The 2025 Fargo Film Festival Program is available now.  Click the image below to open the program guide to read descriptions of each film and to plan your festival experience.

Feed your tummy and your mind at the Fargo Film Festival’s 2025 luncheon panel discussions. Join us at the Radisson Blu’s ballroom (201 5th St. N) on Friday, March 21 and Saturday, March 22 for exciting conversations with special guests. Tickets are $20 and include lunch.

Luncheon tickets are only available for sale in-person at the Fargo Theatre box office. Making a Standout Short: production, festivals, and beyond

Friday, March 21 at 12:00 noon

Big ideas in little packages – the world of short form filmmaking is more vibrant than ever. Join filmmakers Joshua Carlon, Sam Chou, Danica Jensen, Josephine Green Zhang, and Rachel Michiko Whitney as they discuss the process of making a short film and finding an audience through the festival experience. Panel moderator: Janet Brandau

Tales from the Founders: an FFF origin story Saturday, March 22 at 12:00 noon

Twenty-five years ago, a team of pioneering cinephiles willed a dream into reality: the Fargo Film Festival was born! FFF founders Margie Bailly, Martin Jonason, Matt Olien, Art Phillips, and Tony Tilton will share details about the festival’s inception and share stories from that first and formative year. Panel moderator: Greg Carlson

Tickets and passes for the 2025 Fargo Film Festival are now on sale online and at the Fargo Theatre box office,

Please note that a service charge of $1.25 will be added to every ticket purchased online.

Admission to The Breakfast Club with Molly Ringwald is NOT included with any of the passes listed below. Tickets for that event can ONLY be purchased separately at Tickets300.com

Festival Fanatic Pass – $150 (Only 25 passes for sale)
Description: This pass grants general admission to all Festival screening sessions and all three receptions/parties (see details below). Festival Fanatic pass holders receive two complimentary drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres at each reception. Festival Fanatic Pass holders also receive discounted admission ($10) to FFF luncheons.

Movie Lovers Pass – $100
Description: This pass grants general admission to all Festival screening sessions.

Morning or Afternoon Session Single Admission
$10 General, $5 Student

Evening Session Single Admission
$13 General, $5 Student

Luncheon Panel Discussions (Friday & Saturday at the Radisson Blu)
$20 – includes meal and entertaining conversations on film

2-Minute Movie Contest (Friday, March 21 at 9:30pm)
$2

Admission to the 2-Minute Movie Contest is included with all Festival Passes and with the purchase of a Friday Evening Session ticket.

Please note that seating is general admission, first come, first serve.

Fargo Film Festival 2025 receptions/parties (admission included with the Festival Fanatic Pass): Festival Fanatic pass holders receive two complimentary drink tickets and hors d’oeuvres at each reception. A cash bar will be available at all locations for additional beverage purchases.

Tuesday, March 18
5:30 – 7:00pm
Jasper Hotel
215 Broadway N
Fargo, ND

Friday, March 21
5:30 – 7:00pm
Marge’s Diner
220 Broadway N
Fargo, ND

Wrap Party
Saturday, March 22
9:30 – midnight
Radisson Blu, 84 Italian Steakhouse
201 5th St N
Fargo, ND

The annual 2-Minute Movie Contest returns to the Fargo Film Festival on Friday, March 21 at 9:30 p.m.

A dynamic program of pint-sized shorts spanning multiple genres and styles is made up of entries from all over the world. From beginners recording on cell phones to professionals capturing on film, the 2-Minute Movie Contest always delights audiences with creative pieces that clock in at 120 seconds or less.

Tickets for the 2-Minute Movie Contest are $2 and will be available at the door of the Fargo Theatre the evening of March 21. Patrons attending the Friday Evening Showcase that begins at 7 p.m. are welcome to stay for the 2-Minute Movie Contest.

Altruist/Masochist (Heather Maurer)
Away (Cate Stanzola)
Big Top Drop (Emmett, Maxwell and Michael Dorfman)
A Birdtown of Thrills (Rachel Evans)
Bridge 2 (Andrew Payne)
The Cormorant’s Shadow (Barbara Peikert) 
The Cuckoo’s Song (Nolan Stolz)
Daddleganger (Fiona Griffin)
Daddy Daughter Day (Derek Bensonhaver)
Descent (Niven Wilson)
Diner (Charlotte Davie)
The Dracula Complex (Kaitlyn Gallagher)
Evel Knievel (John Akre) 
French Psych Ward (Logan Aldrich)
Gameday (Ryann McArthur)
The Great Animal Cracker Heist (Austin Stephens)
Hello (Rasmus Lindkvist)
Illusions (Anastasiia Biletska)
Insomnia (Larissa Thomson)
Is It Cake? (Bill Doty)
It’s the Most Ravenous Time of the Year (Aaron Crume)
Kinokarenina (Andrii Makarchenko)
The Last Writ (Luka Sunjic)
Lecture 3 (D. K. Odessa)
Life Goes On (Ava Luu)
Lost and Found (Chloe Scardino)
Love, Daisy (Alexandra Varkarotas)
Magic Tower: Winnie and Jack (Jack So)
Molly (Elle Pisani)
Over 21’s (Donal O’Dea)
Panic Party (Katie Schneider)
Peace O’ Mine (Michael Jacoby)
Pencils (Violet Smith)
A Piece of Memory (Chin-en Gau)
Pop Rocks: Feel the Noise (Lily Costa and Kaitlyn Gallagher)
Population 1 (Zeke Hanson)
Practice Makes Perfect (Katelyn Sandvik)
Red Light Green Light (Corey Grispo) 
Reluctance (Gianni Dentino)
Se Tu M’ami (Caden Nestler)
See How That Jiggles (Ilysa Spencer)
Shades of Blue (Ryan Matteo)
The Story of Keith (Richard Wareham)
Taking a Stroll (Nathan R. Smith)
Takılmak (Nathan R. Smith)
Two More Minutes (Lizzie Allan)
An Unquiet Place (Charles Hinton)
Untitled (Hannah Smolinski)
Walk of Generations (Delaney Mann)
Water Star Medicine (Ilysa Spencer)
When Love Wilts (Josh Warner) 
Winter Witch (Jason Kuntz)
You Can Cross Liberty Square (Raša Stanišić)

The Fargo Film Festival is proud to announce a day of award-winning movies with its annual Best in Fest showcase.

