The WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival, founded in 1961 as a film society and evolving into a competitive festival in 1968, is an annual film festival held in Houston, Texas. It is recognized as the oldest independent film festival in the world and North America's third oldest film festival, after San Francisco and New York. The festival honors outstanding creative excellence in film across 10 major competition categories and over 200 subcategories, bestowing Remi Awards through a rigorous jury-based scoring process. WorldFest-Houston has showcased early works from notable filmmakers such as Steven Spielberg, Ang Lee, and George Lucas. The festival focuses on premiering independent films and aims to promote cultural tourism for Houston, educate young people in cinematic arts, and develop film production in the region.