Founded in 2013, The Independent Creators Expo celebrated independent comics, music, film and small press in all forms. Deciding to expand, ICE partnered with Frankly Zoe Productions to produce the ICE Film Festival for their 2014 Expo. With attendance at the Expo growing each year, the ICE Film Fest wanted to showcase the best of the best when it comes to independent filmmakers.

In 2017, The Independent Creators Expo lost its location and made the tough decision to close its doors and shelve the film festival.

In 2020, R. Zoe Judd, the festival director decided to restart the festival. Unfortunately, in-person screenings stopped due to Covid. Zoe decided to wait until the film festival market recovered.

During the three years since the pandemic shut-down, creators have been producing some of the best and most unique content. Wanting to showcase the artists often overlooked by the main-stream festivals, Zoe decided to resurrect The Independent Creators Expo Film Festival as The Independent Creators Expo CineFest - opening the celebration up to films, screenplays, music, photography, posters, comics, and other graphic design.

Featuring monthly awards in all submission categories along with an annual in-person exhibition and film screenings the Independent Creators Expo is back!

Our panel of judges, all with extensive backgrounds in the independent film industry, digital design, writing, comics, photography, and music will pick the best submissions from all eligible entries.

Join us as we celebrate all independent creators at the Independent Creators Expo CineFest!

Awards & Prizes

Each month, our jury will pick winners in each category. 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. Top creators from all entry categories will be invited to our annual in-person event. Best of Winners for each category will be presented at the awards ceremony during the event. Creators included in the in-person event will be notified at least two months before the event scheduled for January of 2025.

Monthly Film Award Categories:
Best Short Film
Best Student Short Film
Best Micro-Short Film
Best Music Video
Best Vertical Video
Best Trailer
Best Action/Adventure Short Film
Best Animated Short Film
Best Biographical Short Film
Best Children's Short Film
Best Comedy Short Film
Best Crime Short Film
Best Documentary Short Film
Best Drama Short Film
Best Experimental Short Film
Best Family Short Film
Best Fan Film Short Film
Best Fantasy Short Film
Best Film Noir Short Film
Best Horror Short Film
Best Inspirational Short Film
Best LGBTQ+ Short Film
Best Musical Short Film
Best Mystery Short Film
Best Parody Short Film
Best Period/Historic Short Film
Best Romance Short Film
Best Romantic Comedy Short Film
Best Science Fiction Short Film
Best Social Justice Short Film
Best Supernatural Short Film
Best Thriller Short Film
Best War Short Film
Best Western Short Film
Best Directing in a Short Film
Best Writing in a Short Film
Best Cinematography in a Short Film
Best Lead Performance in a Short Film
Best Supporting Performance in a Short Film
Best Ensemble Performance in a Short Film
Best Editing in a Short Film
Best Visual Effects in a Short Film
Best Practical Effects in a Short Film
Best Sound Design in a Short Film
Best Production Design in a Short Film
Best Original Score/Soundtrack in a Short Film
Best Feature Film
Best Student Feature Film
Best Action/Adventure Feature Film
Best Animated Feature Film
Best Biographical Feature Film
Best Children's Feature Film
Best Comedy Feature Film
Best Crime Feature Film
Best Documentary Feature Film
Best Drama Feature Film
Best Experimental Feature Film
Best Family Feature Film
Best Fan Film Feature Film
Best Fantasy Feature Film
Best Film Noir Feature Film
Best Horror Feature Film
Best Inspirational Feature Film
Best LGBTQ+ Feature Film
Best Musical Feature Film
Best Mystery Feature Film
Best Parody Feature Film
Best Period/Historic Feature Film
Best Romance Feature Film
Best Romantic Comedy Feature Film
Best Science Fiction Feature Film
Best Supernatural Feature Film
Best Thriller Feature Film
Best War Feature Film
Best Western Feature Film
Best Directing in a Feature Film
Best Writing in a Feature Film
Best Cinematography in a Feature Film
Best Lead Performance in a Feature
Best Supporting Performance in a Feature
Best Ensemble Performance in a Feature
Best Editing in a Feature
Best Visual Effects in a Feature
Best Practical Effects in a Feature
Best Sound Design in a Feature
Best Production Design in a Feature
Best Original Score/Soundtrack in a Feature

