* All Nominees receive a tailored film review/star rating and the opportunity to screen at our live screening event in December 2024 *

Now in our 4th year, APEX was made by filmmakers for filmmakers to showcase the immense talent from around the world. Our experience within the film industry and on the festival circuit gave us the idea to run our own festival that's specifically aimed at supporting independent films and the filmmakers behind them.

Over the years, we found that many film festivals didn't deliver a positive service and experience from the filmmakers perspective. Lack of communication, missed notification dates and overall effort from a festival can have a detrimental effect on a films festival run. Our goal is to discover talented filmmakers and powerful films that we can celebrate. By entering, you will be amongst the countless multi-award winning films and filmmakers that have submitted their work to us.

Our Format:
The APEX Film Awards is separated into 4 seasons, giving filmmakers the chance to submit throughout the year and take advantage of early bird submission fees. Submitting during a specific season will put your film in competition with every other film submitted during that respective season, resulting in nominees from each category that are then judged for our live screening and award trophies.

Every nominee will receive a tailored film review and star rating which is featured directly on the APEX website. Custom laurels will also be sent out to each filmmaker which can then be printed. Official Selections will not be screened at our live event as it is reserved for award winners but will receive our APEX laurel to use in their promotional material and be feature on our website. We ensure status updates for each season submitters go out two to three weeks after the final closing date of the season they entered so that we have time to prepare the reviews. Our nominees film reviews will be available on our website to read in full.

Film Reviews:
What's unique about our festival is that all our nominees receive a tailored film review and star rating. Having a detailed film review and star rating is an incredibly useful and effective promotional tool for films to use across social media and within their promotional content. We focus on the films production as a whole, not just from a story perspective. We want to recognise the key aspects of the film that often get overlooked. We take time to give credit to the entire cast and crew for their efforts. Our reviews are positive and designed to celebrate the films achievements without needless criticism for the sake of it. Visit our website to take a look at the range of film reviews we've had the opportunity to write. Our award winners seem to love them!

Film Review Submissions:
We offer our film reviews as a separate service without the need to submit through the festival judging process. Please be aware that while we hope each and every film we receive is of a high standard that we provide a stellar review for, this is not always the case and does not guarantee one for your film. All reviews will not be refunded simply because you are unhappy with the outcome which is universal for other review sites. Our goal is to support indy filmmakers and give them honest feedback to help promote their films and themselves.

Official Selections: All official selections will be featured through our website including details on the films and filmmakers. Selection are not put forward for our live screening event.

Nominees: All nominees will receive a tailored film review/star rating and be put forward for consideration in our live screening event.

Award Winners: All award winners will screen at our live event in December and be offered an APEX award trophy to purchase for £25 plus shipping. Filmmakers attending in the event person will receive their trophy at no cost.

CATEGORIES

• Best Drama
• Best Comedy
• Best Animation
• Best Sci-Fi
• Best Thriller
• Best Horror
• Best Experimental
• Best Music Video
• Best Documentary
• Best Student

We accept:
- Short films under 40 minutes
- Music Videos of any length
- Films made from any year

By submitting your film, take note that:
- You agree to use parts of your film (including trailer/teaser/film poster/stills) for promotional purpose by us
- Entry fees are non-refundable
- Multiple entries are allowed for each filmmaker
- The films must include English subtitles (unless the spoken language is English)
- Your film will NOT be uploaded online to any platform
- All reviews are written in English ONLY
- Official Selections will be featured through our website and not be screened at our live event. This is reserved for award winners only.
- We cannot provide feedback for individual films on their selection status.
- During a given season, we may decide to not nominate a selected category if the overall quality standard is not high enough from the submitted films. This is to ensure we keep a high standard with our nominees.
- We cannot offer travel and accommodation for award winners.
- Season nominees will be announced 1 week after rhe closing date.

We do not accept:
- Extremist or propaganda content from religious or political organizations
- Films including excessively violent or sexually inappropriate content
- Films with a poor production quality or lack of ENGLISH subtitles

We DO NOT offer fee waivers and will not reply to emails requesting one.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • I thank all the staff for the opportunity given to "VIOLATOR" to be able to be selected. Thank you for appreciating my short film.

    February 2024
  • Herl Lara

    It was my first submission that got accepted, Sadly i wasn't able to attend because of personal reasons. I'm grateful that my film got accepted.

    February 2024
  • Rafael Garcia

    Great festival! My fist submission to any film festival. Can't wait for my next film to be selected.

    January 2024
  • KaLong Tung

    Thank you for selecting "Welcome to my home" to be part of the festival.

    December 2023
  • Kathryn Georghiou

    Really happy my film was selected at APEX Film Awards! Thank you!

    December 2023