⁣⁣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.

⁣⁣New Orleans International Film Awards’s mission is to bring international independent films to the widest possible audience in the region. The Festival aims to provide a cultural alternative to the commercial film experience, to support independent filmmakers, and promote the art of filmmaking.
New Orleans is part of an amazing worldwide community; a unique collaboration of multi-talented writers, film score composers and filmmakers. The festival mission is to entertain, inform, inspire, encourage and educate. We honor those artists who, through their creative work, actively increase awareness, provide multiple viewpoints, address complex social issues, and strengthen ties between international audiences. At the festvial, you can come together with other writers, directors and producers to create new opportunities, develop tools for success and forge new alliances within the international film and entertainment industry.

⁣Welcome to the Palermo International Film Festival, a celebration of the art of cinema set in the vibrant city of Palermo. Known as the backdrop for the popular TV series "White Lotus," Palermo provides the perfect setting for our seasonal online festival. We are thrilled to invite filmmakers from around the globe, representing diverse genres, to showcase their exceptional projects in the heart of Sicily.
Our festival embraces both feature and short films, aiming to provide a platform for talented artists to share their creative visions with a worldwide audience of dedicated cinephiles. With a commitment to excellence, we strive to present the finest examples of this captivating art form known as 'Cinema,' paying homage to generations of filmmakers who have shaped the industry.
The selection process begins with private screenings, where a team of seasoned screeners will evaluate each submitted short film. Those that receive the highest scores will be chosen for the official competition, entering a review process by a panel of at least three esteemed judges. These judges, with their discerning eye and expertise, will determine the best films of each season, recognizing their outstanding contributions to the world of cinema.
To honor the exceptional work of the winners, we will present them with Official Laurels and certificates highlighting their achievements in their respective categories. This recognition serves as a testament to their talent and dedication, providing them with well-deserved acclaim within the industry.
Join us at the Palermo International Film Festival, where the magic of cinema meets the captivating allure of Sicily. Together, let's celebrate the artistry and creativity of filmmakers from around the world, as we embark on an unforgettable journey through the power of storytelling.

⁣Palm Beach Shorts is a bi-monthly online awards event. The festival will welcome any independent project from all genres. The Festival is looking for independent projects from all genres, particularly low or no-budget ones and all countries. The selection process has two parts. First, the submitted projects are judged through private screenings by our internal programming team, and they will select the Finalist films of each edition. Then the Festival's jurors, who are a random team of invited experts mainly from the film industry, will privately review the films and award the best projects. All of the winners will receive the official laurel and an achievement certificate and can request an online screening.

⁣Santa Barbara Shorts is a short, online film competition festival. Its aim is to provide quality films to our festival audience with particular attention to the craft of performance, cinematography, sound and score, and editing.
We are seeking shorts in documentary, animation, live action and narrative films up to 50 mins there are no restrictions on when or where the film was made as long as the film itself can be classified into a general audience rating.
If you have an interesting live action or animated short film, we warmly welcome you to submit to our film section of our festival.

⁣⁣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.

⁣Denver — The Mile High City — is where urban sophistication meets outdoor adventure. Denver is an outdoor city known for its art, culture, food, music and sports in the Rocky Mountain region. The town is natural for the silver screen with colourful cityscapes and a Rocky Mountain backdrop. Our Souls at Night (2017), Blades of Glory (2007), About Schmidt (2002), Vanishing Point (1971), Over the Edge (1979), and Waterworld (1995) are among the few notable movies shot in the region.
The goal of the festival is to utilize this tradition and help independent filmmakers to promote their works. It aspires to promote, recognize and support independent filmmakers throughout the world by hosting a variety of awards in order to provide the best opportunities for filmmakers to get recognized in a very competitive industry. We hope to cultivate community and transform lives through film.
Join us as we gather to recognize, promote, and celebrate independent filmmakers; continue to elevate Denver as a premier art destination, and have a good time doing it.
Selections will be based entirely on artistic and technical merit, as decided by our judges and members. No restrictions are made on submissions outside of recency of completion and length; please see full submission guidelines for additional details.

⁣⁣⁣⁣Palm Springs Shorts is a bi-monthly online awards event. The festival will welcome any independent project from all genres. The Festival is looking for independent projects from all genres, particularly low or no-budget ones and all countries. The selection process has two parts. First, the submitted projects are judged through private screenings by our internal programming team, and they will select the Finalist films of each edition. Then the Festival's jurors, who are a random team of invited experts mainly from the film industry, will privately review the films and award the best projects. All of the winners will receive the official laurel and an achievement certificate and can request an online screening. Winner's announcements will be released through our social media to help promote the films.

⁣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.

⁣⁣⁣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.