⁣⁣⁣The Chicago film industry was a central hub for motion picture production and exhibition before Hollywood became the undisputed capital of filmmaking. In the early 1900s, Chicago boasted the most significant number of production companies and filmmakers. This situation was partially preserved until 1920, when the Chicago film industry met decline for a combination of reasons, including the impact of the Great Depression. Not until the 1980s and early 21st century has Chicago experienced a film production revival. Movie production again entered Chicago in the 1980s, with the state of Illinois becoming a leader in money spent on film production. Blockbusters, such as Blues Brothers, Sixteen Candles, and The Dark Knight, have rejuvenated the Chicago film scene.
Inspired by this tradition, the mission of the Chicago Filmmaker Awards, aka Cifawards, is to recognize and reward independent filmmakers that are currently missing in mainstream Hollywood. Whether your talent is in front of the camera or behind it, we have a category for you. We are waiting to watch your films.
We are interested in professionally made independent works. Submissions are open for shorts, feature narratives, documentaries and animation, and even experimental films and music videos.
This will be a seasonal Awards event with yearly live screening. Each season, we will select the best-known movies and promote the winners through social media and the official website. Few of the winners of each season will be selected for our online event.

⁣⁣⁣Welcome to the Austin International Art Festival page, a festival held in the beautiful city of Austin, US. This is a festival for both short and featured films. We accept films from all over the world, from American filmmakers and international ones. The main criterion for participating in the festival is artistic criteria and merits. Considering Austin's tremendous importance in the American cinematic environment and our professional platform, we hope to provide a suitable environment for the introduction of short films and feature films.
The festival believes that many films are produced in today's world, and many of these films want to know of their outcome as soon as possible. With this in mind, our program will be held monthly. The monthly festival is held in the form of an online award festival, which means that the works are reviewed and evaluated "privately" by the jury, and finally, the jury announces the best result. If they want, monthly winners can request a public online screening. We do also promote our winners through our social media and issue certificates for our winners. We do have an annual online l event as well. Once a year, few selected films will be chosen from all monthly winners and broadcast in an online platform. The jury of the above festival has been chosen from the expert members of cinema, from the university environment, from the working and professional background of cinema and the well-known cinema distributors.
We do believe our structure is the best answer to the reality of contemporary filmmaking. It allows the filmmaker to be informed of his work's result in the shortest time possible and enables them to provide a more suitable and timely platform for advertising and promoting the film.

⁣Welcome to the Tokyo Women's Film Festival, a vibrant celebration of women's voices in cinema. Set against the dynamic backdrop of Tokyo, a city renowned for its blend of tradition and modernity, our festival showcases films that either highlight women's stories or are directed by talented women filmmakers from around the globe.
At the heart of our festival is a commitment to amplifying the diverse perspectives and experiences of women. We believe in the power of storytelling to inspire change, foster understanding, and bridge cultural divides. By focusing on films that explore women's lives, challenges, triumphs, and creativity, we aim to create a space where these narratives can shine.
Our festival features a curated selection of films that span genres and styles, from thought-provoking dramas and insightful documentaries to innovative animations and compelling shorts. Each film offers a unique perspective on the female experience, whether through the lens of a female director or a story centered on women's lives.
Join us at the Tokyo Women's Film Festival, where we celebrate the artistry, resilience, and creativity of women in cinema. Whether you are a filmmaker, a film lover, or someone passionate about women's stories, our festival offers a unique and enriching experience in one of the world's most fascinating cities.

⁣Are you fed up with the politicization of art in contemporary society? Do you believe that you are an excellent filmmaker because of the inner artistic quality of your work and not because of the political layers of your film?. Do you find it irritating that festivals constantly ask you about your identities, your political views and make you fill interrogative forms in which you have to justify that you are a "good" morally correct artist for society? If you think any of this, welcome to the Hollywood International Golden Age Festival for ALL! We believe that an artist should be free to create her work, and no institutions for any reason should impose on her how her art should look. For us, a just and democratic cinema is a cinema that treats everybody the same and equally without imposing any artistic criteria to follow. This is the first principle of democracy. Each artist's "dignity" and free opinion is more important than the "assumptions" of intellectuals who feel they know what justice is and want to teach it to everybody. Every artist is equal, and every artist should be treated equally and with the same degree of respect. We have created this radical festival which this specific line of thoughts. This is the festival in which the only criteria to judge your work is its "artistic" quality and not any political demand of the current society. We judge films based on their inner qualities, and we don't care to be a politically correct festival. We want to prioritize once more the "art" of filmmaking.
The organizing and administrative team of Hollywood Golden Age started their activities in New York 2 years ago. This is a monthly New York-based film festival with a yearly event. Every month, our Jury will award the best films through private screenings. Monthly Award Winners will be chosen to compete in the online Award.

