The mission of this festival is to uplift the visions and voices of women filmmakers and provide a public outlet for their art.

Cinema Systers intend to strengthen and connect this diverse community of women and build bridges among audiences, filmmakers and the community at large through the exhibition of lesbian produced films and other events planned throughout the weekend.

JURIED:

"Best of Fest"

"Best Short Film"

"Best Feature"

"Best Documentary"

PLUS:
"Audience Choice" Awards!

We are accepting all genres of films created by Lesbian filmmakers.

Films must be submitted for review in the following format:
- DVD or BLU-RAY (Regions 0 or 1)
- .MPG (MPEG or MPEG2)
- .MOV (QuickTime)

If accepted films must be submitted in the following format for exhibition:
- .MPG (MPET or MPEG2)
- .MOV (QuickTime)

Submissions must have attached:
Film Title
Running Time
Contact Info: Submitter's Name, Email, Phone, City/State/Country of Origin
EPK or digital press kit
Synopsis of the film
Film poster image
or Photo(s) to represent the film in our promos
Photo of filmmaker(s)
Filmmaker BIO(s)
all of which may be used in our marketing/promotions for the festival.

All films shall be English subtitled for accessibility purposes. We are attempting to make Cinema Systers Film Festival more inclusive for all.

All films submitted to Cinema Systers Film Festival are required to have been produced by Lesbian filmmaker(s). Any film that does not meet this requirement will be disqualified.

Cinema Systers Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless Cinema Systers Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Cathy Fink

    Thanks for including "ALL WIGGED OUT." Delighted to be chosen Audience Favorite!

    June 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Cathy, for submitting the wonderful film ALL WIGGED OUT!

  • Anca Vaida

    What a wonderful festival! Laura and her team has been incredibly helpful throughout the whole process, from getting selected and all the way through to after the festival. The location in Paducah was a charming choice and I felt very proud to see my short film in the amazing big cinema! We came all the way from London and it was worth it! :)

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Anca, for submitting a great film AND for making the trip to Paducah, Kentucky all the way from London! We appreciate you!

  • Cinema Systers Lesbian Film Festival 2022 was a culmination experience for me.

    A very busy line-up of quality film showings, workshops, parties and performances made it impossible to “go to everything”.

    My particular film - a documentary on the 24th Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival 1999; played on the Women’s Herstoy track.

    The director’s Q & A gave me an opportunity to share my experiences; and to announce that I have made viewings of my documentary ‘Free to Lesbians”.

    I thank Cinema Systers Film Festival organizer Rez Rebel for providing a platform for all of it to happen.

    We are all getting older. Video provides the opportunity for greater outreach. A film festival such as this one provides us with the opportunity to gather ‘live’; yet reflect, reminisce, learn new things and plan for the future. It was an opportunity that I had been waiting for - for 23 years.

    As a film maker, I got a free pass to attend the film showings, events & workshops. I found that the writing & directing/acting workshops were creatively engaging, participatory & highly insightful. All of the performances were culturally relevant to our community; and the parties and performances were fun.

    Mostly, it was great to just be there; amongst the Womyn - in a women’s space that does not discriminate. It felt a bit like ‘coming home’; as Cinema Systers is itself a fabulous outgrowth of the Michigan Womyn’s Music Festival.

    Cinema Systers film festival is creating the space for the next generation of lesbian filmmakers to flourish!

    Natalie Williams;
    DykeTVnet@gmail.com

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Natalie!

  • Great festival. Has workshops as well as the film festival. Great town to hang out in.

    June 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, JP! So happy to have met you. And thank you for submitting your wonderful short film, Creme Brulee The Movie. Congratulations on your Audience Choice Award! Hope to see y'all next year.

  • Unfortunately, we were not able to attend, but the communications with Laura and the team was quick and effective! This year programming presented a great variety of lesbian themed films! Congrats!

    June 2019
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Julie. We hope you will make it to Paducah next year. Your film was very well received! Please submit to CSFF again!