Inside the Pasadena International Film Festival: Where Class, Community, and Culture Converge

The 13th annual Pasadena International Film Festival ran April 9th through 16th in North Hollywood, bringing together independent filmmakers and audiences for eight days of screenings, panels, and events.

Founded in 2012 by Jessica Hardin and Marco Neves, industry veterans and Pasadena residents, PIFF was built around the mission of bringing high-caliber independent cinema to a region with a long history of supporting the arts. PIFF The festival operates under the tagline “Class, Community, Culture” and has grown steadily since its founding into one of Southern California’s more established stops on the independent film circuit.

Actress Heidi Schooler, Marco Neves (head of PIFF), Director Marvin Glover, and Donna DiGiusseppe, director of Antonio’s Road

This year’s lineup featured over 160 films across features, shorts, animated works, documentaries, and music videos, all screened at Laemmle NoHo 7. The 2026 edition also spotlighted a selection of films addressing the recent California wildfires, including several documentaries about the Altadena and Palisades fires.

Beyond screenings, PIFF offered moderated Q&As with filmmakers after each programming block, giving audiences direct access to the people behind the films. A nightly Passholders Lounge was hosted at Brews Brothers NoHo Pub, a short walk from the theater, in collaboration with local businesses throughout the festival run.

The festival closed on April 16 with an Old Hollywood Glamour-themed Gala and Awards Ceremony at Der Wolf on North Fair Oaks Avenue in Old Pasadena.

PIFF also draws distribution companies who attend specifically to scout acquisitions, and a number of films screened at the festival have gone on to secure distribution deals in past years.