Join us at the ConnectHER Film Festival, a celebration of powerful storytelling from visionary filmmakers and changemakers worldwide. Over the past 12 years, ConnectHER has received over 2,000 short films from young filmmakers in 93 countries, bringing diverse perspectives on the challenges and triumphs of women and girls.
The Paramount Theatre
April 4 & 5, 2025
Friday Night Screening
On Friday night, immerse yourself in short films that capture inspiring, raw, and moving stories told by young creators. This year, we’re showcasing films from 24 countries, including award-winning filmmakers from past festivals! After the screening, engage in a live Q&A session with these talented storytellers and get an insider's look into their creative journeys.
Saturday Night Awards Ceremony
Saturday night brings the excitement of our red carpet Awards Ceremony, where we’ll present $30,000 in awards to outstanding filmmakers across categories like Best Documentary, Best Narrative, and Women & the Environment. Walk the red carpet and celebrate these impactful stories that are sparking conversations and driving social change. This year’s ceremony features special guests, including legendary Austin producer Elizabeth Avellán, soulful Austin-based band Ley Line, Sudanese poet and activist Emi Mahmoud, and surprise guests from the film industry.
Don’t Miss This Opportunity
Whether you're a storyteller, an activist, or a film enthusiast, don’t miss this unique chance to be inspired and connect with groundbreaking stories and the filmmakers behind them. Every ticket purchased supports young filmmakers as they create change through their art.
ConnectHER Film Festival
High school and college students submit original short films focused on critical issues affecting women and girls, including barriers to education, global health, financial independence, poverty, climate justice, refugee issues, and more—highlighting how these challenges disproportionately impact them. Learn more.
We’re thrilled with how the film festival is turning students into filmmakers—and filmmakers into activists.
JUL. 1
SUBMISSIONS OPEN
OCT. 14
ENTRY DEADLINE
NOV. 19
GALLERY GOES LIVE
If your film is selected to be in the 2024 festival, it will appear on the Watch page around November 19.
DEC. 17
VOTING ENDS
JAN. 17
FINALISTS ANNOUNCED
APR. 4-5
AWARDS CEREMONY
Winners announced at ConnectHER's Film Festival Awards Ceremony
Featured Films
Yellow Card
Winner of the 2020 Judges’ Choice Award, Yellow Card focuses on a girls’ soccer team’s campaign for equal pay for women in sports—a campaign that surprised the players by going viral. “I didn’t think my voice really mattered,” one of the campaigners told the filmmaker. That was before Billie Jean King and Hillary Clinton tweeted about the girls’ #EqualPay campaign. And before the phone started ringing with Anderson Cooper and Good Morning America on the line.
Passoon
Move over, Greta Thunberg. Passoon (“rising up for a cause” in Pashto) introduces viewers to 12-year-old Manal Shad, a passionate and outspoken Pakistani climate activist. In a country already suffering devastating impacts from climate change, Manal inspires other young people to rise up and get involved. Like Greta, she is fearless in her call for politicians to do their job and protect our planet.