Midwest Film Festival

PLEASE REVIEW OUR FAQ, BELOW:

THE MIDWEST FILM FESTIVAL IS DEDICATED TO MIDWEST FILMS. DEFINE "MIDWEST."
Midwest Film Festival defines the Midwest according to the Census Bureau's definition consisting of 12 states in the north-central United States: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

WHAT EXACTLY DO YOU MEAN BY "MIDWEST FILM?"
Ideally, a “Midwest film” is one that is wholly produced in the Midwest by Midwest filmmakers. However, on an individual basis, we do also consider films produced by Midwest filmmakers outside of the Midwest and films produced by non-Midwest filmmakers within the Midwest.

WHAT IS THE MAXIMUM LENGTH TO BE ELIGIBLE AS A SHORT?
A short subject must be 40 minutes or less.

SO IF A CHICAGO FILMMAKER SHOOTS A FILM IN WYOMING, WOULD THAT QUALIFY?
Films produced outside of the Midwest are considered on an individual basis. If a film is shot in Wyoming and the director, producer and lead actors are all from the Midwest, then it is likely we will accept that film for consideration. If a film is shot in Wyoming with an all-Wyoming cast and crew but only the editor is from the Midwest, it is unlikely we will accept the film for consideration. The best thing to do is to e-mail us before submitting your film if you are unsure your film will qualify.

WHAT ARE YOUR SPECIFICATIONS FOR FILM SUBMISSIONS (LENGTH, GENRE)?
For the 2025 season, The Midwest Film Festival is accepting both short-form content and feature films of all genres. We program a wide variety of genres including documentary, 35mm, horror, sci-fi, music videos, comedy, etc.

WHAT FACTORS CONTRIBUTE TO A FILM BEING CONSIDERED AS BELONGING TO A CERTAIN DEMOGRAPHIC?
At The Midwest Film Festival, we take a comprehensive approach when reviewing films to determine if they meet a certain demographic. We carefully consider not only the above-the-line crew, cast, and storyline but also the overall representation and inclusivity portrayed in the film. Our goal is to ensure that diverse perspectives and experiences are authentically represented on screen, fostering a more inclusive and equitable film industry.

WHEN WILL I BE NOTIFIED OF MY SUBMISSION STATUS?
Please Check Current Notification dates.

WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR IN A FILM AND WHAT IS YOUR SELECTION PROCESS?
We're dedicated to great Midwest filmmakers, films, and short-form stories of any genre within our categories, and each submission is considered and scored on an individual basis.

Upon submission, members of our Screening Committee** view and score each film 1-10 in the following areas: Creativity/originality (is it a fresh idea, creatively executed?), direction, writing, cinematography, performances, production value, pacing, structure, sound quality/music.

After Screening Committee members score each film in these areas, an overall score is calculated from each judge based on the average scores given in each area. Overall scores given by the judges are then calculated to formulate an overall average score. Films receiving high scores from the Screening Committee advance to be considered for screening.

Screening Committee members and festival leadership then work together to program the film lineup based on many factors like overall film quality, as well as other factors such as monthly theme, flow with other films (if showing multiple films in one night), timeliness of film's message, and similarity to other recently screened films. Which is to say, sometimes we have to reject great films because we recently showed a film on a similar topic or other very practical reason like that.

** Our Screening Committee is made up entirely of volunteers who are film industry professionals. At present, we have 12 members of the Screening Committee, and approximately 54% of the committee is global majority-identifying

I HAVE MORE QUESTIONS FOR YOU! WHAT SHOULD I DO?
No problem! Feel free to e-mail us at submissions@midwestfilm.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.