The Midwest Monster Film Fest is the first horror film festival in the Quad Cities area, which consists of Moline & Rock Island of Illinois, and Davenport & Bettendorf of Iowa, along the mighty Mississippi River. It is open to the public, and local patrons are encouraged to come!

It is our goal to provide a showcase for indie filmmakers who will have the opportunity to have their work seen and appreciated by fellow horror lovers, scored by a panel of judges where the top films win an award, as well as the chance to network with others in the field.

The film festival takes place on Septmber 3rd & 4th 2021, during the second annual Midwest Monster Fest horror covention, held at The Rust Belt in East Moline, IL. This 3 day event features celebrity guests and panel discussions, an fx competition, a cosplay contest, vendors galore, an awards ceremony for the winning filmmakers, and an after party to celebrate the fest. This year's guests include C.J. Graham, Linnea Quigley, Thom Matthews, Richie Ramone, Rob Mello, Marc Price, Clint Howard, and more!!!

If you're film is selected, you and any cast/crew will receive free admission. We would love for you to come speak about your film.

Awards & Prizes

AWARDS
Best Feature
Runner Up Feature
Best Short
Runner Up Short
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Monster
Best Maniac
Best FX
Bloodiest Kill

The filmmakers with winning films in each category will receive festival winner laurels, and a plaque featuring the festival mascot, sculpted and hand painted by award-winning special fx artist Izzy Sutton.

GENERAL RULES
Feature Film: 65-120 minutes including credits
Short Film: Under 20 minutes including credits

Each work is judged solely on its own merits.

Rules & Terms

***PLEASE READ ALL RULES & TERMS!!!***

The Midwest Monster Film Fest requires all films, short or feature, to be of the HORROR GENRE in order to be considered for our festival program. They can also be sci-fi, fantasy, comedy, documentary, animation, experimental, etc. as long as they contain the element of HORROR.

***FAN FILMS ARE NOT ACCEPTED!!!!***
As much as we love the classics, we will not accept fan films in any manner. Originality is the key, submit at your own risk!!!

*Foreign films MUST be subtitled or dubbed in English or they will not be accepted.

*We do not accept films that contain copyrighted music unless you've licensed it and are cleared for festival use. Submitting your film is your way of acknowledging that all steps have been taken to clear your music and the festival is not liable for copyright infringement.

Entry Formats-
***We only accept online screeners as submissions, however if you have a feature that is accepted, we ask that you supply us with a DVD or Blu-ray.
*DO NOT SEND YOUR SUBMISSION FEE IN ANY FORM WITH A DVD MAILER. SUBMISSIONS FEES MUST BE PAID THROUGH FilmFreeway!!!***

PLEASE SEND A DVD OR BLU-RAY (NTSC format only!) to
P.O. Box 562
Colona, IL 61241
United States

We encourage digital submissions.
All films must have been completed after January 2019.

FINAL PRESENTATION FORMAT: DVD, BLU-RAY, mp4.

All materials will not be returned, and will become the property of Midwest Monster Film Fest. (Only the discs. ;)
6 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Angel Suarez

    Great festival hosted by great people. A must in your festival tour.

    September 2020
    Helpful
  • Michael Fausti

    Wasn't able to attend in person but what a great festival! Excellent communication throughout and the festival has a good social media presence. Well worth submitting to. Hope to attend one day in person, looks incredible.

    February 2020
    Helpful
  • Julian Rachev

    Great communication. Thank you for choosing "Forgiveness" as a part of the festival.

    November 2019
    Helpful
  • Jeff Sanders

    Izzy and Co. do a great job putting on a event that all horror fans will love. I was honored to have Lay Me Down to Sleep play there.

    September 2019
    Helpful
  • Ray Kermani

    It was truly a great honor to have been part of this amazing event, thank you!

    September 2019
    Helpful