WACO, Texas - TelAve -- Today, the 7^th Annual Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival kicks off and has a new theme of being "A Celebration of Music in Movies!" "Dedicated to EMPOWERING the creative spirit, SERVING with heart, and CELEBRATING all," this year's film festival will feature an international competition of short, student, animation, and feature films, a 4^th Annual "Pitchfest" with Hollywood executives, the 7^th annual celebration of "Champions Award" recipients all with music being the driving force.

"This year, we wanted to do something different for the film festival and chose to celebrate music in movies. Music truly soothes the soul and is incredibly impactful in the storytelling of films," states Dr. Tyrha M. Lindsey-Warren, Founder and Lead Producer of the Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival. "For our 7^th year, we are presenting an exciting film festival that has something for everyone!"

According to Variety.com, there are 200 million consumers within the family and faith-based community in the U.S. This consumer market is valued at $2.1 trillion dollars. Moreover, since the beginning of the genre, faith-based movies have amassed over $2+ billion dollars. To date, the Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival has hosted over 3,000 guests at its film festivals, screened over 275 films from all over the world as well as positively impacted the economic development in the City of Waco. Moreover, at the close of the submissions phase in 2026, the Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival had received over 2,100 film entries in the past six years and from over 109 countries that include the United Kingdom, Italy, India, France, Canada, Argentina, Japan, Ukraine, and Brazil.

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"Storytelling and imagery through movies truly matter in our society, especially when it comes to positively changing the attitudes and behaviors of how we all view each other as fellow human beings on this planet," states Dr. Lindsey-Warren. "Every year, the film festival team works to leverage the power of storytelling to open hearts and minds, while bringing the Waco community together. We pride ourselves in producing an empowering film festival year after year that shines a spotlight on extremely talented filmmakers as well as celebrating our shared humanity."

The 2026 Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival will also continue recognizing its "Champions Award" recipients. This honor is dedicated to recognizing individuals and organizations who are exemplars of innovation as well as "good disruption" in the film, performing arts, media, music, sports, and entertainment industries. The 2026 Class of "Champions Awards" recipients are Chris Ermoian, Executive Director for Texas Music Cafe, Endyia Kinney-Sterns, CEO of All Things Media and Head of Audience Development for KERA, and GRAMMY Award winning Producer, Musician, and Author, Teddy Riley.

Additional highlights include screenings of the independent short films, "Ghost," "If He Listened, "Sons," and animation films like "Between the Pages," and "Journey of the Stars." The feature film screenings include, "Be the Light," The Kiln," "20 Years of the Texas Music Café," and "Blood, Sweat & Beats: The Waco Hip-Hop Story." All of the film screenings will take place at the Texas Music Café.

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The sponsors for the 2026 Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival include the festival's Founding Partner, TFNB Bank Your Bank for Life. The Gold Star Sponsor is Creative Waco. The Silver Star sponsor is the Afshar Law Film. Bronze Star sponsors are Extraco Banks and Lost-n-Thought Productions. Community Sponsors include Walker Partners, Texas State Technical College, and the Texas Media Production Alliance. The Awards Sponsor is MARIE'S Wine Bar. The Host Hotel is the AC Marriott Waco. The Media Partners are Tap in Texas with DJ Precyse, KWTX-TV, The CW, and Telemundo as well as Prophecy Media Group, which includes radio stations LEY 104.1, Latino 93.5, POWER 108FM, Classic Rock 106.7.

For more information on the full festival schedule for the 2026 Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival and to purchase tickets, visit www.wacofilmfest.org.