This is the home for action filmmakers! Join us in Las Vegas and lets showcase your ACTION SHORT FILMS!.

GainesCon International Film Festival is a certified 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated in SHOWCASING, EDUCATING, and PRODUCING the work of aspiring filmmakers within UNDERSERVED COMMUNITIES and BEYOND, whose content lies within the realm of ACTION, SCI-FI, FANTASY, and HORROR genres!

A crucial component of our cause is strongly emphasizing the cultural representation of various ethnic and underrepresented groups within these genres.

We're also strong supporters of our military brothers and sisters. So, all show entree fees are wavied for active duty personnel and veterans.

The event will simultaneously be shown LIVE both IN-PERSON & VIRTUALLY . This will include workshops with industry professionals, along with additional entertainment in-between showings.

Having all this amazing content under one event won’t be fitting unless there was a way to award those with exceptional work. So, on the last day of the event, we have our award ceremony, "THE DRAGON AWARDS", where we award our "Dragon Trophies" to the years most exceptional films and performances. This beautiful trophy is designed by an amazing illustrator, Mr. David Jennings from Ireland with each hand painted by the fabulous makeup artist Mrs. Faith Rios, which makes each Dragon unique. It conveys your STRENGTH, VISION, & INTERNAL FLAME needed to complete any film project.

So, join us and lets showcase your exciting, action filled work to the world!

Awards & Prizes

*All chosen submitters are automatically nominated within their respective categories. We ensure each film is carefully watched multiple times to gain a thorough understanding of the stories so each project can be judged fairly. We don't want to rush to judgment.

The "Red Dragon Trophy":
Best Picture

The "Golden Dragon Trophy":
Best Director
Best Male Actor
Best Female Actor
Best Visual Effects
Best Stunt Performance
Best Original Score
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Choreography
Best Horror Short
Best Hair and Makeup
Best Documentary
Best Costume
Best Animation

The "Dragon Certificate"
Best Trailer
Best Action Sequence
Best "No Budget No Problem" short
Best Screenplay

*Dragon Trophy Winners will be notified soon after the virtual award ceremony on how to receive their award.*

1. Free Shipping for U.S residents.
2. International residents will be responsible for shipping.

*Dragon Certificate Winners will have their award mailed "free of charge".

Rules & Terms

*Content must be within the Action, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror genres. If it is not, it will be disqualified...No Refunds. *

All submissions will be judged on creativity, story, editing, performances, and camera work. There is NO GUARANTEE of ACCEPTANCE.

*Films will be judged quickly, so don't be surprised if you receive a decision the same day you submit! This is to respect your time and ensure you have the opportunity to prepare for the show if selected.

*Due to the number of submissions, we may not be able to play every movie live during the event but every movie will be available for viewing through our virtual platform within the show dates.

All chosen submitters will receive a digital laurel and be listed on the website.

Movies must have been created, filmed, and completed between 2019 to present.

You must own the rights or have permission to enter the submitted content.

Non-English content must provide Closed Captioning if selected. If not provided, the film will be subjected to disqualification. No refunds.

All submissions must be made through FilmFreeway. *No DVD, Links, or Blu-rays will be accepted.*

All chosen submitters will be given a link to view the event FREE through our partner's platform if you cannot attend live.

All chosen submitters will be given ONE FREE PASS to attend IN-PERSON!

All results will be notified by email. Please look in your SPAM in case you don't see any messages in your normal "inbox".

All accepted submissions must provide a link to the trailer and artwork for promotion. No hard copies are allowed.

ALL SUBMITTED MATERIAL MUST BE FREE OF WATERMARKS OF ANY KIND.

20 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Jamon Holmes

    Thanks to Barry, Nicole and rest of the staff. You guys are awesome. Thanks for having my film "The Fast Family: Underground," screen in fabulous Las Vegas Nevada. I will submit again soon.

    God Bless!!!

    Jamon

    April 2025
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you very much Jamon. It was pleasure to showcase your film to world and have you hang out with us. We have to do it again. In the meantime, keep the action going and keep creating!

  • Kaye Vassey

    Participating in this festival was an honor. Although I couldn't attend, the communication and hospitality were amazing. I will definitely be submitting more films in the future.

    July 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Hello Kaye,

    Thank you very much for the support and for submitting your great work to our event. Creators like yourselves are the inspiration we thrive on as we build this exciting new space for the indie-action-filmmaker. We look forward to your future work, in our future festivals.

  • Emre Orun

    This Non-Profit Film Festival is very high end, staff are very friendly and helpful, film screenings live in person and streaming for two days, entertainment, networking, awards and more…
    I am honored to participate this festival as a guest speaker this year sharing my experiences in film and martial arts business with the audience.

    July 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you for the kind words Emre. It was a pleasure to have on board as professional contributor and as a film submitter. Everone had a great time during your workshop. Let's do it again next year!

  • Matthew Gorman

    It was a great honor to have my film showcased at the festival. I got to attend the event in person and had a great time meeting everyone. I look forward to see how the festival grows for future events.

    July 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Hello Matthew,

    Thank you very much for attending Matthew and becoming a part of the GainesCon family...it was a pleasure to meet you. So, just keep filming, and let's do it again next year!

  • Mark Francis

    How was Gaines Con? NOT GOOD. Was very excited to be a part of this event as a cast member and friend lives in Vegas and was going to attend. We got selected to be shown back in May. Got a strange email from a separate company called eoFlix stating that they were still waiting for me to send a 1080p version of the movie so it can be shown. Nobody uses 1080p the quality is terrible. We only upload in 4k. It also stated we HAD to upload the film to this eoFilx streaming site so the public can watch our movie for free and give this company free licensing to show our film on their site or we can't be a part of Gaines Con and our movie would NOT be shown at the festival. TOTAL SCAM! I was pretty disgusted at this point. Our film has won over 160 awards in the last 2 months at film festivals and horror conventions worldwide, I'm not giving away free licensing to anybody, especially under extortion where we won't be shown at the festival either if we don't agree. FOUR different people emailed me, blasting me for questioning this, and even the owner Barry Gaines, who seems like a nice guy, wrote twice. Said they'd still show it and we'd be in the competition but didn't HAVE to give it to eFlx for free streaming. Event comes, we WERE NOT shown at the event and of course we didn't win. NO THANKS. NEVER AGAIN. I would not recommend to any other indie film makers. What I really want is my 35 dollar submission fee back.

    July 2024
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    Response from festival:

    Hello Mark,

    I'm sorry you felt you had a bad experience. I know eoFlix sent out a misword request that Wednesday. but they did follow it up with an appolgy after I spoke with them. Also, as a note, your film was played as scheduled on the first day as the third film. We even had 2 people come up to us stating that they really enjoyed the scene where you were discussing the artifacts. One of those poeople worked for the U.S. Senate Office of Nevada. Also, if you did have any trouble viewing the event online, I wish knew. I would of fix it by providing you a personal link.

    So, as a token of our appology, we will be sending you back your $35.00. We pride ourselves on being transparent, inclusive, and honest with every artist.

    So again, we appologize for any miscommunication and we wish you nothing but fortune in your future film endeavours.