What Lone Star Film Festival does

The Lone Star Film Festival is operated by the Lone Star Film Society, INC., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2006 and headquartered at 329 S. Main Street #101 in Fort Worth, Texas. The organization runs the annual Lone Star Film Festival each November, ranked as a Top 50 Film Festival by MovieMaker Magazine, with its 20th edition scheduled for November 2026. Beyond the festival, the society delivers year-round film education through the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative, including two-week Summer Film Camps at TCU's Bob Schieffer College of Communication, the Shorts That Get Made: Short Film Screenwriting Lab, and weekend workshops covering screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, and film theory for high-school-age students and adults.

The organization is supported by an 11-member Board of Directors that includes industry figures such as Michael De Luca of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group and Emmy/Tony Award-winning actor Sainty Nelsen, with Executive Director Chad Mathews also serving as Camp Director. Revenue is generated through a diversified mix of festival ticket sales, an annual black-tie gala at Bowie House, tax-deductible individual donations, and grants and sponsorships from local and state-level partners including the Fort Worth Film Commission, Texas Film Commission, Amon G. Carter Foundation, Sid W. Richardson Foundation, Arts Fort Worth, and Texas Commission on the Arts.

The business model is event-driven and community-led, with film submissions accepted via the FilmFreeway online platform and engagement maintained through Instagram, Facebook, Threads, YouTube, Vimeo, and an email newsletter. Partnerships with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County extend the Summer Film Camp to under-resourced youth. Pricing for tickets, gala seating, and camp programs is not publicly disclosed, and no revenue figures are available in the public materials reviewed.

Name

Lone Star Film Festival

Legal name

Lone Star Film Society, INC.

Website

https://lonestarfilmfestival.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Lone Star Film Society operates the Lone Star Film Festival, a Top 50-ranked annual film event in Fort Worth, TX, alongside year-round film education programs including Summer Film Camps at TCU, screenwriting labs, and weekend workshops serving high school students, independent filmmakers, and local film patrons.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Film Festival & Arts Education

NAICS

Motion Picture and Video Exhibition (51213), Fine Arts Schools (611610)

SIC

Services-Allied To Motion Picture Distribution (7829)

akta.pro primary industry

Film Festivals & Festival Organizers (MPADAKAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Screening Rooms & Cinematheques (Nonprofit/Institutional) (MPADAKAF)

Keywords

• Film festival events
• Film education programs
• Youth film camps
• Screenwriting workshops
• Independent film showcase

Headquarters

HQ city

Fort Worth

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Festival Ticket Sales: Revenue generated from film festival screenings, events, and associated programming
2. Gala Fundraising: Annual black-tie gala serves as the premier fundraising event benefiting the Lone Star Film Society. Proceeds support the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative and film education programs.
3. Donations and Contributions: Tax-deductible donations support film education and Summer Film Camp experiences for high school students regardless of financial status
4. Corporate Sponsorships: Partnerships with corporate sponsors including Fort Worth Film Commission, Texas Film Commission, TCU, and various local businesses provide financial and operational support

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Lone Star Film Society operates the annual Lone Star Film Festival, a Top 50 ranked film festival held each November in Fort Worth, Texas, featuring film screenings, industry events, and the premier fundraising gala. The organization also delivers year-round film education programs through the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative, including two-week Summer Film Camps at TCU and weekend workshops in screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, and film theory.

