The winner of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival “Best Documentary Short” category in 2025 may qualify to win an Oscar at the Academy Awards.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has added the festival to its Qualifying Festival List for documentary shorts. As a result, films that win in that category may be qualified to enter the 2026 (98th) Academy Awards.
The festival has a history of championing documentary films. The 2024 festival screened 18 short documentaries, as well as 18 feature-length documentary films.
“This is an extraordinary honor, and we are thrilled to share it with the next generation of filmmakers,” according to Skye McLennan, executive director of the festival. “I would like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to those, past and present, who have made SLOIFF what it is, a showcase for thought-provoking and socially important documentaries and the very best that indie filmmaking has to offer.”
The 2025 edition of the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival is scheduled April 24-29. With a projected slate of more than 125 narrative features, short films, documentary features and shorts, and music videos, the six-day festival offers a broad spectrum of fare for serious cinephiles, devoted film buffs and casual movie fans.