Please note that registration is required for each individual event.
About the Mason Film Festival
The annual Mason Film Festival at George Mason University features the work of Film and Video Studies (FAVS) students.
Our event is free and open to the public. We invite students to bring their family and friends, and encourage representatives of local companies and organizations, as well as community members, to attend.
Registration is required for each day of the festival. More information coming soon. See important information below regarding the Advanced Fiction Filmmaking Showcase ticketing. Following this Showcase on Saturday, May 9, an Awards Ceremony will reveal winners of Academic Awards as well as Emerging Filmmaker Awards assessed by a jury comprised of FAVS alumni.
We look forward to seeing you at the 2026 Mason Film Festival.
Senior students during the post-screening Q&A with Professor Ben Steger during the 2025 Mason Film Festival
Accessibility:
George Mason University is committed to providing access and reasonable accommodations for its services, programs, and activities. Please make accommodation requests related to a disability by contacting the Film Program (film@gmu.edu) at least one week prior to the event.
In order to ensure accessibility for all audiences, all films screened at the Festival feature open captions (captioning featured on screen).
Mason Film Festival - Day 1
Friday, May 8, 2026
11:00am- 1:30pm FAVS 255 Film Production
1:40pm-2:10pm FAVS 366 Video Production for Social Change
2:20pm-3:45pm FAVS 365 Documentary Filmmaking and FAVS 399 Music Documentary
4:00pm-4:40pm FAVS 300 Global Horror Film
4:50pm-6:50pm FAVS 375 Fiction Filmmaking
7:00pm-8:00pm VFX Masterclass with Alum J.R. Hawkins, The MIX
Mason Film Festival - Day 2
Saturday, May 9, 2026
11am-12:30pm FAVS at 20 Alumni Brunch, JC Bistro
*Alumni Only*
1:00pm-2:30pm Alumni Roundtable, Harris Theatre
3:00pm-6:40pm FAVS 475 Advanced Fiction Filmmaking Showcase, Harris Theatre
7:00pm-8:30pm Awards Celebration, JC Bistro
2026 marks the 20th anniversary of the Film and Video Studies Program (FAVS at 20). The celebration will take place during the Mason Film Festival. Alumni events include an online alumni showcase, an Alumni brunch, a roundtable discussion, and a masterclass. Please see the buttons above to register for events.
Calling All Alumni
Update Your Contact Information: Fill out this short form with updated contact information and tell us how you want to be involved with Film and Video Studies in the future.
Send Photos: Email us at film@gmu.edu with the subject line, "My FAVS Memories." Please identify people who appear in the photo(s), as well as a description of the activity in the photo(s). We will be compiling the photographs into a slideshow during the 20th Anniversary schedule of events and posting them on our social media channels.
Introducing our Storefront
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of Film and Video Studies celebration, we have FAVS at 20 and Mason Film Festival shirts available for purchase.
Important Information for the Advanced Fiction Filmmaking Showcase
Saturday, May 9
Check-In
Registration is required. When you arrive at the Harris Theatre, please check in at the registration table. You will receive a wristband that denotes your ability to enter the Theatre for the event. Wristbands must be worn at all times in order to enter or exit and re-enter the Theatre.
Please be in your seat at the start of the Showcase screening. Any empty seats will be made available to attendees on our waitlist.
Meet Our Poster Designer
Cole Rawson is the graphic designer behind the poster design and visual identity for the 2026 Mason Film Festival and FAVS at 20 celebration.
Cole Rawson is a junior FAVS major with a concentration in directing. Alongside his studies, he has worked as a graphic designer and photographer for over seven years, currently with the Film and Video Studies department. Cole has contributed to more than a dozen professional and student film sets, both in front of and behind the camera. Outside of filmmaking, his interests include baseball, music, movie poster design, and LEGO.
Support Scholarships
Each year, Film at George Mason awards scholarships to senior students at the Mason Film Festival. These scholarships are made possible through your contributions. Seniors use these scholarships to cover their film production costs.
Whatever the size of your gift, you can make a difference in the lives of our filmmakers.
FAVS faculty and the Cortez family pictured with the Jason Cortez Award winners: James Bah, Patrice Pannell, and Erica Worthington.
The Jason Cortez Award recognizes exemplary Film and Video Studies students who have volunteered their time to the Program. They are dedicated to building community, collaborating with others, and creating impactful work. Established this year, the award is named in honor of 2015 alum Jason Cortez and is made possible by the generosity of Candelario and Reyna Cortez, Jason’s parents.
Thank You to Our Film and Video Studies Supporters from 2025-2026
(January 1, 2025 - March 10, 2026)
Director ($5,000 - $9,999)
Mary Sanders Jones
Screenwriter ($2,500-$4,999)
DC Camera
Clara and John Kelly
Willy Meaux
Cinematographer ($1,000-$2,499)
Candelario and Reyna Cortez
Dr. Joy R. Hughes and Mr. Kenneth Lee
Twig Murray and Harry Mahon
Supporting Role ($200-$499)
Cynthia and Thomas Judge
Production Assistant (up to $199)
William Hazzard
Susan Kehoe
Kiley Kraskouskas
Mack and Paulette Miller
Russell F. Santos
2025 Graduates receiving their official Film at Mason pins during the Awards Ceremony.
Directions
To get to Harris Theatre:
Harris Theatre (#28 on the campus map) is located across from the Mason Pond Parking Deck. The closest parking is in Mason Pond Parking Deck (4500 Aquia Creek Lane, Fairfax, VA 22030), which has hourly rates.
Alternative and free parking can be found in any General Lot on campus. Lots J and K are the General Lots closest to Harris Theatre. Please see the campus map to view General Lot locations.
To get to JC Bistro:
After the Mason Film Festival, join us in the JC Bistro for our Mason Film Festival Awards Celebration. The JC Bistro is located in the Johnson Center, across from Harris Theatre. As you enter the Johnson Center, you will be on the main floor. Find the elevators, located in both halls near the Information Desk, and go down to the Ground Floor. The JC Bistro will be past Starbucks and across from WGMU Radio.