Welcome to the 8th annual FilmQuest Festival!

Gaining raves for its quality of selections, great events, bevy of attending filmmakers, the highly coveted and prestigious Cthulhu Trophy, and as one of MovieMaker Magazine's "50 Bloody Best Genre Fests in the World" (2021 & 2019) and thrice named one of their "Top 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee" (2021, 2017, 2015), FIlmQuest celebrates the majesty of genre filmmaking in the realms of fantasy, horror, sci-fi, and the beyond (including action, thriller, western, kung-fu, and more). The 2021 season will continue this great tradition of celebrating the world's greatest genre filmmaking in our beautiful home of Utah!

FilmQuest has been designed specifically to cater to the empowerment of the filmmaker through various events, awards, swag, connections, and more. In creating the festival, we thought long and hard about what it is that makes a festival great. We asked ourselves the tough questions. What we’ve come up with is, we believe, a festival experience that is the kind most filmmakers dream about.

The Juries will award our filmmakers in over 45 individual categories. Our selection committee is also made up of a group of industry professionals from various fields, such as directors, actors, producers, professors, writers, animators, casting directors, and more.

Want more? We will also be hosting exclusive parties, panels, and more! So get involved today and consider becoming a part of one of the most exciting film festivals to emerge on the circuit in years! We look forward to seeing your submissions!

We encourage you to explore our website (www.FilmQuestFest.com) for new information and updates as it comes, including more info on what to expect, the celebrities who will be involved with FilmQuest, our events, parties, workshops, panels, and more!

Prepare for Fantastic at FilmQuest, one of the world's most exciting and beloved genre film festivals!

Awards & Prizes

We’ve created a festival that gives away awe-inspiring awards, fills your bag with the swag a pirate would be envious of, connects you to other filmmakers and celebrities in ways that encourages future collaboration, and offers an event to explore that will be talked about for years to come in FilmQuest.

We have the FilmQuest Cthulhu trophy designed specifically for FilmQuest and manufactured by the same company who makes the Golden Globes, making what we are sure will soon become one of the most coveted awards on the festival circuit. And this is just the beginning. The trophy will be available for over 20 categories, with high quality plaques available to the rest.

More prizes and awards are added frequently, so stay tuned and don't miss out on FilmQuest!

Rules & Terms

TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR ENTRY SUBMISSION : All film submissions must be postmarked by August 9 2021. All submissions must be complete, with all of the items on the checklist order completed to be considered for the submission. All submissions received after August 13, 2021 will be considered for next year's festival unless otherwise notified. Notification of acceptance into the 2021 film festival will occur no later thanugust 16, 2021. If accepted, a screening print or digital copy must arrive at FilmQuest's office not later than October 1, 2021. All screeners must be clearly labeled. These screeners will become the property of FilmQuest unless a self-addressed, self-stamped package is provided with original submission.

All entries selected into FilmQuest grant FilmQuest the right to use any footage from the screener, and all submitted publicity photos and any other materials sent to us pertaining to this entry for FilmQuest's promotional purposes, without limitations. Complete press kit for films will be requested only after acceptance. All prints must be picked up after the screening and signed for by the filmmaker.

ELIGIBILITY : We will accept films completed after January 2019, unless otherwise noted. We will accept films that have previously screened in other festivals. Entry fees are non-refundable, and may be paid in the form of Visa, Mastercard, AMEX, Discover, check or money order paid in US dollars, only through a US affiliated bank. A $2.00 processing fee will be added to all credit card payments. SCRIPTS : Scripts must be bound and formatted correctly. Feature film script length should be at least 40 pages and not over 180. Shorts scripts at least 2 pages. Scripts will not be returned. All scripts must be accompanied with a synopsis in the submission info. We also accept digital script submissions either via FilmFreeway or email.

AWARDS ELIGIBILITY: Only films that have been completed and released after January 1st, 2020 will be eligible for awards. These rules are in compliance with the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences standard for Oscar Qualifying. Films completed and released before this date will still be eligible for acceptance and screening at the festival, just not major awards consideration.

PARTICIPANT AGREEMENT : I, the undersigned, represent and warrant that I have full legal right and authority to submit the heretofore mentioned film/video project for consideration by FilmQuest, and that all necessary consents, licensing and approvals have been obtained with respect thereto. I agree to hold FilmQuest and its sponsors harmless in any and all matters pertaining to the consents, licenses, and approvals of heretofore film/video project. I understand that my submission is in no way a guarantee of acceptance or nomination into and at FilmQuest. No one from FilmQuest or its sponsors has guaranteed me admission into the festival. I, the undersigned, have read the terms and conditions appearing herein, and agree, without exception, to all the terms and conditions stated.

For FULL rules and conditions, please visit our website at www.FilmQuestFest.com
174 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
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Networking
  • Louisa Phung

    This is my second year with FilmQuest and Jonathan and his team has been wonderful. Even with COVID restrictions, the virtual film festival was organized, fun, and we were able to have a great time. I would make another genre film just to participate again. Thanks for a great festival!

    July 2021
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  • Raymund Delmar

    HAD A BLAST! Great people, great films, chill environment. Thank you all at FILMQUEST it was an honor to win BEST UTAH SHORT!

    July 2021
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  • Brodie Spaull

    Great fest with solid communication. We were happy to have DARK BEFORE DAWN as part of the line-up, even though we couldn’t be there in person. However, being a hybrid fest for 2020/21 we still got to partake from afar.

    June 2021
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  • Buz Wallick

    One of the single best film festivals I've ever been to. Everyone involved just loves movies and cool stuff and it's a pure celebration of genre, filmmaking, and the spirit of cinema. Cannot wait to go back!

    June 2021
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  • Alan Sanchez

    FilmQuest is by far my favorite film festival that I ever got to attend. Jonathan and Jonna were the most accommodating and kinda people I ever got to meet and they made such a fun event.
    This film festival is definitely a love letter for the genre fans and I highly recommend entering your project into this festival. I sure will be entering and attending from here on out. All hail Cthulhu!

    June 2021
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