The Mometu College Film Festival (MCFF) is a space for college students to submit their short films to a festival that is solely meant for them and their peers to compete against each other, while having the unique opportunity to be seen via our streaming app that can be downloaded on all major streaming devices and smart tv's. With 3 film festivals complete we are looking forward to our 4th annual film festival in the Summer of 2026. It is broken up into 8 categories: Best Drama, Best Horror/Sci-Fi, Best Action/Thriller, Best Comedy, Best Documentary, Best Black Cinema, Best Animation, & Best Foreign Language Film. Submitted films will be screened prior to being approved. Once all films have been screened and approved, they will be uploaded for a limited time onto Mometu's streaming app for live viewing to the public for the virtual portion of our festival. Category winners will then be screened in-person at The Harmony Gold Preview House where Best Picture, Producer's Pick, and Audience Award will be chosen live. There will also be a few educational panels during the virtual festival for students to learn from industry executives and filmmakers.

Important Dates:
Call for Submissions - January 1, 2026
Final Deadline - May 24, 2026
Notification Date - May 29, 2026
Virtual Festival - June 1, 2026 through June 30, 2026 (on Mometu)
In-Person Screening - August 1, 2026 (@ Harmony Gold Preview House)

Check our IG page out @mometucollegefilmfest

Submissions will be graded on originality (10%), creativity (10%), plot (10%), writing (10%), characters/performance (10%), cinematography (10%), production value (10%), entertainment value (5%), and overall minutes watched/unique users/sessions on Mometu (25%).

Entry Fee - $25 per Category Submission

2025 Educational Virtual Panels:
- Opening Festival Q&A with the Founders
- Marketing Panel - Engage your audience with Bryan Louzil of Mometu
- Filmmaking Panel - Learn from veteran indie filmmaker Dan Mirvish
- Distribution Panel - Learn about licensing & distribution with Sarah Craig
- Film Festival Strategies - Plan you festival run with Jon Fitzgerald of Cause Pictures

2025 Awards:

- Best Picture | Brand New TV & Camera presented by TCL

- Producer Pick | Short to Feature presented by INSVRGENCE

- Audience Award | $500 Cash Prize presented by OTTera

- Rising Creators | 3 Rising Creator Memberships presented by NFMLA

Categories:

- Best Drama | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Comedy | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Black Cinema | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Documentary | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Foreign Language | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

- Best Potential Pilot | $500 Cash Prize, Distribution Offer & Filmustage Subscription

Rules:

1. MCFF defines a short film as any film with a running time of 30 minutes or less. Any film longer than 30 minutes will not be considered. For this festival, every film submitted must have a minimum of 5 minutes.

2. Films that have been previously submitted to MCFF are ineligible.

3. All applicants must complete the official festival submission form located on FilmFreeway.

4. MCFF reserves the right to disqualify any film not submitted through these websites without refund of any application fees.

5. The applicant holds the sole responsibility of copyright clearance of any copyrighted material in the film. Films including unauthorized copyrighted material are ineligible.

6. Films not in English must be subtitled in English unless dialogue is minimal and not necessary for the comprehension of the Film.

7. Once a film has been approved by MCFF as a proper submission, the applicant will then sign an agreement for their film to be uploaded onto Mometu's streaming service as part of the voting process mentioned in the category listing. Any submission that does not have this signed agreement with Mometu will automatically not qualify for 25% of the voting points awarded.

8. Any advertising revenue generated from a submitted film being placed onto Mometu’s streaming platform will be used for the film festival for any operational expenses occurred.

9. Submitting person must be enrolled in a university or college located inside of North America to be considered eligible for this film festival. Films will be accepted by current active college students or recent graduates that made a film during their time as a student up to 24 months of the film festival submission date from the graduation date. If any confirmation is needed, we may request an email from a professor from your school to confirm your student or recent student status.

10. Only one submission per person per genre. This meaning that one person may submit multiple films in a single year, but they must not overlap into the same category.