Product overview

The Lone Star Film Society operates a portfolio of film-focused programs centered around the annual Lone Star Film Festival and year-round film education initiatives. The core offerings include the annual Lone Star Film Festival (a Top 50 ranked festival by MovieMaker Magazine), the LSFF Summer Film Camp (two-week intensive programs at TCU), the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative (providing workshops in screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, and film theory), and the Shorts That Get Made: Short Film Screenwriting Lab. Additional programs include the Annual Gala as the premier fundraising event, and partnership programs with the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant County. All programs are coordinated by film camp instructors and staff based in Fort Worth, Texas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lone Star Film Festival Annual film festival held each November in Fort Worth, Texas, featuring film screenings, industry events, networking opportunities, and a red-carpet gala; ranked as a 'Top 50 Film Festival' by MovieMaker Magazine.
• LSFF Summer Film Camp Two-week intensive film camp programs held at TCU Bob Schieffer College of Communication in Fort Worth, where high school students learn filmmaking through writing, directing, recording sound and video, acting, producing, editing, and adding music to create short films.
• Annual Gala Event Premier black-tie fundraising gala benefiting the Lone Star Film Society and its film education programs, featuring cocktails, dinner, special presentations, and honorary recognitions with filmmakers.
• Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative Film education programs for adults and high-school-age students including weekend workshops in screenwriting, documentary filmmaking, film theory, and film camp experiences for aspiring filmmakers.
• Shorts That Get Made: Short Film Screenwriting Lab Screenwriting lab program that is part of the Film Society Programs, focused on developing short film screenplays for aspiring filmmakers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 20th Annual Festival
• +1 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Fort Worth Film CommissionflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Fort Worth Film Commission is a proud sponsor of the Lone Star Film Festival, providing official city support for the annual festival and related events.
• TCU Bob Schieffer College of CommunicationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTexas Christian University provides venue space for Summer Film Camps at the Moudy South Building on the TCU campus in Fort Worth.
• Texas Film CommissioncoreGTM or Marketing PartnerState-level film commission supporting Texas film festivals and production initiatives, listed as a 2026 festival partner.
• The Modern Art Museum of Fort WorthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerArt museum partnership for cross-promotional activities with the Fort Worth arts community.
• Boys & Girls Club of Greater Tarrant CountyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative partner for music video production with the Summer Film Camp program.
• Texas LightsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with Austin Film for promotional activities related to Texas film community.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Cleveland International Film Festival: Established regional film festival with strong education and community engagement programs. Comparable in mission and program mix (screenings, filmmaker services, youth education), and a useful benchmark for LSFF's regional festival ambitions.
• Austin Film Festival: Long-running Texas-based independent film festival with a comparable mix of screenings, screenplay competition, and filmmaker-focused programming. The most direct regional competitor to LSFF within Texas, drawing from the same filmmaker submission pool and state-level sponsors.
• Hot Docs: Specialized documentary-focused film festival with education and industry programming. Relevant peer given LSFF's documentary filmmaking workshop track under the Johnny Langdon Film Education Initiative.
• Nashville Film Festival: Mid-size regional U.S. film festival with year-round education programming and similar MovieMaker-recognized independent film positioning. Highly comparable operational model — annual festival plus workshops — making it a useful scale and programming peer.
• Santa Barbara International Film Festival: Mid-size U.S. independent film festival with strong industry and awards-season positioning. Comparable in its mix of independent film programming, galas, and industry networking events relevant to LSFF's fundraising gala model.

Broad incumbents

• Sundance Film Festival: The largest U.S. independent film festival and the benchmark against which LSFF's MovieMaker Top-50 standing is measured. Aspiration competitor and category-defining incumbent; LSFF's positioning relative to Sundance directly affects filmmaker submission quality.
• Tribeca Film Festival: Major New York-based independent film festival with deep corporate sponsorship and Hollywood industry ties. Comparable in its mission to showcase independent film and connect filmmakers with industry, but operates at substantially greater scale than LSFF.
• SXSW Film Festival: Texas-based festival whose film component operates alongside music, tech, and gaming programming. A much larger incumbent that competes for the same Texas sponsors, Texas Film Commission partnership dollars, and indie filmmaker submissions, but with substantially broader brand and budget.

Regional players

• Dallas International Film Festival: Texas-based film festival operating in the same DFW/North Texas market as LSFF. Direct regional overlap in audience and corporate sponsorship pool — most immediate local competitor for patrons and corporate dollars in Fort Worth/Dallas.

Emerging players

• New York Film Academy: Private film school offering intensive summer and short-format filmmaking programs for teens and adults. Comparable in its high-school-aged film camp offering and screenwriting workshop format to LSFF's education programs.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC80Hl1GMwr_FkZ_y_-fA14g/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/LoneStarFilmFestival
• Instagraminstagram.com/lonestarfilmfest
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-lone-star-film-society

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lone Star Film Festival