F3: Queen City Film Festival, Film Curation, & Film Awards is a monthly film competition with a virtual audience award competition four times a year and annual in-person screenings in the Queen City (Cincinnati, Ohio). Our goal is to celebrate and showcase films and filmmakers – including those that might not fit into the typical film festival mold. Each film can be submitted to multiple categories.
F3: Queen City Film Festival, Film Curation, & Film Awards started out as the F3: Frankly Film Fest an annual all genre festival established as a one-off film festival in 2005 to showcase independent films. In 2016, F3 was resurrected and combined with a local convention, The Un-Con. In 2020 because of the Covid19 pandemic, the festival and convention went virtual and remained virtual until 2022 when the convention disbanded. In 2023, F3 became a hybrid festival - incorporating both online and in-person screenings. We also added an audience award component to the film competition.
Due to the overwhelming success of our 2023 season, we’ve added several more categories to our film festival and film awards. We’ve also added new award categories, including MONTHLY award winners! Wishing to reflect our expanded focus and new festival home of Cincinnati, in 2024 we changed the festival name from F3: Frankly Film Fest to F3: Queen City Film Festival, Film Curation, & Film Awards.
Each month, our jury will pick winners through private screenings. Each submitter can enter MULTIPLE CATEGORIES in order to increase their chances to receive an award. Every Winner and Honorable Mention will receive our Official Laurels and HQ digital Certificate, and will be included in the next virtual Audience Choice Award Competition that occurs four times a year. Top films from each of the quarterly Audience Choice Award Competitions will screen at our annual in-person screenings along with our curated films. Our top award, Best of Fest, will be presented at the awards ceremony during the festival at local rotating venues. Filmmakers included in the screening will be notified two weeks before the event. This screening will take place in August of 2024.
Submitters can also select to be a curated film. These films automatically become an official selection and qualify to be included in the quarterly Virtual Audience Choice Award Competition. They will also screening during our in-person screenings or virtual screenings, either quarterly or at the annual Audience Choice Screenings & Award Ceremony.
Monthly Awards:
Best Short
Best Short (Student)
Best Short (Ohio)
Best Micro-Short
Best Music Video
Best Vertical Video
Best Trailer
Best Poster
Best Short (Action/Adventure)
Best Short (Animation)
Best Short (Biographical)
Best Short (Black & White)
Best Short (Comedy)
Best Short (Crime)
Best Short (Documentary)
Best Short (Drama)
Best Short (Experimental)
Best Short (Family)
Best Short (Fan Film)
Best Short (Film Competition)
Best Short (Fantasy)
Best Short (Film Noir)
Best Short (Horror/Thriller)
Best Short (Inspirational)
Best Short (LGBTQ+)
Best Short (Musical)
Best Short (Mystery)
Best Short (Parody)
Best Short (Period/Historic)
Best Short (Romance)
Best Short (Science Fiction/Sci-Fi)
Best Short (Social Justice)
Best Short (Supernatural)
Best Short (War)
Best Short (Western)
Short (Best Directing)
Short (Best Writing)
Short (Best Cinematography)
Short (Best Lead Performance)
Short (Best Supporting Performance)
Short (Best Duo Performance)
Short (Best Ensemble Performance)
Short (Best Editing)
Short (Best Visual Effects)
Short (Best Practical Effects)
Short (Best Sound Design)
Short (Best Production Design)
Short (Best Stunts)
Short (Best Original Score/Soundtrack)
Short (Best Fight Choreography)
Short (Best Dance Choreography)
Short (Best Drone Footage)
Short (Best Wardrobe)
Short (Best Prosthetic Make-Up)
Best Feature
Best Feature (Student)
Best Feature (Ohio)
Best Feature (Action/Adventure)
Best Feature (Animation)
Best Feature (Biographical)
Best Feature (Black & White)
Best Feature (Comedy)
Best Feature (Crime)
Best Feature (Documentary)
Best Feature (Drama)
Best Feature (Experimental)
Best Feature (Family)
Best Feature (Fan Film)
Best Feature (Fantasy)
Best Feature (Film Noir)
Best Feature (Horror/Thriller)
Best Feature (Inspirational)
Best Feature (LGBTQ+)
Best Feature (Musical)
Best Feature (Mystery)
Best Feature (Parody)
Best Feature (Period/Historic)
Best Feature (Romance)
Best Feature (Science Fiction/Sci-Fi)
Best Feature (Supernatural)
Best Feature (War)
Best Feature (Western)
Feature (Best Directing)
Feature (Best Writing)
Feature (Best Cinematography)
Feature (Best Lead Performance)
Feature (Best Supporting Performance)
Feature (Best Duo Performance)
Feature (Best Ensemble Performance)
Feature (Best Editing)
Feature (Best Visual Effects)
Feature (Best Practical Effects)
Feature (Best Sound Design)
Feature (Best Production Design)
Feature (Best Stunts)
Feature (Best Original Score/Soundtrack)
Feature (Best Fight Choreography)
Feature (Best Dance Choreography)
Feature (Best Drone Footage)
Feature (Best Wardrobe)
Feature (Best Prosthetic Make-Up)
Annual Award:
Best of Fest
Honorable Mention Best of Fest
We reserve the right to change the award categories at any time depending on the films submitted during a given month. We reserve the right to not present awards in categories where we do not receive a minimum number of submissions to present an award.