The 2026 Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival is going to be October 15th-17th. The festival will have a Saturday Matinee segment showcasing films made in Florida. Hemingway's Courtyard is where the after-party will be for fun.
Thursday at 6pm, the Opening Night Feature will be The Sixty-Year Mission: How Star Trek Changed Television and the World. Friday afternoon, the 2:30 screen will play International short films. At 4:30pm, a Space Theme will be projected in the shorts programmed. Comedy is at 6:30pm and Horror for the 8:30pm screens.
On Saturday, Florida Filmmakers start screening at 10am. Youth friendly shorts will be the 11 am viewing and only $5. More local youth shorts are in the Rising Stars of the 2pm screening in alternate theater also $5. Documentary shorts at 2pm, a cat-lovers matinee at 4pm and 4:45pm look for a Manatee Matinee. Saturday at 7pm, the VIP set is screening.
"The Melbourne Independent Filmmakers Festival began in 1998 when Three Boys, Dr. Terry Cronin, Pat Martin, Bob Lizek and Jeff Hall (I know that's four, don't ask), made a short film and entered it into some festivals. After attending the festivals, they thought they could do much better, and with the help of
ACutAboveVideo and Bill Williams, they did."