Monthly Script Award Categories:
Best Short Script
Best Student Short Script
Best Action/Adventure Short Script
Best Animated Short Script
Best Biographical Short Script
Best Children's Short Script
Best Comedy Short Script
Best Crime Short Script
Best Documentary Short Script
Best Drama Short Script
Best Experimental Short Script
Best Family Short Script
Best Fan Film Short Script
Best Fantasy Short Script
Best Film Noir Short Script
Best Horror Short Script
Best Inspirational Short Script
Best LGBTQ+ Short Script
Best Musical Short Script
Best Mystery Short Script
Best Parody Short Script
Best Period/Historic Short Script
Best Romance Short Script
Best Romantic Comedy Short Script
Best Science Fiction Short Script
Best Social Justice Short Script
Best Supernatural Short Script
Best Thriller Short Script
Best War Short Script
Best Western Short Script
Best Feature Script
Best Student Feature Script
Best Action/Adventure Feature Script
Best Animated Feature Script
Best Biographical Feature Script
Best Children's Feature Script
Best Comedy Feature Script
Best Crime Feature Script
Best Documentary Feature Script
Best Drama Feature Script
Best Experimental Feature Script
Best Family Feature Script
Best Fan Film Feature Script
Best Fantasy Feature Script
Best Film Noir Feature Script
Best Horror Feature Script
Best Inspirational Feature Script
Best LGBTQ+ Feature Script
Best Musical Feature Script
Best Mystery Feature Script
Best Parody Feature Script
Best Period/Historic Feature Script
Best Romance Feature Script
Best Romantic Comedy Feature Script
Best Science Fiction Feature Script
Best Supernatural Feature Script
Best Thriller Feature Script
Best War Feature Script
Best Western Feature Script

Monthly Music Award Categories:
Best Alternative
Best Blues
Best Children's
Best Classical
Best Comedy
Best Commercial
Best Country
Best Dance
Best Easy Listening
Best Electronic
Best Folk
Best Hip-Hop
Best Industrial
Best Inspirational
Best Instrumental
Best Jazz
Best Latin
Best Metal
Best New Age
Best Opera
Best Pop
Best R&B
Best Reggae
Best Rock
Best Spoken Word
Best Vocal Only
Best World

Monthly Graphic Design, Art, & Photography Award Categories:
Best Poster
Best Cover Art
Best Comic
Best Illustration
Best Motion Graphics
Best Topography
Best Digital Art
Best Digital Art Abstract
Best Digital Art Abstraction
Best Digital Art Collage
Best Digital Art Expressionism/Fauvism
Best Digital Art Impressionism
Best Digital Art Optical Illusion
Best Digital Art Print Design
Best Digital Art Realism
Best Digital Art Drawing
Best Digital Art Charcoal Drawing
Best Digital Art Marker Drawing
Best Digital Art Pastels Drawing
Best Digital Art Pen Drawing
Best Digital Art Pencil Drawing
Best Digital Art Acrylic Painting
Best Digital Art Oil Painting
Best Digital Art Watercolor Painting
Best Digital Art Performance
Best Traditional Art
Best Traditional Art Abstract
Best Traditional Art Abstraction
Best Traditional Art Expressionism/Fauvism
Best Traditional Art Impressionism
Best Traditional Art Optical Illusion
Best Traditional Art Painterly
Best Traditional Art Photorealism
Best Traditional Art Pop Art
Best Traditional Art Realism
Best Traditional Art Drawing
Best Traditional Art Charcoal Drawing
Best Traditional Art Marker Drawing
Best Traditional Art Pastels Drawing
Best Traditional Art Pen Drawing
Best Traditional Art Pencil Drawing
Best Traditional Art Acrylic Painting
Best Traditional Art Oil Painting
Best Traditional Art Watercolor Painting
Best Traditional Art Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Additive Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Assembled Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Carved Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Cast Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Earthwork Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Installation Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Kinetic Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Modeled Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Relief Sculpture
Best Traditional Sculpture in the Round
Best Traditional Subtractive Sculpture
Best Traditional Art Collage
Best Traditional Art Mixed Media
Best Photography
Best Abstract Photography
Best Aerial Photography
Best Animal/Pet Photography
Best Architecture Photography
Best Astrophotography
Best Behind the Scenes Photography
Best Black & White Photography
Best Candid Photography
Best Documentary Photography
Best Drone Photography
Best Double Exposure Photography
Best Fashion Photography
Best Flora Photography
Best Food/Beverage Photography
Best Headshot Photography
Best Landscape Photography
Best Lifestyle Photography
Best Life Event Photography
Best Macro Photography
Best Nature Photography
Best Paranormal Photography
Best Photojournalism Photography
Best Portrait Photography
Best Sports Photography
Best Still Life Photography
Best Street Photography
Best Surreal Photography
Best Weather Photography

Annual Awards:
Best Short Film
Best Feature Film
Best Short Script
Best Feature Script
Best Music Performance
Best Digital Art Submission
Best Art Submission
Best Photo

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.

