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Cinequest, 300 S 1st Street #232, San Jose, CA (2026)

10/11/2026

Fifteen college students.
One epic party.
Zero people having the night they planned.

Welcome to PARTY PEOPLE, a hilarious, wildly relatable ensemble comedy starring Matthew Daddario (Shadowhunters), George Basil (Barbie), Samuel Davis (Better Call Saul), Elisha Henig (Mythic Quest), and a terrific cast of familiar faces, coming to Cinequest's Viewer's Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18!

It's the first big college party of the year. Expectations are high. Confidence is questionable. And everyone is absolutely certain this will be a night to remember.

They are correct. Just not for the reasons they think.

Across one unforgettable evening in Austin, Texas, fifteen students find themselves navigating awkward encounters, unexpected friendships, romantic possibilities, terrible decisions, and the occasional existential crisis.

Meanwhile, somewhere in Austin, there's apparently an actual party happening.

PARTY PEOPLE is a funny, energetic, and surprisingly heartfelt celebration of college life, awkward beginnings, unlikely connections, and that wonderful age when you're convinced you've figured everything out approximately five minutes before discovering you haven't.

Because sometimes the most memorable part of a party is everything that happens before you get there.

Watch. Laugh. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer's Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/58p6pcdn

10/11/2026

The barrier between digital creators and blockbuster filmmakers is officially gone. 💥
A massive industry shift is happening right now as online creators step up to take themselves seriously as true filmmakers. By crafting authentic movies that deeply connect with audiences, these new voices are proving that you don't need a traditional studio path to build massive overnight success. The next generation of cinema is here, and they are completely rewriting the rules. 🎬✨

10/10/2026

Every town has its secrets. This one has a thief on speed dial

Welcome to KODUWA, THE NIGHTBIRD, a delightfully mischievous Assamese comedy from Northeast India, bringing colorful characters, clever twists, and a wonderfully unconventional hero to Cinequest's Viewer's Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18!

In Koduwa's small village, everybody knows everybody's business. And everybody knows Koduwa is the local thief.

The funny thing? Nobody seems particularly surprised.

He's not especially proud of his profession, but he's good at it. So good, in fact, that when the villagers need something stolen, or simply need someone who thinks like a thief, Koduwa is the man they call.

Of course, being the village's most notorious rule-breaker comes with its complications. Especially when the supposedly respectable citizens around him have a few questionable habits of their own.

Inspired by a true-life character and infused with the humor, folklore, and touches of magical realism of Assamese storytelling, KODUWA, THE NIGHTBIRD follows a lovable outsider navigating a world of half-truths, double standards, and people who might be considerably less innocent than they appear.

After all, in a village full of secrets, sometimes the most trustworthy person is the one everyone knows is a thief.

Watch. Smile. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer's Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/2fh76nv7

10/10/2026

For over 35 years, Cinequest has been more than a film festival; it's a community. And our volunteers are at the very soul of it. Every screening, every filmmaker Q&A, every audience moment - none of it happens without the incredible people who show up and give their time, energy, and heart.

This year, we're looking for passionate individuals to join our volunteer family for the Cinequest Film Festival. No experience needed, just a love for cinema and people! 🎬

📌 Sign up using the form via the link in bio, or using the link below:
https://linktr.ee/cinequest

10/10/2026

Some people have a five-year plan. Tyler has a 1989 Mustang and absolutely no idea where he's going.

Buckle up for LONE RIDER, a funny, wonderfully offbeat road-trip comedy starring Jack Alcott and Rose Reid, cruising into Cinequest's Viewer's Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18!

At 25, Tyler has reached that magical stage of adulthood when everyone expects you to have your life figured out, and you're still trying to figure out what happened to your teenage years.

So he does the obvious thing; he steals back his beat-up '89 Mustang from his estranged father and hits the road. No itinerary. No grand plan. Just a Facebook post, the lingering memory of a teenage crush, and a whole lot of highway.

What follows is a summer of roadside diners, old friendships, unexpected encounters, and the occasional questionable decision, as Tyler chases a teenage crush and discovers that the past has a funny way of catching up with you.

Sometimes the best destination is the one you never bothered to choose.

Watch. Enjoy the ride. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer's Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/yrwxchxx

10/09/2026

Some teachers command respect. Others just hope to survive sixth period.

Meet Edwin, a devoted music teacher, loving father, and spectacularly unsuccessful authority figure in AFTER SCHOOL, a hilariously outrageous comedy coming to Cinequest's Viewer's Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18!

Edwin considers himself a perfectly decent guy. Unfortunately, his students, colleagues, and teenage daughter seem to have reached a very different conclusion. Passed over for vice principal because of his "stunning lack of authority," Edwin has become everyone's favorite human piñata. And when a particularly obnoxious student, who just happens to be the principal's nephew, decides to make his life miserable, Edwin finally reaches his breaking point.

