Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium

Since 1981, the mission of the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) has been to promote innovation in the art of the moving image, and the films that are the centerpiece of the festival honor Edison’s vision. He made 75, twenty-second-long films in his West Orange studio, known as the “Black Maria.” The Festival’s relationship to Thomas Edison’s invention of the motion picture camera and the kinetoscope and his experimentation with short films is central to TEFF. We are a traveling film festival visiting colleges, libraries, museums, artist guilds, community organizations, art cinemas, and schools across NJ and beyond. We are proud to be a socially conscious, international showcase for short films, reaching out to diverse audiences with provocative, timely, edgy and compelling new works by both accomplished and emerging filmmakers. The Thomas Edison Film Festival welcomes all genres including narrative, experimental, animation, documentary, screen dance and hybrids. We celebrate films which address the environment, race, class, and culture, immigration, the LGBTQ+ community, people with disabilities and issues of social justice. The films we celebrate are artistic, empathetic, engaging works which simultaneously teach and entertain.

See what other filmmakers have to say:

"This is a super program and it was an honor to have my film in it."

"I had the good pleasure and good fortune of being accepted into the Thomas Edison Film Festival. The staff and communication was terrific and the festival engaging. Thank you for an enjoyable run. :-)"

"It was a great joy and honor to be part of the Thomas Edison Film Festival with my short film "Utopia Of The Outraged". Congratulations for the great work you do, the great predisposition and excellent communication. Hopefully in the following opportunities I will have the opportunity to attend in person. Thanks."