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 2 film festivals complete we are looking forward to our 3rd annual film festival in the Summer of 2025. It is broken up into 7 categories: Best Drama, Best Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi, Best Comedy, Best Documentary, Best Black Cinema, Best Potential Series Pilot, and 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:
Opening Date & Early Bird - January 1, 2025
Late Deadline - May 1, 2025
Notification Date - May 30, 2025
Virtual Festival - June 1, 2025 through June 30, 2025 (on Mometu)
In-Person Screening - July 26, 2025 (@ Harmony Gold Preview House on Sunset Blvd.)

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

Educational Virtual Panels:
- Opening Festival Q&A with the Founders (May 31, 2025)
- Marketing Panel - Learn how to get your film seen (TBD)
- Filmmaking Panel - Learn from current industry filmmakers on what to expect (TBD)
- Distribution Panel - Learn about licensing & distribution (TBD)
- Film Festival Strategies - Learn how to best plan for your festival run (TBD)

2025 Awards:

- Best Picture | TBD

- Producer Pick | TBD

- Audience Award | $500 Cash Prize presented by OTTera

Categories:

- Best Drama | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Comedy | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Black Cinema | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Documentary | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Horror/Thriller/Sci-Fi | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Foreign Language | $500 Cash Prize

- Best Potential Pilot | $500 Cash Prize

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 Film Freeway 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
  • Abigail Salmon

    A wonderful festival experience! Thanks to all who made it happen, I had a great time.

    November 2024
  • Attending the Mometu College Shorts Film Festival was a transformative experience that left a lasting impact on me. The festival represents the pinnacle of excellence in the film industry and I feel privileged to have had our short film, Spare Me part of the 2024 festival. This is personally the first time I've had a film premiered in LA on Sunset Blvd which was a wholesome feeling. From the team to fellow filmmakers, everyone welcomed me and the cast and crew into the Mometu gang/ family with open arms, making the experience even more special. I am immensely grateful to Bryan, and the entire Mometu College Shorts Film Festival team for making it an unforgettable experience that has inspired me to create even better films in the future.

    July 2024
  • audrey saca

    Great film festival that connects you to industry professionals while also teaching about marketing your film successfully, great group of people!

    July 2024
  • Mometu hosted the best film festival I have ever been a part of. They provided crucial resources for us early filmmakers leading up to the event. On the date of the event they provided networking opportunities and mentorship. The venue was very nice and in a beautiful location. I will never forget this moment, as it has heavily inspired the next few years of my early career. I am extremely sad to know that I no longer qualify to be a part of the festival! It was that great of an experience.

    Well worth it! 

    July 2024
  • Amazing film festival! They treat you with a lot of kindness, open arms, and opportunities to learn. I recommend it to anyone looking to submit!

    June 2024