The Anchorage International Film Festival announced that it will celebrate its 25th anniversary edition this year with a glacier hike for filmmakers, a Northern Lights bonfire, and several new awards categories — including one for shorts shot on an iPhone.

“This isn’t just a festival — it’s an expedition,” said festival director and filmmaker Pat McGee. “We’ve built a space where the creative and natural worlds collide, where filmmakers not only share their work but live an experience they’ll never forget. There’s nothing like AIFF anywhere else on Earth.”

The new awards categories include Best Sports Documentary, Best Music Documentary, Native Voices Award, Best Music Video, Best Original TV Pilot (Scripted or Unscripted), as well as Best iPhone Short. Submissions are now open via FilmFreeway, and the event will be held December 5 – 14.

The festival will be held across four Anchorage venues, with the beloved Bear Tooth Theatre serving as the main stage.

The Anchorage International Film Festival at 25

In 2024, AIFF screened 115 films from 32 countries, welcomed over 100 filmmakers, and hosted immersive experiences like a Native Heritage sightseeing tour, a Northern Lights bonfire, and intimate, long-form Q&As. Porcelain War, which took home AIFF’s Outstanding Documentary Director prize, was later shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

Also Read: The 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World

“The energy we saw last year was electric,” said festival director Adam Linkenhelt. “Sold-out crowds, filmmaker bonding over frozen lakes and warm fires—it reminded us why independent cinema matters. For our 25th anniversary, we’re raising the bar in every way.”

Tracie Laymon, director of SXSW Winner Bob Trevino Likes It, said in a video for the 25th anniversary that she has been to roughly 100 festivals, and that an excursion at last year’s event was “the best activity I’ve been on at any festival.” (You can watch the full video above.)

The glacier tour comes with the support of Greatland Adventures and the Alaska Native Heritage Center, which also provide Hunt for the Northern Lights and Alaska Heritage Center excursions free for all filmmakers attending the festival.

The festival also champions Alaskan and Indigenous voices, by “creating space for untold stories that crackle with originality and reflect the rich cultural heartbeat of the North.”

The new categories join previously existing honors including Best Narrative Feature, Best Documentary Feature, Explorer’s Achievement Award, and the Real World Impact Award, among others.

For more information, visit www.anchoragefilmfestival.org.

Main image: Anchorage International Film Festival filmmakers on a festival sponsored hike on the Matanuska Glacier. Photo by Michael Goodman