Rules & Terms

Rules & Terms

Monthly Awards
• October finalists & winners will be informed by October 31 with the winners announced online November 5.
• November finalists & winners will be informed by November 30 with the winners announced online December 5.
• December finalists & winners will be informed by December 31 with the winners announced online January 5.
• January finalists & winners will be informed by January 31 with the winners announced online February 5.
• February finalists & winners will be informed by February 28 with the winners announced online March 5.
• March finalists & winners will be informed by March 31 with the winners announced online April 5.
• April finalists & winners will be informed by April 30 with the winners announced online May 5.
• May finalists & winners will be informed by May 31 with the winners announced online June 5.
• June finalists & winners will be informed by June 30 with the winners announced online July 5.
• July finalists & winners will be informed by July 31 with the winners announced online August 5.
• August finalists & winners will be informed by August 31 with the winners announced online September 5.
• September finalists & winners will be informed by September 30 with the winners announced online October 5.

In-Person Event
• The in-person event for our monthly award winners will occur in January of 2025 in Cincinnati, Ohio. There will be several locations throughout the city.
• Winners will be informed by November 15th, 2024 of the location and exact day of their screening or exhibition.

We only accept submissions via FilmFreeway. Payment is expected at the time of submission. No refunds will be issued and we do not pay exhibition fees.

Submitting to ICE implies ownership of the content submitted and/or permission to submit the content and have it exhibited. Submitting your content grants the rights to ICE CineFest to utilize an excerpt/image from any submission for promotional purposes. Multiple entries are allowed for each submitter. Each entry may be submitted to multiple categories. Categories where winners are chosen may change each month if the required minimum number of entries is not received in a category. For any category listed as student or first time, proof may be required to win an award in that category. We reserve the right to refuse entries, limit entries, and close entries early. The jury can remove an entry from the competition at any time. Entry fees are non-refundable. The person, company, or corporation submitting the entry hereby warrants that they are authorized to do so and authorizes ICE CineFest to exhibit the entry publicly, privately, and/or virtually without any fee. The person, company, or corporation understands and accepts these requirements, regulations, and rules. They agree to indemnify and hold harmless ICE CineFest from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses – including but not limited to attorney’s fees costs of court, and other unforeseeable expenses – which may be incurred by reason of any and all claims involving copyright, trademarks, credits, screenings, press, publicity, and other unforeseeable and unexpected claims. By submitting the film, the person, company, or corporation acknowledges that they have read, understood, acknowledged, and accepted all rules and regulations.
6 Reviews
Overall Rating
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  • Douglas Heil

    ICE CineFest is wonderfully distinctive in their support for the interplay of movies with music. And unlike so many competitions, they support projects in development — the stage where external recognition is especially valuable. We are so grateful that ICE has recently honored our Four Flames indie film project with three different awards: Best Musical Feature Script, Best Jazz Song, and Best Comedy Song.

    March 2024
    Helpful
    Feature1b
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for your kind words. It is OUR pleasure to honor your indie projects!

  • Harry Waldman

    Thank you for selecting "Bay For Blood" as an award winner for Best Thriller Short Film at your festival!

    February 2024
    Helpful
    Feature1b
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so very much. We're so glad to have had your short as part of our festival!

  • martin del carpio

    Thank you for the Best art Digital Collage win.

    November 2023
    Helpful
    Feature1b
    Response from festival:

    You're very welcome. We'd love for you to resubmit your disqualified photos to conform to the festival rules. Our panel of judges felt it was unfortunate that they had to be disqualified and were looking forward to them being resubmitted. Feel free to email us for a code if you're interested in resubmitting. We're honored to have had your Collage honoring Poe in the competition.

  • Amir Farhoud

    Thank you so much for showing my project. I am glad that I won an award in your amazing festival

    November 2023
    Helpful
    Feature1b
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so much for submitting! Looking forward to seeing your future work!

  • raja hanna

    Thank you for awarding our movie Love Intense as winner in the best experimental short of October. It has been a great experience and immense honor to parti in your festival.

    November 2023
    Helpful
    Feature1b
    Response from festival:

    Thank you so very much for the kind words. It's our pleasure. Looking forward to seeing more of your work!