Starting at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 22, a collection of acclaimed films, including 2025 Oscar nominee “I Am Ready, Warden,” will screen at the Fargo Theatre.

Winning films will run throughout the morning and afternoon of March 22. Director John McDonald will appear live to participate in a Q&A after the 1:30 p.m. screening of his documentary feature “Call Me Mule.” Awarded an Honorable Mention, this remarkable true story follows John Sears, a nomadic man who has been roaming the western United States with his beloved mules for over thirty years.

The 2025 Festival will close with a very special event: “The Breakfast Club” with Molly Ringwald in attendance. Now celebrating is 40th anniversary, “The Breakfast Club” is a classic piece of American cinema and an indelible portrait of a generation. After the film, Molly Ringwald will appear live on stage to share conversation about her iconic career.

Tickets for “The Breakfast Club” with Molly Ringwald are now on sale at Tickets300.com

All other Fargo Film Festival tickets/passes will go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25 at FargoTheatre.org and in-person at the Fargo Theatre box office.

“Short and Sweet,” a program of award-winning short films will screen at 7:00 p.m. on March 21 as the 2025 Fargo Film Festival’s Friday Evening Showcase.

With inspired brevity, these short movies give us snapshots of life, love, and the ties that bind. This showcase program of animated and live action films includes laugh-out-loud comedy, poignant drama, and one fabulous fox (voiced by the legendary Sir Ian McKellen).

Following the program, guests are invited to stay for the annual 2-Minute Movie Contest, which begins at 9:30 p.m.

Join us in celebrating filmmakers Sam Chou (“The Death of James”) and Rachel Kerry (“Strangers on the A Train”) as they participate in conversations following their films.

Tickets go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25 at FargoTheatre.org or in-person at the Fargo Theatre box office.

The Fargo Theatre is proud to announce the Thursday evening showcase “Reel Stories,” a program of award-winning documentary short films screening at 7:00 p.m. on March 20 as part of the 2025 Fargo Film Festival.

Join us for an unforgettable collection of short form documentaries that celebrate the best in humankind: our ability to persevere, explore, connect, and grow. The eclectic program includes portraits of a trail-blazing trans politician, an Indigenous women’s motorcycle group, and a swimming instructor with unusual tactics that lead to profound discoveries.

7:00 p.m. “Seat 31: Zooey Zephyr”

7:15 p.m. “We Ride for Her”

7:50 p.m. “Livestreams with GrandmaPuzzles”

7:55 p.m. “Rectangles”

8:25 p.m. “A Swim Lesson”

Directors Prairie Rose Seminole (“We Ride for Her”) and Joshua Carlon (“Rectangles”) will appear live to discuss their movies and answer questions from the audience.

Tickets for Reel Stories go on sale at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, February 25 at FargoTheatre.org and at the Fargo Theatre box office.

The Fargo Film Festival is excited to share the screening schedule for March 18 -22 at the Fargo Theatre. Please note, times and locations are subject to change.

The Fargo Theatre is proud to announce the regional premiere of the narrative feature The Long Run. This award-winning film will screen at 7:00pm on Wednesday, March 19 as part of the Fargo Film Festival. Director Mylissa Fitzsimmons and actors Fred Thomas and Nicole Rodenburg will appear live on stage after the screening for a conversation about bringing this film from page to screen. Thomas hails from London while Rodenburg is a FM native now living in New York. Tickets for The Long Run will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday, Feb. 25th, and are available at fargotheatre.org or in-person at the Fargo Theatre box office

Shot on the road in 9 days with a micro budget of just $50k, this dramedy captures the essence of exceptional independent cinema.

Synopsis: When two oddball strangers leave their lives behind to chase their Hollywood dreams, they discover that what they lack in talent, they make up for with determination and a shared delusion. As an unexpected friendship develops, the two actors question the realities of chasing a dream.

The Fargo Theatre is proud to announce a very special screening of the documentary feature Speak. as the Opening Night showcase of the 25^th annual Fargo Film Festival. Moorhead High senior Sam Schaefer is featured in the film and will participate in a conversation about his production journey immediately following the screening. Tickets for Speak. will go on sale at 10am on Tuesday, February 25th, and will be available for purchase at fargotheatre.org, or in person at the Fargo Theatre box office.

Fresh off its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Speak. has been winning over critics and audiences alike. The film follows five of the nation’s top teenage speech competitors, capturing the euphoria of victory and the devastation of defeat as they craft and perform original oratories over the course of a 9-month season. Their dream is simple: to win the Super Bowl of public speaking, the NSDA Nationals. 

We witness the students, their coaches, and their parents as they fight to keep school speech programs alive amid budget cuts, book bans, and censorship efforts that reach a fevered pitch during the 2024 election year.

With a diverse collection of student orators including Sam Schaefer, Speak. captures the passion, joy, and courage of unforgettable teens using their voices to change hearts and minds.  The film screens at the Fargo Theatre on Tuesday, March 18th at 7pm.