⁣⁣⁣Director: Jeff Smith

Synopsis: A dark fairy tale about a man who has isolated himself from the world in his gothic tower. He has created an “Empathy Machine” that allows him to steal memories from his victims, because Orest has none of his own.

⁣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.

⁣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.

⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣An IMDB qualified festvial , Paris International Short Festival is an online-based bi-monthly award festival. During each edition, our jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings. The winners of each edition then are considered for the online screening. If this happens, they will be shown online and compete with other films-winners at the online event.

⁣⁣⁣Santa Monica Film Awards is an International online seasonal movie award. This is a new film festival, and it is run by a group of young filmmakers who studied filmmaking. The aim is to promote and encourage short, feature, and documentary films worldwide by allowing them to showcase such films, promote movies, and be another step up in the filmmakers' careers. Each season we will award a few films. The winners will receive a laurel and a customized certificate. A selection of the winner
films will be screened online every season. Don’t wait to submit your beautiful projects. Our audience is waiting for your outstanding projects. We are happy to invite your projects.

⁣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.

⁣Paris International Women Festival is a seasonal competitive Festival that valorizes the work of women filmmakers or films about women. In this festival, we are looking for a unique and innovative perspective from female filmmakers to introduce them and promote them. We also accept projects directed by non-female directors who have something important to say about womanhood.
The festival has a seasonal structure. First, the judges will privately review the submitted materials, and subsequently, they will announce the winners. The winner’s projects will then be introduced to our social media. A few of the winners will be then considered for our seasonal online event.

⁣⁣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.

About us:
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.

⁣Washington Film Awards is a unique seasonal virtual film competitions. Attracting both powerhouse companies as well as talented new filmmakers, it is an unparalleled, truly international awards competition, not a traditional film festival – which allows filmmakers from around the world to enter their films in this prestigious competition.
The festival gives talented directors, producers, actors, creative teams the positive exposure they deserve. It discovers and honors the achievements of filmmakers who produce high quality projects. The festvial promotes award winners through press releases to filmmakers and industry contacts. Above all, we truly value and honor our filmmaking family.
The festival accept screenplays (up to 40 pages) and short films (up to 40 minutes long). It offers a seasonal competition. Each season, our jury selects the winners through private screenings. The seasonal winners will qualify for the online screening. Furthermore, all seasonal winners receive a free digital certificate (in JPG), ready for print.