"I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you and the team at the Independent Film Institute for selecting Eximo. The detailed evaluation provided is exceptionally insightful and will be invaluable in my continued development as a filmmaker. I will share the evaluation verbally with the relevant crew members via a secure video call.
Thank you once again for your belief in my work and for this distinct honor." - Mayed Al Qasimi, Director of "Eximo"
"Thank you so much for this! I can't wait to share the evaluation with the team that helped make it possible. Very grateful for the kind words." - Christopher Crompton, Director of "A New Eden"
"I really appreciate the extremely detailed evaluation! It was a great eye
opener on what I need to improve on for any future films. I could see
myself submitting a film to IFI in the future just for the evaluation." - Wayne Winterstein, Director of "Blinded"
"I am thrilled to have "Oh, Johnny!" selected by the IFI, and I sincerely
appreciate your valuable evaluation." - Lawrence Schwartz, Director of "Oh, Johnny"
"Thank you for this incredible honor and for selecting my film as an Official Selectee of IFI. I'm truly grateful for your kind words and for recognizing the work that went into the project. I’ll be sure to share the good news with the team, and we’ll proudly make use of the Official Selection laurel in our promotional materials." - Gary Centrone, Director of "Crown of Flowers"
"I'm so thankful for the in depth analysis. I am extremely overjoyed and grateful by how much effort was put into this response and your reception to the film." - Michael Matsui, Director of "You're On Your Own, Kid"
"The love and care they have for cinema and for Veterans is quite impressive and touching. Definitely a worthwhile experience." – Jeremiah Jahi, Military Veteran Filmmaker
"It is a new and refreshing way to help filmmakers. Thank you very much for accepting my film and thank you even more for the feedback. It was excellent feedback and it is nice to have fresh eyes on this project." – Kevin Almodovar, Director of "Until Death"
“Many thanks for the feedback. Fairly scathing assessment but very much appreciated” – Danny Crossman, Student Filmmaker
"Thanks for the thoughtful, insightful and professional evaluation of our film. Your team was right on the money on just about every aspect of the critique. I really appreciate the feedback." - Tor Larsen, Director of "A Conversation"
“My extreme thanks for your team’s evaluation of my film. It was well taken and lessons learned will be applied to our future films. I agree with much of what was suggested and many of those ideas may be implemented.” – Chuck Fishbein, Director of “Home, With Honors”
"We are humbled by your kind words of The Coming Convergence." – Carrie Miller of Ingenuity Films
"Many thanks and what an honor it is to be included in the fellowship. Thank you for your critique and very useful comments on our production." – Jason Meath, CEO of Meath Television Media LLC
"Again. Thank you. Your evaluation really helped me understand my film more and is also helpful for my future projects." – Roman Sotelo, Producer of "Grief"
"Excellent fellowship with great communication." – Michael Gavino, Writer, Director, and Producer of "For Greater Good."
“Thanks again for the detailed evaluation. This is really a unique kind of service and well worth the investment” – Thomas Brouns, Director
IFI Membership is an entry into an exclusive fellowship of film artisans, enthusiasts, and practitioners.
Independent Film Festival, aka IFI, was created to provide a quality venue for filmmakers to present quality works that illustrate mastery of the craft. The mission of IFI is to provide filmmakers with a platform to connect, learn, and reach people with quality stories via the video and film craft. Our films not only entertain but encourage conversation. They are powerful, thought-provoking, and cover a wide range of topics that you may not find anywhere else. All genre's are represented in various formats, from music videos to dramatic films and comedy to horror in short films, documentaries, animated works, music videos, and other styles. We are proud to be an official fundraiser for the Wounded Warrior Project and Operation Encore. We encourage donations to these and other worthy Veterans groups. We honor American Veterans by showcasing veteran made films and their stories and providing a discount to veteran filmmakers. We also offer student discounts and senior discounts.
We do everything we can to help filmmakers improve their craft and promote talented filmmakers. There are multiple ways we do this and fulfill our mission:
1) Unlike most festivals and as a thank you to filmmakers who submit their films to us, we provide an evaluation of films under 55 minutes as a courtesy. Our judges panel is made up of professionals who work in various parts of the business. Their evaluations are compiled into a master evaluation to give each filmmaker professional tips, tools, and advice they can use to improve their film and craft.
2) Selectees of IFI are offered an exclusive opportunity to join our filmmakers club where they have access to educational articles, tips, and advice we share with filmmakers and provide viewer feedback and interaction.
3) Club members also have multiple ways and opportunities to connect and build relationships with other filmmakers, movie fans, and friends in the community through round table discussions, online events, and conversations.
4) Script Consultation and Collaborative Services
Instructional films, documentaries, short shorts, shorts, features, and all types of films are accepted. However, films should not contain nudity or strong sexual content, glorified violence or excessive foul language unless such is required to portray the realities of war, persecution, or real life tragedy.
MORE DETAILS
We encourage all filmmakers to submit their work! Films are of various genres and have powerful stories to tell. Our winning films are chosen because they are technically sound, thought-provoking, and powerfully entertaining.
IFI also accepts screenplays for Consultation or Collaboration. Everything starts with a powerful though-provoking script, and IFI wants to help you get off to the right start.
Online memberships are also available. Members help review and award our filmmakers. They can vote on their favorite films in each category, and have the opportunity to provide valuable feedback to our filmmakers.
MEMBERSHIPS AND SPONSOR OPPORTUNITIES
We greatly appreciate all members, donors, and sponsors.
If you would like to inquire about becoming a sponsor, or for more information, please contact IFI at 727-798-1101.
IFI also offers a variety of membership packages for filmmakers and movie fans alike.
See the membership packages and read more at: independentfilminstitute.com
Interested in advertising on our website? We have spots available for businesses and non-profits. Call 727-798-1101.
If you'd like to submit a film, please read the Rules and Terms section first and then submit your film by clicking the "Submit Now" button at the top of this page.
All filmmakers receive an official written evaluation completed by our staff of professionals in the film industry. (However, written evaluations will not be provided for films over 55 minutes although those films will still be reviewed and are still equally considered for inclusion as an IFI Selectee). The evaluation is a courtesy and tool we provide to help filmmakers improve their film and craft. Those films that illustrate a high degree of mastery of the craft and have a unique, powerful, and thought-provoking story to tell are selected by the staff to be part of the Filmmakers Fellowship. A movie poster of their film or image from the film will be added to our official IFI Selectee page where viewers can click to get a brief summary of the film and short bio about cast and crew. Selectees are also invited to join the Filmmakers Club, which is an exclusive membership opportunity provided only to those gifted filmmakers selected by IFI. The Filmmakers Club gives IFI Selectees exclusive access to articles, tips, and essays from filmmakers, access to all of the films in IFI's library, and official IFI merch.
They may also be invited to exclusive events and meetings with the fellowship, and are also provided with "Official Selectee" laurel to use on their film's promotional items. Other promotional material, products, and discounts may be available, including the best price available on future submissions. Special merchandise and free production advice from the most gifted filmmakers is also available to our Fellowship members.