Terms:

1. Films submitted by mail will not be returned. Films will only be accepted via FilmFreeway and then be asked to have a delivery form filled out with the film file, artwork, metadata, and closed captions/subtitles if available. Films in the Foreign Language Film category must have closed captions/subtitles in English.

2. Multiple versions of the same film will not be considered. Only the first submitted version of a film will be considered for MCFF.

3. If the submitted film does not play, MCFF staff will make an attempt to contact the applicant based on the contact information supplied at the time of submission in order to obtain a replacement. If a replacement is not available, MCFF reserves the right to disqualify the film without refunding the submission fees.

4. MCFF will attempt, but is under no obligation, to view a submission that arrives after the designated deadline without refund of the submission fee.

5. Submitted films that qualify based on the regulations and eligibility requirements stated here will be seen by MCFF panel and be considered equally with all other submissions.

6. MCFF reserves the right to disqualify any film for non-payment of the submission fee. MCFF will attempt to contact the applicant based on the contact information supplied at the time of submission in order to resolve non-payment status.

7. Applicants acknowledge that MCFF reserves the right to change the nature of screenings and events due to circumstances related to public health and welfare or at the direction of local, state, or federal authorities. In such cases no submission refunds shall be issued.

8. MCFF is under no obligation to provide comments regarding submitted films to any applicant. The festival is not responsible for any internal comments obtained by the applicant regarding their film.

9. MCFF has the right to disqualify a submitted film and not publish onto Mometu if it deems the film to be inappropriate in any nature, contains excessive nudity, and/or has excessive explicative language. This will be at the discretion of MCSFF and submission fees shall not be refunded.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Suffolk University

    This festival was a breath of fresh air! The lengths they go to in order to make student filmmakers feel welcome in the industry is truly remarkable. I loved the panels and being able to tell friends and family members to check out my work on streaming!

    Bryan and Mometu do a great job at building hype for the festival and making it fun for all involved. Was disappointed I wasn't able to attend the event in LA due to scheduling conflicts, but am sure it was an unforgettable night as the rest of the festival experience was incredible!

    - Kely Maloney (director of Keytar Bear, winner of Best Documentary for the 2025 festival)

    August 2025
  • A film festival specifically made for student filmmakers who are still working on their craft and having the opportunity to see what other students are producing at their school; this has been an awesome experience!
    Film Schools really need to take Mometu College Film Festival SERIOUS! They have app and online presence to showcase films, and the partnerships they have makes for great networking.

    July 2025
  • We had an amazing time showing our thesis film, Best Kept Shut, at the Mometu College Film Festival! In addition to having our film featured on the Mometu platform, the online workshops added to the community experience and were truly valuable to us as recent graduates. The in-person event and awards ceremony were lots of fun and provided plenty of opportunities to meet other filmmakers and industry professionals.

    If you have a film that you want to share with the world and are growing as a filmmaker, this is a fantastic festival and resource. Many thanks to Bryan and the entire Mometu team.

    July 2025
  • This is a festival that feels like family!
    As a filmmaker fresh into the industry, having my senior thesis be a part of Mometu was a reminder of exactly why I chose this path. The sense of community, support, and celebration at this festival was amazing!!

    I was incredibly honored that my film was recognized but more than the awards, it was the people, fellow filmmakers, creatives, and the Mometu team who made it truly an amazing experience. Bryan and the entire team curated something special. From the moment you arrive, you’re not just another submission you’re part of a family.

    If you’re in college or recently graduated and poured your heart into a film, this is the festival for you.

    - Samantha Venturo, Sunday Dinna

    July 2025
  • If you are a college film maker and want a place to submit, this is the festival. They will make sure your film is viewed and taken care of plus so many opportunities that you would not get from other film festivals that just screen your film. Thank you to everyone over at Mometu for their hard work in putting together a memorable film festival.

    July 2025