TVFilm is Upstate New York's Indie Short Film Showcase, 18 Years Running
TVFilm is WMHT's showcase of short films made by Upstate New York media makers. Showcasing new pieces every summer, TVFilm offers Upstate filmmakers a chance to show off their work and share their thoughts and experiences on the creative process!
TVFilm is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
TVFilm is back for Season 18! Watch Fridays at 11 PM, or on demand at WMHT.org/TVFilm
Meet the Films of Season 18
Now Streaming: Full Episodes of TVFilm
TVFilm Extras
Filmmaker Resources
Organizations, festivals, and answers for independent filmmakers across Upstate New York.
- Capital-Saratoga Regional Film Commission
- Albany NY Film Production
- Film Upstate NY Community
- NY Capital District Film Community
- Capital Cinema Cultural Exchange, Inc.
- YouthFX
- New York State International Film Festival
- WAMC's Linda Norris Performing Arts Studio
- NYS Writer's Institute
- Film Albany
- Spectrum Theater
- 518 Film Network
- Sanctuary for Independent Media
- APB Films
- Chromoscope Pictures
- Saratoga Film Forum
- Skidmore – MDOCS
- Film Schenectady
- New York BizLab
- It Came from Schenectady
- Madison Theatre
Any filmmaker 18 years or older who is a resident of Upstate New York. Upstate New York is defined as counties north and west of the larger New York City area starting in Dutchess, Ulster and Sullivan counties.
We accept films from any genre, including and not limited to documentary, experimental, narrative, comedy, thriller, and animation. Films must be under 25 minutes in length.
TVFilm is a great platform for distributing your film to a wider audience after a festival run. Many of the filmmakers we feature show short films that are proof of concept for feature-length works, or are experimental and play with the boundaries of independent filmmaking. Keep in mind, by submitting to TVFilm, your film may become ineligible for some festivals that require a premiere or require that you have not publicly distributed the film in other venues.
It is possible to convert from 24 fps to 29.97fps, the required frame rate for broadcast. Please refer to this document for information about how to complete this export in Adobe Premiere.
The FCC is the Federal Communications Commission, the United States' primary authority for communications law and regulation. At WMHT, we must comply with FCC rules so as to not be fined for violation — this means we may need to censor words or images seen as obscene, indecent, or profane. Learn more about the law on obscene, indecent, and profane broadcasts.
The rights release states you are releasing rights to WMHT to broadcast your film for three years — covering unlimited, non-exclusive exhibition on air, on-demand (PBS App), live-linear streaming (YouTube Live), and PBS Video Manager.
The personal release gives WMHT permission to use your appearance, name, voice, and likeness across all broadcast and non-broadcast media in perpetuity, including for publicity and advertising for TVFilm.
You do not need to provide releases collected for actors, subjects, or third-party content in your film — by signing the rights release, you confirm you have collected all necessary rights.