McDonough Storytellers Film Festival (MSFF)
This June 5th and 6th, the city of McDonough is hosting the inaugural McDonough Storytellers Film Festival (MSFF) in multiple locations in the charming and historic McDonough town square, approximately 30 miles South of Atlanta.
Created by Samantha LaCroix and David Jongebreur, this festival celebrates the art of storytelling through numerous mediums, ranging from traditional categories like feature film, screenplay, and shorts to more unique categories like advertising, audio drama, book cover, novel, and more. The festival accepts a variety of unique art forms as long as they fit into one of the various categories.
MSFF is dedicated to showcasing the talent and craft of compelling storytellers, with a particular focus on films that celebrate a positive aspect of humanity, are created by women, are directed by first-time filmmakers over 40, or meaningfully incorporate music. At the discretion of the judges and screening committee, select submissions in these categories will be recognized with special awards.
The two-day festival features a jam-packed agenda of industry panels, networking galas, seminars, workshops, hand-curated screenings, and more at select venues in the McDonough Square, with many local businesses also participating in the festivities.
Below is a preliminary schedule for the inaugural McDonough Storytellers Film Festival:
June 5th, 2026
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9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Workshops, panels and masterclasses
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1:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. | Live music, book signings, and meet-the-author
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6:30 p.m. | Red carpet, small bites and bar
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7:30 p.m. | Feature presentation — “Stella and the Woman in the Photo”
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9:30 p.m. | Meet cast and crew
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10:00 – 11:00 p.m. | Networking, small bites, bar
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11 p.m. | Afterparty
June 6th, 2026
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9:30 – 11:00 a.m. | Screenplay readings
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9:30 a.m. – 8:30 p.m. | All-day screenings
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9:00 -10:00 p.m. | Award ceremony
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10:00 – 11:00 p.m. | Networking
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11 p.m. | Afterparty
Submissions Now Open
Submissions for the festival are now open, urging anyone and everyone who has a story to tell to apply. There are over 25 awards to win, including categories such as Best Overall Story, Best Music Video, Best Novel, Best Short Film, Best Feature Film, Best Animation Project, Best Filmmaker Over 40, Best Artwork, and Best Audio Drama, just to name a few. With a unique and diverse landscape of awards to win, the festival encourages all creators, artists, filmmakers, and artists to submit their work. Submissions are open now via FilmFreeway: https://
