⁣⁣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.

Dubai Indie Film Festival is an online based bi-monthly festival. DIFF is looking for independent projects from all genres, particularly low or no-budget ones, as well as from all countries, especially from those traditionally underrepresented in the global film industry. The submitted projects are judged through private screenings by a random team of invited experts from academia and film industry from the region. From the pool of official selection, which has a very competitive acceptance rate, DIFF chose the nominees and award winners of the edition.

⁣⁣⁣Tokyo shorts is an online award-based monthly festival. The mission of the festival is to bring international independent short film to the widest possible audience in Japan and beyond. The Festival aims to provide a cultural alternative to the commercial film experience, to support independent filmmakers, and promote the art of filmmaking and its related disciplines. The Tokyo Shorts was established to utilise the power of film to further the goal of inter-cultural understanding among nations and to assist in the building of a shared artistic experience. During each edition, our jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings. The winners of each edition may be then considered for the yearly online screening. If this happens, they will be shown online and compete with other films-winners at the yearly event.

⁣Oakland Film Festival is an online seasonal international film festival. It aims to be one of North America’s leading film festivals for international filmmakers. It is a unique platform for new talent and a celebration of cinematic creativity and innovation. The Festival attracts a broad selection of shorts and feature by filmmakers working in every genre and format and offers the people of Oakland and visitors an extraordinary chance to glimpse the future of cinema. The festival prides itself upon providing opportunities for talented directors, producers, writers, actors and crew members from all over the world to learn together and exhibit their work in a stimulating international environment. The festival is open to any film in any genre and especially prioritizes low-budget films of independent spirit and exciting new talent. The Festival aims to provide a cultural alternative to the commercial film experience, support independent filmmakers, and promote the art of filmmaking. It was established to utilize the power of film to further the goal of inter-cultural understanding among nations and to assist in the building of a shared artistic experience. During each season, films submitted to Oakland Awards are judged by our International Jury on their overall artistic and technical quality on a performance scale. Few of the finalist films will be selected for online screening and awards.

⁣⁣⁣Vancouver is a beautiful city that cultivates talent, friendships, and relationships within the entertainment arts industry. More than 60,000 direct and indirect jobs are generated by film and TV production in B.C.; more than 80 percent of these are in Metro Vancouver. Vancouver has the largest cluster of top VFX and Animation studios in the world, including Sony Pictures Imageworks, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Animal Logic and others. All of this means that Vancouver is the ideal location to take the next step in your filmmaking career. Inspired by this infrastructure, the Vancouver International Movie Awards was created with both a seasonal and yearly structure. The festvial has both online and physical screenings. At the end of each season, the jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings. The winners of each season will be then considered for online screening. Furthermore, each year we will choose a few films from the winners for the yearly competition; if they get selected by the programming committee, they will be shown and compete with other films-winners at the annual event. The official selection nominees are more than welcome to attend our yearly screening event and red carpet ceremony. Winners will be announced on our website every season.

⁣⁣⁣Sydney Indie Short Festival is an online seasonal film festival. The Festival is dedicated to international short films of all genres, especially low or no-budget ones, plus student films. From the pool of official selection, which has a very competitive acceptance rate, Sydney Short chose the nominees and award winners of the season. Each season, our jury selects the winners of each category through "private" screenings. Every submitted film has a chance to be a winner in the competition. Suppose you're looking for an opportunity to showcase your film in the best possible way to spread the news about it and experience a joyful festival atmosphere. In that case, the Sydney indie short Festival is what you need.

⁣⁣The Seattle Movie Awards is a festival that showcases the best independent films from around the world. Every season we award the best film makers, writers and producers by inviting them to our online competition hosted in Seattle, US. We showcase various genres from non-fiction to fiction films.
Not only do we grant prizes to the winners, but we also connect film makers to our network of professionals. Connecting filmmakers with our extensive database of agents, distributors and other industry professionals. Our festival is also globally orientated meaning we not only look for Western films but also films from Africa, Asia, South America and Australia.

⁣⁣Sydney Indie Short Festival is an online seasonal film festival. The Festival is dedicated to international short films of all genres, especially low or no-budget ones, plus student films. From the pool of official selection, which has a very competitive acceptance rate, Sydney Short chose the nominees and award winners of the season. Each season, our jury selects the winners of each category through "private" screenings. Every submitted film has a chance to be a winner in the competition. Suppose you're looking for an opportunity to showcase your film in the best possible way to spread the news about it and experience a joyful festival atmosphere. In that case, the Sydney indie short Festival is what you need.

⁣⁣⁣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.

⁣⁣⁣Philadelphia World Film Festival is an online based bi-monthly festival. PWFF is looking for independent projects from all genres, particularly low or no-budget ones, as well as from all countries, especially from those traditionally underrepresented in the global film industry. The submitted projects are judged through private screenings by a random team of invited experts from academia and film industry from the region. From the pool of official selection, which has a very competitive acceptance rate, PWFF chose the nominees and award winners of the edition.