What filmmakers are saying about us…
“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you and the team at the Independent Film Institute for selecting Eximo. The detailed evaluation provided is exceptionally insightful and will be invaluable in my continued development as a filmmaker. I will share the evaluation verbally with the relevant crew members via a secure video call. Thank you once again for your belief in my work and for this distinct honor.” – Mayed Al Qasimi, Director of “Eximo”
“Thank you so much for this! I can’t wait to share the evaluation with the team that helped make it possible. Very grateful for the kind words.” – Christopher Crompton, Director of “A New Eden”
“I really appreciate the extremely detailed evaluation! It was a great eye
opener on what I need to improve on for any future films. I could see
myself submitting a film to IFI in the future just for the evaluation.” – Wayne Winterstein, Director of “Blinded”
“I am thrilled to have “Oh, Johnny!” selected by the IFI, and I sincerely appreciate your valuable evaluation.” – Lawrence Schwartz, Director of “Oh, Johnny”
“Thank you so much for this incredible honor and for selecting my film as an Official Selectee of IFI. I’m truly grateful for your kind words and for recognizing the work that went into the project. I’ll be sure to share the good news with the team, and we’ll proudly make use of the Official Selection laurel in our promotional materials.” – Gary Centrone, Director of “Crown of Flowers”
“Thank you so much for the in depth analysis. I am extremely overjoyed and grateful by how much effort was put into this response and your reception to the film.” – Michael Matsui, Director of “You’re On Your Own, Kid”
“The love and care they have for cinema and for Veterans is quite impressive and touching. Definitely a worthwhile experience.” – Jeremiah Jahi, Military Veteran Filmmaker
“Thanks for the thoughtful, insightful and professional evaluation of our film. Your team was right on the money on just about every aspect of the critique. I really appreciate the feedback.” – Tor Larsen, Director of “A Conversation”
“It is a new and refreshing way to help filmmakers. Thank you very much for accepting my film and thank you even more for the feedback. It was excellent feedback and it is nice to have fresh eyes on this project.” – Kevin Almodovar, Director of “Until Death”
“We are humbled by your kind words of The Coming Convergence.” – Carrie Miller of Ingenuity Films
“Many thanks and what an honor it is to be included in the fellowship. Thank you for your critique and very useful comments on our production.” – Jason Meath, CEO of Meath Television Media LLC
“Again. Thank you. Your evaluation really helped me understand my
film more and is also helpful for my future projects.” – Roman Sotelo,
Producer of “Grief”
“Excellent fellowship with great communication.” – Michael Gavino, Writer, Director, and Producer of “For Greater Good.”
“Many thanks for the feedback. Fairly scathing assessment but very much appreciated” – Student Filmmaker, Danny Crossman
“My extreme thanks for your team’s evaluation of my film. It was well taken and lessons learned will be applied to our future films. I agree with much of what was suggested and many of those ideas may be implemented.” – Chuck Fishbein, Director of “Home, With Honors”
“Thanks again for the detailed evaluation and to you all for hosting. This is really a unique kind of festival and well worth the investment” – Thomas Brouns, Director
Submit Film
We are using Film Freeway for Film Submissions.
Open submission begins May 1st each year and ends March 10th.
Official Selectee
All filmmakers who submit a film under 55 minutes receive an official evaluation completed by our staff of professionals in the film industry. (However, films over 55 minutes will still be reviewed and are still equally considered for inclusion as an IFI Selectee). The evaluation is a courtesy and tool we provide to help filmmakers improve their film and craft. Those films that illustrate a high degree of mastery of the craft and have a unique, powerful, and thought-provoking story to tell are selected by the staff to be part of the Filmmakers Fellowship. A movie poster of their film or image from the film will be added to our official IFI Selectee page where viewers can click to get a brief summary of the film and short bio about cast and crew. Selectees are also invited to join the Filmmakers Club, which is an exclusive membership opportunity provided only to those gifted filmmakers selected by IFI. The Filmmakers Club gives IFI Selectees exclusive access to articles, tips, and essays from filmmakers, access to all of the films in IFI’s library, and official IFI merch.
