This festival is the film equivalent of the deep cut on your fav record. That amazing track that never makes the airwaves, but to you and yours, out rocks the single.

So we want you to dig deep. We want to screen the cinema from the edge, the fringe frames that need to be seen and shared.

We're looking for all genres, as well as works that don't easily fit in to any specific box. We'll have different blocks of films, and depending on what we receive will determine the categories.

But here's what we're envisioning, film blocks under the themes of:

Thrillers
Comedy
Experimental films
Art house / mind blowing films
Home movies
Road movies
Industrial / Corporate & Commercial videos
Drama
Documentaries
Horror (we are the Deep Cut Fest after all...)

Yes, the categories are wide, but a deep cut doesn't limit itself to one genre. Show us what you've got, we can't wait to watch. We love indies, and we love keeping things weird in Kitchener!

Awards & Prizes

This is a juried festival and winners will receive the Deep Cut Award for various categories.

Rules & Terms

Rules and Terms:

We will accept films from any country, however, if they are not in English, please subtitle or dub them.
If your film is accepted, we only screen digital files. Thanks for understanding.
There is no "film made by" date. If it's good, we want to see it, regardless if it was produced in 2016, '96, or '76.

We do not accept films of any length that are currently available for public viewing on YouTube, Vimeo, or any other online streaming service.

We'll accept submissions that have been previously screened elsewhere.

For those submitting, you must be authorized to submit the film, and hold the rights to the film. Any violations of copyright will not be tolerated.

Submitting your film does not guarantee a spot in the Deep Cut Film Festival lineup. However, we will get back to everyone who does submit to let them know the outcome of our decision.

If your film is accepted, you will gladly send us some digital promo material, and let us use this material to promote your film as part of our festival lineup.

We only accept digital screeners, via FilmFreeway. That is all.

We will not accept works in progress. All entry fees paid are non-refundable. Please be sure to submit under the correct category.

Upon submission, the Deep Cut Film Festival is 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 the Deep Cut 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.
Thank you for taking the time to read these rules.

5 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Itai Guberman

    Fantastic festival. Very professional and communicative. Having won the Horror Award was exciting and humbling and what started a very successful festival run for "Ivy". Thank you, Deep Cut, for appreciating our work and we look forward to submitting future projects and should we be successful, we hope to actually attend in future :)

    November 2017
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Itai, thanks so much for the kind words! We really appreciate hearing that, and we were thrilled to screen IVY at our first fest. Glad to hear it's been doing so well on the circuit! Keep it up!

  • Brianne Cullen

    An amazing and welcoming festival, so glad to be apart of the first year and we hope Deep Cut is around for many more years to come!

    July 2017
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks Brianne! We hope so too. We're gearing up for next year, so we'll keep in touch with how it's shaping up. Thanks again for your support, and the nice review!

  • Brett Kelly

    Thanks for including Laser Force in your festival! Good luck with future editions!

    June 2017
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    Response from festival:

    Laser Force is such a fun film, everyone really enjoyed it, Brett. Plus, it's hard to beat those effects. I bet you'll have some Laser Force recruits hitting you up soon.

  • Narsiesse Paul

    Thank you Dave and Deep Cut Film Festival
    Congrats on your inaugural year
    I wish many more to come
    I am glad that I attended the event
    Dave made me feel welcome and he was always professional
    Thank you for everything!

    June 2017
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    Response from festival:

    Hi Narsiesse, it was great having you out, we really appreciate the support for our first year. Many more to come, hopefully with you there as well!

  • John Nicol

    Deep Cut Film Festival is exactly what the town of Kitchener needs...a fresh venue to help meet the demands of the flourishing indie film community. Deep Cut really went out of their way to make this a memorable and exciting experience. Nothing but rave reviews here! They really cater to the independent filmmaker locally and globally...This is an event you really want to be apart of...Can't wait to submit our next feature for year two! Had a blast, hats off to Deep Cut, keep up the solid work!

    June 2017
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    Response from festival:

    John, thanks for the kind words! So glad you were able to make it out, and it was a pleasure screening Channel Zero. That's one haunting film you've got there. And we will return next year for sure, bringing the coolest indie film to downtown Kitchener!