⁣IMDb qualifier's Toronto Independent Festival of CIFT was established in Toronto in 2015. In the short span of time, it became a well-recognized international festival in Toronto with more than 10000 patrons each year, and it is now after Tiff it is the most successful local festival that is held each year at TIFF Bell Light Box, the house of Toronto International Film Festival (Mayor of Toronto, John Tory, opened the past two editions of the festival; in the past years, Globe and Mail and CBC, two prominent news outlet in Canada covered the festival).
The eighth edition of the festival has both a bi-monthly and a yearly structure for film competition; on the first round, our jury selects the winners of each season through private screenings. In the case they get selected by the programming team of the yearly event, the winners of each season may be then considered for the yearly competition. If this happens, they will be shown and compete with other films-winners at the yearly event.

⁣⁣Calgary Independent Film Festival (formerly Phoenix Genre/Comedy festival) is a bi-monthly online celebration of the best of independent cinema. The festival's goal is to present all forms of independent films to the general public. We accept all genres of films, including Horror, Action, Crime, Fantasy, Comedy, Romance, Science Fiction, Sports, Thriller, War, Western, Student, Covid, Women Empowerment, Documentary, Experimental, LGBTQ, Animation from all around the world. All the best films of each month "might" get into our annual online event, which occurs once per year in Calgary. During the yearly event, the festival brings together new voices in the industry professionals in filmmaking to encourage and support new, creative additions to cinema arts.

⁣The IMDb qualified festvial of San Francisco Indie Short Festival is happy to welcome filmmakers from all over the world and short films of all genres. Our main goal is to showcase their brilliant projects in the beautiful city of San Francisco for a diverse audience of cinephiles. It is a world-class event committed to present the best of this beautiful art called 'Cinema' and dedicated to all generations of filmmakers. The festival has a monthly and yearly structure. First of all, through "private" screenings, a team of professional screeners will evaluate all the submitted short films during each month. All the highest scored films will be reviewed by at least three judges who will decide through "private" screenings the best of each season. All the seasonal winners will receive the Official Laurels and the winning-category certificate for each season. We will announce the winners of each month through our social media. In the second stage, we will hold an annual event. Here, the internal committee selects the candidates for the yearly event from each month's winners. The selected films will compete for the annual awards.

⁣Madrid Arthouse film festival is an IMDb qualified bi-monthly online festival based in Madrid. The festival aims to provide a platform for short and long feature filmmakers to be seen and heard as best as possible.
The festival is very competitive: Each season, our jury selects each category's winners through private screenings (there will be no physical screening). The winners of each month may be then considered for the yearly online competition. If this happens, they will be shown and compete with other films-winners at the annual online event.

⁣⁣The Niagara Falls International Short Festival is a seasonal online film festival dedicated to showcasing short films. With an emphasis on brevity and creativity, the festival offers filmmakers a platform to share their work with a global audience. The festival's next online event is scheduled for April 15, 2024, promising a diverse selection of compelling short films from talented creators around the world. Stay tuned for an immersive cinematic experience that celebrates storytelling in its most concise and impactful form.

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The Munich Short Film Awards is an online festival and competition dedicated to low-budget short indie film and script projects. Every edition, the festival selects and promotes the winners of each category through private screenings and evaluations by our team of dedicated professionals. The festival seeks all genres. The event selects international projects and is devoted to short filmmaking, independent cinema, arthouse projects and short cinema. The short film festival aims to find talented short filmmakers and help them promote their work. Short films will be reviewed by our screeners team and the highest scored ones will be selected as Official Selection receiving corresponding Laurels. Then, our international jury will choose the winners in each category and they will receive the Official Laurels and Certificates.