Our Story

The Reel Deal Film Festival is an independent film festival based in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, a seaside town full of artists, nature lovers and community builders.  

WORLDWIDE Submissions for 2021 were received during the shutdown  from 43 Countries and 46 States. The festival was rescheduled twice due to gathering precautions.

With treatments and vaccinations widely in play, we bring you our juried selections from 14 countries and 23 states.​  Before smartphones, before streaming, before COVID - there was the audience - the projector - and the dark.​  Join us as we return to the roots of a great American art form. ​

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​​Come to the coast for a Taste of New Smyrna, where waves dance with dolphins, in a dreamy corner of paradise. Sample casual foodie fare and craft beer, gourmet food and wine paired. Share stories where elders lament the repetition of history, and young voices solve societal problems with the absolute certainty of youth...where far cultures explain it in their own - and not the ivy tower's - words, and visual poetry glistens like the rays of sun off the granules of our sparkling silver sands.

What better place than NSB ,where Florida Traditions negotiate space with progress, for a totally modern cinema experience. Check out the cultural phenom you have been told to fear called the TikTok; see what those alleged apathetic middle schoolers make PSAs about; learn how Skateboarders and NCAA hopefuls alike use Sports Edits to further their dreams, and see if you can guess which films used fancy cameras or were shot on a handheld smart device for a couple hundred bucks. All this alongside traditional shorts and features - the  Dramas, Comedies, Faith-Based and Documentary Selection you expect. Festival goers will be offered time to enjoy the setting in between, as our sponsors are offering specials galore with YOU in mind. Hire a Captain and a rig, kayak the Indian River, go on a guided foodie's delight, or commune with the marine birds. Try a surf lesson, or have a sandwich at the oldest lunch counter in Florida, while laughing with a friend, or philosophizing with a stranger. This festival is the evolution of a great American art form, struggling to survive the economics and public health of a country in transition. But it is also a statement. Help us throw a stake in the ground toward our right to share art in one space - as collectively as moving pictures are created, and intended to be received.

                                                                Some of the viewing may be a new deal - but the shared experience, will be - The Reel Deal.

                                                                                                                  And not a moment too soon.

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September 30 - October 3, 2021.

Let's gather.​

                                                                                                        -- The Directors of The Reel Deal Film Festival