Now in its twelfth year, the Antelope Valley Independent Film Festival (AVIFF) has developed a reputation as a filmmaker-friendly festival with standing-room only crowds and lively post-screening discussions. Between 1997 and 2007, the festival has hosted over 600 visiting filmmakers from around the world.

In 2007, over 4000 valley residents joined 70 filmmakers for screenings of their films, including a number of Oscar-nominated shorts and documentaries. In 2005, the festival launched a new educational program funded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

Located in north Los Angeles County, AVIFF is dedicated to bringing members of the Antelope Valley community into environments where they can learn about films and filmmaking directly from the directors, writers, producers, actors, and craftspeople who create them. The festival seeks to showcase the best in undistributed short and feature films in all genres from around the world. While the festival welcomes the work of first-time filmmakers, it also consistently features highlights from a variety of international festivals including Cannes, Sundance, Los Angeles, London, SXSW, Berlin, New York, Rotterdam, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Student Academy Awards.

In the interest of creating a community of filmmakers during the festival weekend, AVIFF regularly provides travel and accommodation assistance to participating filmmakers. As a result, panel discussions follow all the screenings where audiences have the opportunity to directly engage with the filmmakers.