festival what it is, thank you for sharing your work with us.”
For more information on the Tyler Film Festival, visit tylerfilmfest.com.
About Leeza Meyer
New multimedia reporter at the Tyler Morning Telegraph. After graduating from UT Austin with my bachelor’s degree in journalism, I found myself packing up and heading North East to the pine trees and roses. I love telling community stories and I am currently covering local politics. Raised in Texas, I understand the value of connected and informed communities and I’m excited to be here. Story ideas, questions, ect. are welcome at leeza.meyer@tylerpaper.com
