⁣⁣⁣⁣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.

⁣London indie festival of 24frames is a bi-monthly IMDB qualified online short award festival based in London. The festival aims to provide a platform for short filmmakers to be seen and heard as best as possible. With this goal, filmmakers don't need to submit their projects for every award category to be considered for different awards. Each project only needs to be submitted for one general category. With each submission, the project will be considered for all of the prizes. All of this happens at a very affordable price.
The festival is very competitive: Each season, our jury selects each category's winners through private screenings (there will be no physical screening; we will issue customized certificates for the winners). The winners of each season will be then considered for the online competition.

⁣⁣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.

⁣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.

⁣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.

⁣⁣Phoenix Shorts is a monthly and yearly online IMDb qualified festival. We encourage the breadth and variety of views and supporting the best up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world. Each month, our jury selects the winners of each category through private screenings. Every submitted film has a chance to be a winner in the monthly competition. If they get selected by the programming team of the yearly event, the winners of each month may be then considered for the annual online competition. If this happens, they will be shown and compete with other films-winners at the yearly online event. It's an excellent opportunity to provide a platform and to introduce your work. We believe your talents must be showcased early to propel the filmmakers of the future into their feature film careers. We are here to recognize and spotlight creative and talented filmmakers like you. Winners will be announced on our website and social media pages every month. You can submit your works through FilmFreeway.

⁣⁣⁣Hong Kong Indie Film Festival (HIFF) is a brand new, up and coming online bi-monthly film festival held in Hong Kong. Recognized by IMDB, HIFF is more than just a Film Festival; it is a strong connection among all filmmakers around the world. Hong Kong Independent Film Festival is a hub for international filmmakers to celebrate their premieres, thank their cast and crew, and meet their fans. Exposing young talented filmmakers to an environment of industry professionals with vast experience in their field is a priority for us. One of our top aims is to help first time filmmakers, regardless of their age, promote their talent. The objective of HIFF is to provide support to independent filmmakers globally through reviewing, judging, marketing, and distribution networking. We aim to create networks that lead to further opportunities for filmmakers.

⁣⁣⁣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.

⁣⁣⁣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.

⁣⁣⁣Calgary Independent Film 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.