Enter Peter, the school's foul-mouthed gym teacher and Edwin's self-appointed life coach, whose brilliant advice is to fight fire with fire.

This is not good advice.

What follows is an increasingly ridiculous battle of wills involving public humiliation, spectacularly bad decisions, pet-napping, and, somehow, a police interrogation.

As Edwin attempts to reclaim his dignity, the situation only gets more gloriously out of hand. And with every new disaster, one thing becomes increasingly clear: nobody at this school is qualified to be in charge.

Wildly funny, wonderfully chaotic, and packed with outrageous twists, AFTER SCHOOL is a comedy about finding your backbone, losing your cool, and discovering that the hardest lesson in school might be learning when to quit.

Class is in session. Good luck, Edwin.

Watch. Laugh. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer's Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/muz2v23h

10/09/2026

Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do for a scene is take something away. ✂️📝

Dive into the realities of the screenwriting journey, from the magic of a ruthless edit to those rare, thrilling days when you wake up in a perfect flow state, knowing exactly where your story is going. It is a candid look at the daily discipline, the creative struggle, and the absolute joy of the craft.

What is your ultimate creative hack? Drop it in the comments! 👇

Screenwriting Competition — Late Deadline: October 9
For more details on the competitions and the rules, check the link below:
https://filmfreeway.com/CinequestScreenwritingCompetition

10/09/2026

The clock is ticking, writers. ✍️

The 21st Cinequest Screenwriting Competition Regular Deadline is October 9th, 2026, and your script deserves to be seen. Swipe through to discover everything you need to know, then head straight to the link in bio and submit.

🏆 $8,000 in cash prizes
🎬 Industry jury from Netflix, HBO, Sony, Paramount & more
🎟️ Top 10 finalists invited to the festival in person & virtually
✍️ Features, shorts, teleplays & all genres welcome

Don't wait for the "right time." The right time is now. Your story belongs on the big screen; let Cinequest help get it there.

🔗 Submit using the link below: https://filmfreeway.com/CinequestScreenwritingCompetition

Thanks again to our sponsors: Adobe, Alamo Drafthouse, Backstage Magazine, Final Draft, InkTip, PeteBeCenter, and The ISA

10/09/2026

Nothing fixes a struggling relationship like a romantic getaway and two Gen Z influencers.

What could possibly go wrong? SMILE... THE WORST IS YET TO COME brings a funny, wonderfully relatable comedy about love, expectations, and the enormous gap between the life you planned and the one you actually got to Cinequest’s Viewer’s Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18.

Ben and Birdie could use a reset. He’s lost his bar and is searching for his next chapter. She’s put her photography dreams aside to keep them financially afloat. And after years of trying to build the future they imagined, somewhere along the way they seem to have misplaced the spark.

So they escape to Big Bear Lake for a romantic weekend designed to find it again.

It does not go according to plan.

Then they meet January and Jerek, a pair of Gen Z influencers hunting for content, invite them back to the cabin, and somehow decide that an evening of deeply personal truth-telling sounds like a terrific idea.

It is not.

Soon, everyone is oversharing, long-held secrets are coming out, generational differences are colliding, and a quiet weekend in the mountains has become something Ben and Birdie definitely did not find in the brochure.

Funny, messy, warm, and refreshingly candid, SMILE... THE WORST IS YET TO COME takes on love, ambition, social media, relationships, and that nagging suspicion that everyone else received the instruction manual for adulthood except you.

Sometimes getting your life back on track means admitting it was never going to follow the map in the first place.

Watch. Laugh. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer’s Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/yc82dnsb

10/08/2026

The perfect con only works if you’re the only ones running one.

Meet Kara and Oly, flamboyant, broke, and apparently fresh out of responsible financial options, in AMERICAN SCHEMERS, a deliciously crooked screwball comedy coming to Cinequest’s Viewer’s Voice Festival: Comedies, available to watch October 14–18.

Their plan is beautifully simple: pose as the long-lost heirs of a recently deceased socialite, roll into a small Wisconsin town, claim the fortune, and get out.

There’s just one problem: everyone in town appears to be running a scam of their own.

Nosy neighbors, jealous rivals, long-running lies, and a community every bit as devious as its newest arrivals quickly turn one supposedly easy con into an escalating battle of schemes, secrets, and people trying desperately to out-grift one another.

Fast, funny, and gloriously dishonest, AMERICAN SCHEMERS asks the important question: if absolutely everyone is trying to con everyone else, does that technically make this an honest town?

Watch. Laugh. Then cast your vote in the Cinequest Viewer’s Voice Competition!

MORE INFO & TICKETS: https://tinyurl.com/yvzcv7vz

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