The Highbridge Film Festival began as a student-driven film showcase in 2004. After the highly successful event and demand for more, an annual festival was created in 2005 by The Asbury University School of Communication Arts. The Film and Media Communication faculty envisioned the event as a way to recognize student films and, in the process, encourage visual storytelling. The festival selects about a dozen student films for screening and awards consideration each year, and provides a premiere venue to showcase official selections along with film projects created in conjunction with Asbury University.

Production and promotion of the festival is also largely handled by students from Asbury’s Special Events class, who theme, advertise, direct, and help facilitate the Festival under the instruction of School of Communication Arts professors.

Since its inception, the festival has grown from a small campus event to one of the largest attractions for the university year-round. In 2007, the location for the festival premiere showcase was changed from Doddridge-Holland Theater to Hughes Auditorium in order to accommodate increased attendance from students, locals, and out-of-state visitors.

By its second year, the Highbridge Film Festival began inviting professionals from the film industry to be featured as festival seminar speakers and serve on the jury panel for reviewing the official selection films and choosing the category awards.

2024 marked the 20th anniversary of the festival, which has grown into a nationally recognized collegiate film festival, delighting audiences and attracting wide-ranging interest from the film industry.