The Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival will celebrate motion pictures from a number of different genres and age groups and will be held in the historic town of Claremore, Oklahoma on Route 66.

Claremore was the hometown of Will Rogers, who was the #1 movie star in America in 1934, and home to the Will Rogers Memorial Museum. Claremore was also home to Lynn Riggs, who wrote the play that eventually became the movie, OKLAHOMA!

The Festival is family friendly and it will be several days of movies, chats, networking and activities throughout the community.

Motion Pictures categories to be shown at the Festival and all films will be G or PG...

Top 10 American Indian/First Nation/Indigenous Short
Top 3 American Indian/First Nation/Indigenous Feature
Top 10 Made in Oklahoma Short
Top 3 Made in Oklahoma Feature
Top 10 Documentary, Narrative, Animation and Comedy Shorts
Top 3 Documentary and Comedy Features
Top 10 in each age group for Children's Short
Top 10 College Student Short

Announcement of finalists will be September 28th, the Anniversary of Will's 1st movie.

Awards will be given to the following...

Best Documentary Short
Best Documentary Feature
Best Narrative Short
Best Animation
Best Comedy Short
Best Comedy Feature
Best Made In Oklahoma Short
Best Made in Oklahoma Feature
Best American Indian/First Nation/Indigenous Short
Best American Indian/First Nation/Indigenous Feature
Best Children's Short 15-18 years old
Best Children's Short 14 and under
Best College Student Short
People's Choice

Winners will be announced on Saturday, November 2nd at The Dog Irons Awards Ceremony.

Each winner will receive a Prestigious Dog-Iron Award (Will Rogers Brand)​

Each FILM SELECTED FOR THE FESTIVAL will also receive the opportunity to air their Motion Picture on RSUTV, a regional public television station at Rogers State University. Permission must be granted by the SUBMITTER for the film to be shown on RSUTV. RSUTV will review each permitted submission to determine eligibility on public television.

Documentaries, Narratives, Made in Oklahoma, Animation and Comedy Shorts and Documentaries, Made in Oklahoma and Comedy Features. All films must be expected to be rated G or PG and eligible to be aired on Public Television. No foul language or strong sexual content.

Shorts are under 30 minutes and Features are over 30 minutes.

College Students Shorts under 30 minutes. Must be a registered student at Submission.

There will be two categories for children's shorts. Ages 15-18 and 14 and under. Submissions must be under 30 minutes. Age category figured at the date of Submission.

All submissions MUST BE APPROVED to show on Public Television to be qualified. Films with strong language or strong sexual content may not be accepted for Public Television viewing. WRMPF reserves the right to determine qualification of any submission. Films MUST be G or PG.

Films must be submitted by digital file (.mp4, .mov). Finalists may submit any promotional materials, posters, flyers, etc and items will be distributed around town, used in promos and will not be returned.

Films in language other than English must include English subtitles.

To qualify as an "Oklahoma film", at least 50% of the film must be shot on a set or location within Oklahoma.

Feedback: We are unable to give feedback on your submitted project. ​

All submissions must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2021 to qualify. Previously submitted films to the Festival are ineligible.

Multiple category submissions are allowed, but fee must be paid for each category submission. Please submit the film separately for each category submitted.

All entry Fees are non-refundable. Fees cover registration, notification that your entry has been received and notification of results. These fees must be paid during the entry process.

By entering the WILL ROGERS MOTION PICTURE FESTIVAL (WRMPF) competition, all entrants agree to hold harmless the WILL ROGERS MOTION PICTURE FESTIVAL, Will Rogers Memorial Foundation, owners, employees, associated Boards of Directors, Officers, Staff and Volunteers from all losses, damages, rights, claims, and actions of any kind arising in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from participation with the festival.

The submitter acknowledges that WRMPF is under no obligation to use the Material in any manner and further represents and warrants that the Material is original, that the submitter has the right and authority to submit the Material to WRMPF on the foregoing terms and conditions, each and all of which shall be binding on the submitter, his/her agents, heirs, successors, licensees and assigns.

SUBMITTER, IF YOUR FILM(S) IS SELECTED, YOU'LL RECEIVE TWO (2) FREE ALL ACCESS PASSES, which includes most activities during the Festival including the Kickoff Party, film blocks, Red Carpet Gala and the Dog Irons Awards Ceremony. All Selected Films will be in the consideration for winning their category, which will be announced at The Dog Irons.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • This is a quality well-organized festival. I was fortunate to win in one of the categories. When I became a finalist, they asked me to record a commentary on the film and then an acceptance speech, just in case it won. That shows the degrees of care and organization put into it. For the awards ceremony, they had major people in the film industry announce the nominees and winners. It was, all and all, a wonderful experience.

    November 2023
  • I was very happy to be a part of this film fest for many reasons, so this is gonna be a long review: I am grateful my short doc "caring for mom" was included in this year's roster of films at Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival; at the venue, I was able to meet up with the very hospitable Tad and Woody (wasn't able to stay for the duration of the festival so didn't meet other major players of the fest); I had the opportunity to talk with other filmmakers to gain more insight into their filmmaking processes in addition to the fest's Q&As. This was my first trip to the state of Oklahoma and what an amazing eye opener it was—LOVED their systems of roads/transportation, even during rush hour in downtown Oklahoma City (other drivers on the road were polite even when I obviously made some bad car maneuvers due to my unfamiliarity of where I was going, compared to traffic and drivers in the SF Bay Area or L.A.); their museums are as eclectic as they are informative (Philbrook Museum of Art (Tulsa) had good art and nice garden setting; Cherokee National History Museum (Tahlequah) very informative of their devastating history (although after my time there, I couldn't bring myself to learn about more devastation to the state's other indigenous populations in their respective museums); at the OKlahoma History Museum, met a man who is writing a book about those, like his great grandfather, who were affected by the Jim Crow laws at the time). At the film fest, saw a doc about the OK state capital building, which motivated me to actually go and see it for myself—so glad I saw both the film and the building itself. All in all, this film fest was quite a meaningful adventure.

    November 2023
  • Stacy Olds

    Thank you for a wonderful experience!

    November 2023
  • Sean Kithas

    This festival had excellent communication throughout the whole process. Even though we were not able to attend this time, the team of “The Quilt” is left with a very positive impression of the Will Rogers Motion Picture Festival. Thank you!

    November 2023
  • A pleasure to have been part of the inaugural WRMPF and this year’s fifth edition.
    Great fun celebrating film and heritage.
    Especially gratified to have picked up a Dog-Iron Award (Made in Oklahoma feature) for our latest, “Thank You, Amelia Earhart.”
    Kudos to Lea, Tad, and everyone—especially for spots on the parade float, ha—what a Blast.
    - Al Mertens, Writer/Director/Producer, “Thank You, Amelia Earhart” feature film

    November 2023