Playhouse West Film Festival — Dallas

PWFF-Dallas is an off-shoot of the Playhouse West Film Festival in Los Angeles, established in 1997. In 2023, Artistic Directors/Instructors and PWFF Directors Richard Maddox and Tamara Olson moved to Dallas and founded a branch of the world-renowned school, Playhouse West-Dallas. This year, in 2026, the school will host its first annual film festival in Dallas and plans to continue this event annually, just like it's been held in Los Angeles.

The Playhouse West Film Festival screens films showcasing the filmmaking and acting talents of Playhouse West students, both current and former. As a Meisner-based acting school (Sanford Meisner taught there late in his teaching career), Playhouse West is the only acting school which not only inspires its acting students to take control of their careers by making their own projects, but also hosts a top-notch festival where they can show off their work.

The Playhouse West Film Festival-Dallas is sponsored by the Playhouse West Dallas Arts Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to the inspiration, education and development of motion picture and theater artists of independent vision, and to the exhibition of their work. By sponsoring programs such as the Playhouse West Film Festival, we can also educate the public about the art of filmmaking and introduce them to the work of aspiring new film artists of the future.

The Playhouse West Film Festival is well-known as one of the most positive, filmmaker-friendly festivals in the country. Each year we hear more and more from filmmakers that our festival has been their favorite. From our well-organized, run-on-time format to our unique Q&As after each screening block — giving filmmakers a platform to discuss their films at length with our audience — we take great pride in making our festival a fantastic experience for filmmakers.

As an institution, Playhouse West leads the way in encouraging young filmmakers. Playhouse West members from Los Angeles, Philadelphia and now Dallas produce over 250 films per year, many of which go on to be accepted and win awards at film festivals around the country and world.