We accept family-friendly short films (15 minutes max.). Ours is a community-based, human-scale, family-friendly festival. We show all types of films in a family-oriented festival. This festival has grit: we carried on right through the pandemic, via a drive-in format! Categories include Comedy, Drama, Family & Home, Horror, Female Film Makers, and Kids/Animation.

Marcellus is a village in a wonderful setting along Nine-Mile Creek, with a limestone gorge, woods, valleys and the Finger Lakes nearby. We've grown in size and sophistication as a festival, but hopefully maintained our small-town values: bucolic, broad minded and surprisingly worldly. This is a village film festival: popcorn is the only thing on the menu, Mr Spielberg is unlikely to be here, and the volunteers working on the festival do it between their real jobs. We take the time to view and comment on all submissions, and even more on the Official Selections. And we think there will be some hidden jewels in the screenings, with new film-makers to watch out for. We sometimes shorten the name to M3F3!

Features:
- Youth (18 yrs old or younger) are free to submit! Use the coupon 'Youth' at submission time
- Student movies are 50% off! Use the coupon 'M3F3Student' at submission time
- Special Category 2023: Climate Change
- Payment of prize money within 7 days via paypal or venmo

Prizes will be given to the winners in each category, with an overall prize awarded by the audience and Festival Director to the most outstanding film submitted. We anticipate the awards in each category to be around $50, with the overall prize in the region of $100. Festival submission fees go towards prize monies, so these amounts go up or down depending on the number of submissions we get each year.

Thanks for considering submitting to our festival! We appreciate it. We know how many other festivals there are out there. Follow these simple rules for a trouble-free experience...

Films must be 15 minutes or less. Films must be submitted online via FilmFreeway and be available for screening as a digital file. You must be the copyright

Films must be available for screening as a digital file in MP4 format at HD720p definition. You must be the copyright holder to submit the film. You agree that by submitting the film, you have enabled the organizers of M3F3 to download Official Selections before the festival and exhibit the film during the festival. 

Films must have been completed after June 1 2022. Films must be available for screening during the M3F3, 11 November 2023.

We do not accept works-in-progress and will not update a submission with a more recent cut. Please do not submit your film until it is complete.

Your project will be assigned to a competition category at the discretion of the Festival Director.

Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed, the account holder may be subject to any fees. Films submitted using improper fee waivers (e.g. youth or student fee waiver with no supporting documentation uploaded) will be disqualified with no refund. You must supply a paypal or venmo accunt in order to receive prize money.

No films with inappropriate content (likely to be rated as R-Restricted) should be submitted to the M3F3 - all films are pre-screened and any films with inappropriate content (such as use of significant swearing) may be rejected from the competition. Use your judgement for PG-13 rated content.

Judges may not grade entries for which they are the submitter, know the submitter or are related to the submitter, nor may they grade entries in the same category as their own film.

Please Note: M3F3 does not waive entry fees. M3F3 believes waiving entry fees hurts the integrity of the competition. The same rules and entry fees should apply to all applicants so no one film is favored over another. In a similar respect, M3F3 does not invite films to be in competition. Only films that are submitted will be considered for competition.

holder to submit the film. You agree that by submitting the film, the organizers of M3F3 are at liberty to download before the festival and exhibit the film during the festival. Films not downloadable from FilmFreeway within a week of notification are disqualified.

Films must have been completed after 1st June 2022. Submitted films completed before this date may be disqualified. Films must be available for screening during the festival, November 2023.

We do not accept works-in-progress and will not update a submission with a more recent cut. Please do not submit your film until it is complete.

Please include in your submission comments if your film was shot in Marcellus, Onondaga County or Central New York (include locations) or made by CNY filmakers: we need this information to help with obtaining local grants. Films made elsewhere are of course very welcome and very popular!

M3F3 reserves the right to change the submission category at the discretion of the Festival Director. Once an entry payment has been processed we cannot provide a refund. If a payment is disputed, the account holder may be subject to any fees.

No films with inappropriate content (likely to be rated as R-Restricted) should be submitted to the M3F3. All films are pre-screened and any films with inappropriate content may be rejected from the competition. Use your judgement for PG-13 rated content.

Judges may not grade entries for which they are the submitter, know the submitter or are related to the submitter, nor may they grade entries in the same category as their own film.

Please Note: M3F3 does not waive entry fees. M3F3 believes waiving entry fees hurts the integrity of the competition. The same rules and entry fees should apply to all applicants so no one film is favored over another. In a similar respect, M3F3 does not invite films to be in competition. Only films that are submitted will be considered for competition.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Antonio Maria Castaldo

    Wonderful festival, one of the best

    November 2022
  • The Marcellus is a jewel Festival 💎 I highly recommend it to every Family Filmmaker 🎥 Honour and joy to selected our movie JUST LIKE WATER the audience as a Winner 🏆 Warm greetings with all of my love from Greece 🇬🇷

    January 2022
  • Jim Zounis

    It was such a great honor to have our Short Film selected to participate in the 'Marcellus Mini Movie Family Film Festival'. Thank you all so much.

    November 2021
  • manishw55 None

    Outstanding festival nice to be part

    November 2021
  • I was delighted that my short film The Extinction of Up was selected to be a part of this festival. They friendly staff provided excellent communication. I wish I could have attended - especially when I learned that the film received the honor of the Marcellus Grand Prize. It was very thrilling, and I look forward to submitting more films in the future to this lovely, family event. Thank you so much!

    November 2021