Meet our emcee!

Meet our emcee! Stewart Smith is an award-winning film critic and journalist who has made Tyler his home for nearly 20 years and 2025 will be the fifth year he has hosted the Tyler Film Festival. He is also a published author, having written extensively about the films of international action star Jean-Claude Van Damme in his book Van Dammage Report. 

2025 Festival Schedule

Night One Lineup:

Cats 
Directed by Danilo Stanimirović 
Serbia 

Sweepstakes 
Directed by Stephen Williams 
Salt Lake City, UT 

The Actor 
Directed by Austin Hurt and Connor Matthews 
Florida 

Gramercy 
Directed by Caitlyn McConnell 
New York City, NY 

The Ohio, Texas Remix 
Directed by Ya'Ke Smith 
United States 

Pray for Joe: A Story of Recovery 
Directed by Sydney Hines and Bailey Park 
Lindale, TX 

Birds of a Feather 
Directed by Michael King 
Tyler, TX 

Most Likely To 
Directed by Julia Guest 
Ithaca, NY 

The Time Capsule 
Directed by Michael Charron 
Austin, TX 

Cyd 
Directed by Nwoah Tayem 
Nacogdoches, TX 

Dream Code 
Directed by Narottama Panitz 
Elkridge, Maryland 

THE STORY OF A THEFT 
Directed by Mahdi Hadizadeh 
Iran 

Night Two Lineup:

Champions 
Directed by The AG Brothers 
Nevada 

Replay Requiem 
Directed by Gabriel Henk 
Texarkana, TX 

Monkey 
Directed by Mohsen Habibi 
Iran 

Wormwood 
Directed by Sawyer Goolsby 
Austin, TX 

Burning Market 
Directed by Josiah Sage 
Dallas, TX 

Everybody Eats! 
Directed by Kane Kettering 
Columbus, GA 

Captive Market 
Directed by Liam Graves 
Diana, TX 

We’re Kinda Different 
Directed by Ben Meinardt 
Canada 

A Narrated Nightmare 
Directed by Emma Seagroves, George Powell, Lily Ledsome, and Esra Taylor 
Lindale, TX 

EL Lloron 
Directed by Rodrigo Moreno-Fernandez 
Brownsville, TX