The Flathead Lake International Cinemafest is proud to present its twelfth annual edition of domestic and international independent cinema from February 23-25, 2024. Filmmakers and film fans alike love attending this exciting winter film festival in picturesque Polson, Montana. Nestled at the base of Flathead Lake, Polson, FLIC offers small town charm and big league independent film enjoyment for our guests. Filmmakers enjoy FLIC because of the opportunity to exhibit their films to real audiences — not just audiences of other filmmakers. They also appreciate the intimate Q&A sessions after film screenings -- and multiple networking opportunities with other filmmakers. FLIC hosts mixer events throughout the weekend, affording filmmakers interaction with their colleagues and audience members. Additionally, we close the weekend with an awards show — passing out accolades and hardware to deserving filmmakers is one of the best parts of the weekend!

See what fillmmakers have had to say in the reviews below!

Come join the fun in February! See you here!

Nominations are made at the time of official selection and awards are presented at our Awards Show on Sunday afternoon of the festival. Nominees and Winners are showcased on the FLIC website and Facebook page. Nominees are also listed in our printed program and screening schedule. Nominated and winning films are screened a second time during our Encore Week following the festival. Up to 5 nominees (with a minimum of 3) -- with one winner in each -- are made in the following categories:

• Audience Award
• Best Picture - FLIC Jr.
• Best Animation
• Best Short Documentary
• Best Feature Documentary
• Best Short Narrative
• Best Feature Narrative
• Best Montana Film
• Best Actor
• Best Actress
• Best Director
• Best Cinematography
• Best Original Score

CATEGORY RULES
Twelfth Annual Flathead Lake International Cinemafest (FLIC) February 23-25, 2024.

• By submitting, the entrant/s agrees they have read and accepted all FLIC rules, terms and conditions.

• NOTE: Upon notification that their film is an official selection, filmmakers have seven (7) calendar days to notify FLIC if they wish to pull their film from the festival. If FLIC does not hear otherwise, we will assume the filmmaker wants their film to screen at FLIC and it will be scheduled for presentation at a day and time of FLIC's choosing. After the aforementioned seven days, the filmmaker will not be permitted to remove the film from the festival, even if another festival requires exclusivity. This is non-negotiable. If you have any doubts about your ability to follow through and participate in screenings, please be advised of this policy. Thank you for your understanding.

• Entrants confirm they have full legal right and authority to submit for use all images, content, talent, music/sounds in their entry, and that the film will not violate any copyright, trademark, service mark, privacy right, publicity right, patent, or any other intellectual property right of any person or entity. If consent of other parties is required, all of them are also agreeing.

• Submitted films should not convey a defamation of any person or entity and not be subject to or threatened by litigation.

• Films can be any language, but foreign language films MUST have captions burned into the film.

• Entrant grants FLIC permission to screen the entry at the FLIC festival, and agrees to hold harmless FLIC, its sponsors, entities, venues, committee members, volunteers, attorneys and advisers from any and all claims, damages, costs, losses, liabilities or attorneys’ fees that may be held against any of them in association with the film entry or the festival’s use.

• If selected, feature length MP4 films are not to exceed 10GB file size and must be received by FLIC within 7 days of official selection notification. There are many MP4 compression codecs that permit quality film presentation in limited file size. Visit Vimeo.com for compression suggestions and guidelines. Submissions may be sent via web in HD formats, or via mail on a thumb drive. (Downloads from Vimeo are common and films are also sent via WeTranfer.com, ftp, etc.). All video files are due by January 1st.

• DCP, DVD, and Bluray submissions are NOT accepted or screened. ALL submissions must also come through FilmFreeway. There is no screening fee compensation. No exceptions or considerations will be made to any of these noted items.

• Programs may be up to 100 minutes in length. We don’t discriminate: shorts, features, documentaries, animation, and experimental—all are welcome submissions.

• In an effort to expand FLIC viewership and allow “snowbird” residents of Polson to experience FLIC and the importance of independent cinema, FLIC reserves the right and option to run a Summer Encore Week. Not all Official Selections will screen during the Encore Week (immediately following FLIC) or the aforementioned optional Summer Encore Week. Nominated and winning films may re-screen during both weeks, all at FLIC's discretion. By submitting your film to, and being accepted to screen at FLIC, you grant permission to FLIC to screen your film during FLIC weekend, and, at the FLIC Producers' discretion, to screen again during Encore Week and Summer Encore Week.

• Official selection filmmakers are welcome to send any film promotional materials (i.e. posters, flyers, publicity stills). At its sole discretion, FLIC will gladly display such materials as space and circumstance permit. Often, a complete FilmFreeway submission will contain all the necessary promotional materials, including photos.

• Official selection filmmakers *must also submit three (3) stills/screenshots from their film to be included in promotional material and the printed screening program. FLIC reserves the right to choose from among submitted photos for publicity release, or, if none are suitable, to select our choice of screenshots to promote the film in our marketing and print products. *If your FilmFreeway submission includes photos, they will most likely suffice.

• Please take note: Primarily G, PG, and PG-13 approximate-rating films will be reviewed for consideration. Occasional exceptions to this guideline are made on a film-by-film basis at the judges' and festival director's discretion. Hard R content will not be selected.

• FLIC is a celebration of the cinema arts, and, as such, reserves the right not to select films which in the opinion of FLIC's judges are abrasively controversial and/or politically divisive. The judging panel includes representatives from the filmmaking, educational, and business communities. All judging is confidential and all decisions and film scores are final.

• If you prefer your official selection film to screen without being judged or awarded, you may elect to do so. By default, selected films are adjudicated and eligible for awards.

• If selected, the version of the film that was submitted will be screened. FLIC does not accept changes or edits to films after official selections have been made. Work-in-progress films should not be submitted. This is non-negotiable.

• All submission fees go to the Flathead Lake International Cinemafest, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • We had the BEST experience at FLIC (from the Taste of Polson, filmmaker events, to the awards show and dessert reception) and we know that was a result of your and David's hard work and vision. As with all film fests, we're not sure what to expect until we get there, and we really thought it was one of the best festival experiences we've had (and we've been to many on both ends of the spectrum!). We will continue to spread the word to our Texas film community about FLIC!

    March 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Matthew and Denise! We had so much fun with you two and are grateful you shared your fine film Hero Complex with us in person! Here's to more collaborations in the future!

  • Ellen Weisberg

    Thank you so much for the wonderful experience!

    March 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Ellen, for sharing your charming animated film Full Moon with FLIC 2023!

  • Hans Obma

    FLIC Polson is unparalleled in its authentic welcome, enthusiasm, and professionalism. David and Jessica King have formed a cohesive team that joins and honors filmmakers and their work. Go enjoy a weekend with them in this beautiful corner of the world.

    March 2023
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you, Hans, for your kind words of affirmation. Your film A Question of Service, was a festival favorite for its brilliant craftsmanship and your Best Actor Award-winning performance! We hope see more of you and your work in the future!

  • Andrew Labens

    A wonderful festival! We are very honored to have our film, Only Roundup Remains, win the Best Montana Film Award! David and Jessica were great host and very easy to communicate with leading up to the festival. I recommended everyone give this festival a hard look, it is well supported by the local community! Thanks

    February 2023
  • Dennis Ford

    Easily one of our favorite film festivals we've attended for our documentary FireStorm '77: The True Story of the Honda Canyon Fire. The Showboat Cinema is an incredible facility, the audience was engaged during Q&A, and Dave and Jessica are incredible hosts who put on a fantastic festival, plus Polson is an absolutely beautiful part of the world. Highly recommended for filmmakers. This is an up and coming festival that is going to continue to grow.

    February 2023