They may also be invited to exclusive events and meetings with the fellowship, and are also provided with “Official Selectee” laurel to use on their film’s promotional items. Other promotional material, products, and discounts may be available, including the best price available on future submissions. Special merchandise and free production advice from the most gifted filmmakers is also available to our Fellowship members.
Rules & Terms
While we do not want to limit creativity, we believe it is perfectly
reasonable to produce films that inspire and do not have nudity, sexual
content, profanity, or glorified violence. We seek films that showcase a
good understanding of the craft, have a well formulated script, and
have a message.
Instructional films, documentaries, short shorts, shorts, features, and all types of films are accepted that comply with our rules.
General Rules:
Due to costs of the film evaluation service we provide and due also to the fact that our prices are already reasonable, especially for students, seniors and veterans, we do not give waivers for any reason. PLEASE DO NOT SEND WAIVER REQUESTS.
STUDENTS: A digital image of your Driver’s license or student IDs are required and you must be 18 or under to submit as a student. You will find the student rates and submission options under each film category. Make sure you upload your student ID or Driver’s License with your photo on it along with your other required images, such as movie poster, stills, etc. when you submit the film as a student or we cannot accept your film as a student and will not provide a refund. If you do not have either of the required items or wish not to upload a digital image of them, then you must submit your film at the regular non-student rate. Please see our guidelines for student films on the submission page.
Film schools who wish to submit student films can get the student rate for each film and might receive further discounts and incentives if they become a paid sponsor of the event. Film school or camp directors are encouraged to contact us about sponsorship opportunities.
We believe that you are never too young or old to pursue your dreams, therefore, special rates are given to seniors over 70 and youth under 18.
SENIORS: If you are over 70 and wish to have your film recognized as a senior film, then you can submit any film under the Seniors category. ID proof is required.
VETERANS: All veterans who served in the US Military can submit their film under the Veterans category. (If you are a Veteran from another country, please contact 727-798-1101 and leave a message with your name, email, and country of service. In most cases, you will be eligible to submit your film in the Veterans category as well). A digital image of your Military ID must be uploaded along with your other required images, such as movie poster, stills, etc.
Films must not contain nudity or sexual content.
Films should not include excessive profanity or violence unless being
used in a war picture or to portray reality. Films that seem to
needlessly use profanity or glorify violence will not be accepted.
IFI exists for the filmmaker. We do everything we can to promote those films and filmmakers who get selected; however, we encourage filmmakers to do their best as well to promote their film through IFI and to network with fellowship members in order to help promote their film and learn about other projects. The filmmakers represented on IFI are all very talented and its a great opportunity for those selected into the fellowship. So take advantage of it.
As mentioned under Event Description, all submitted films under 55 minutes will have a written evaluation completed by our team of professionals. You will be emailed a detailed evaluation that you can use to improve your film and evaluate your crew’s job performance.
Films can be submitted by clicking the “Submit Now” button at the top of the IFI Film Freeway page after clicking the FilmFreeway Submit button below.
Upon acceptance of your film, we will request a download and on very rare occasions if we cannot obtain a download online, a usb flash drive may be requested for films! Additional digital photos, stills, and picture of the writer, producer, director or lead actor are recommended. We require a movie poster since the first thing viewers will see online is your movie poster. Additional information about the film, the writer, producer, or director are required when you submit your film. This helps us promote your film. It is not necessary to physically send these materials in the mail. Just submit the required and recommended items along with your film on filmfreeway.
Please read the Awards & Prizes and Rules & Terms sections on our Film Freeway Page after clicking the FilmFreeway submit button below.
We do everything we can to help filmmakers improve their craft and promote their work. We want you to be part of our fellowship. If you have a film, submit it.
Thank You for choosing IFI!