FESTIVAL DATES ARE THURSDAY APRIL 24 - SUNDAY APRIL 27TH
Whether your work is sublime, beautiful, narrative, abstract, funny, terrifying or just wonderfully weird; the Pueblo Film Fest invites artists to present films of all kinds to be screened for the second year, 2025.

This year the fest is held in downtown Pueblo Colorado. Home of heroes, fire roasted chilies, and for three-ish days April 24-27th, 2024 the best damn film fest we know how to present.

We intend to pull the curtain back on the Pueblo art scene and celebrate the full potential of filmmakers from all over the planet who create amazing experiences through endless hours of determined grit and our shear love for storytelling.

We are looking to celebrate filmmakers in the feature film and short film industry through never-before seen premieres, powerful and meaningful workshops, and tracks with a deep meaning and purpose. Before entering please check out our themed specialty tracks and see if your film identifies with any of them.

THURSDAY, APRIL 24TH, 2025 -- Join us at the Blo Back Gallery from 5pm-10pm for the kick-off party and meet N greet! Experience the excitement of the Pueblo Film Fest, connect with fellow film enthusiasts, enjoy live performances, film screenings by the Youth Documentary Academy, and get a sneak peek at what’s in store.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25TH, 2024 -- Beginning at 11am - Head over to the Pueblo Convention Center and enjoy multiple blocks of short film screenings & features in our new creative tracks; in addition to exhibitors, vendors, and Food Trucks!

SATURDAY, APRIL 26th, 2024 -- Beginning at 11am - Enjoy multiple blocks of short film screenings at the Pueblo Convention Center & feature films at Memorial Hall. Our new creative tracks, exhibitors, and food trucks will all be present!

AT 5PM head out to dinner at one of our partner locations and return for the Red Carpet Cocktail Hour followed by the Steely Award Show!

RED CARPET COCKTAIL HOUR– at 6pm the whole INTERNATIONAL community of artists and filmmakers is invited to join us on the red carpet for professional photography, mixing, and mingling at Pueblo's 1 City Center Place inside Memorial Hall.

THE STEELY AWARDS– at 8pm the whole Southern Colorado art & film community is invited to join us to celebrate the amazing films submitted and discover the winners of the festival. The show will feature our talented host ANNOUNCED SOON as well as performances live by The Hardly Nevers, The Stilts, and more of your favorite Colorado artists!

SUNDAY, APRIL 28TH, 2024 -- At 10am we will be hosting a Festival Staff, volunteer, and Filmmaker participants exclusive send off brunch. All accepted films, Festival EP’s, Producers, and film EP’s, Producers, & Directors are welcome to attend at the Heroes Pavillion in the Pueblo Convention Center.

See the 2024 Inaugural Year report HERE: https://docs.google.com/document/d/12Tx-tZyoQHPegXulgSPvAFiKCcRlEoDXz5iXihNOMgA/pub

Best of the Heritage Film Track (For BIPOC Filmmakers)
Best Short & Best Feature

Best Truth Teller Film (The Documentary Track)
Best Short & Best Feature

Best of the Environmental Track
Best Short & Best Feature

Best Women In Film
Best Short & Best Feature

Shorts & Features will be competing for the following...

PFFs Filmmaker to Watch Award
Best Cinematography
Best Actor
Best Editing
Best Score or Original Music
Best Experimental Film

BEST SHORT AWARDS
Best Animation
Best Student Film
Colorado Short Award
Best Experimental

BEST SHORT OF THE FESTIVAL

BEST FEATURE OF THE FESTIVAL

SPECIAL AWARD
The Local Film Advocacy Award (Nominations will open shortly for you to nominate anyone making a difference in Film Local Advocacy near or far.) Keep an eye on our Facebook!

PEOPLE’s CHOICE (Short or Feature)
We will use on IMDB & Rotten Tomatoes & Letterbox for this this year so that ALL filmmakers leave the festival with quality ratings in useful places!

Filming must have been completed within the last 3 years.
- Many of our categories for submission are 'Open Genre' which means regardless of the genre of your film if the subject matter applies to your film then don't hesitate to submit in that space.
- Films may be moved to different categories than that which they were submitted under based on the judges and programmers development of the overall program. We will not charge any additional submission fees for this. Please email us if you feel your film qualifies under more than one category.
- Films in the BIPOC & Women's track should submit and follow the submission with a brief email to PuebloFilmFest@gmail.com indicating the demographics of their credits cast & crew to the best of their ability to confirm qualification for these tracks.
- Film must not have been screened at the 2024 Inaugural Festival. Films that did not make the 2024 cut are welcome to resubmit. We had 128 submissions and not all the films we wanted to include could be included due to time constraints.
- Filmmaker is responsible to provide the film password and screener upon submission or this is an automatic disqualification without refund.
- Film must be shot in horizontal and not vertical with the exception of Experimental films.
- Films will only be considered SHORT if they are a maximum length of 40 minutes.
- Films will only be considered FEATURES if they are between 41 - 100 Minutes in length.
- Multiple entries are accepted.
- The filmmaker must hold the rights to the film and all its components, including music, images, and script, ensuring there are no legal issues that could arise from screening the film publicly.
- The film should not be owned by any separate distributor or include distribution fees.
- Entry/Screening Fees are non-refundable
- ALL submitters are invited to attend at no cost regardless of submission acceptance to the festival. Even if your film isn’t selected, your submission fee covers the cost of your attendance. We value your voice and your participation regardless of judging status.
- Films should indicate after receiving preliminary acceptance if this is a US Premiere - as Premiere’s will be given certain placement in the schedule.
- Films should not submit if you have a distribution contract that prevents your film from screening in the festival without a certain distribution fee attached.
- Accepted films should be prepared to add the custom Pueblo Film Festival laurel to their artwork upon final acceptance.
- Please have the editor listed in your credits. Please be prepared to provide that information to the festival.
- Please indicate if the score or music or is original and credit the person who has the majority responsibility in creating the score. Please be prepared to provide that information to the festival.
- Stereo Audio specs

- Ideally submissions will not have been distributed in full public viewing prior to the festival on any free online PUBLIC platform such as YouTube, Vimeo, etc. This is not a requirement but a guideline. We do encourage all films to have a Publicly available Trailer on YouTube or their website that we can link to in order to effectively market you and your film as we market the festival! Making your film a success is a priority to us...help us to do that.

-Ideally submissions are available in the ProRes422HQ or higher format and link to download would be emailed to the Festival within 1 Week of Preliminary Acceptance.

- Closed Captions are appreciated.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • D. Andrew Hartfield

    We were honored to be an Official Selection to the Inaugural Pueblo Film Fest and appreciate the hard work and support of filmmakers by the many volunteers. There were only a few "first festival" glitches (the two screening rooms had a great disparity in quality) but I believe this will be a fantastic festival going forward.

    October 2024
  • Johnnie Brannon

    Thank you for having us. Wishing nothing but continued success and growth!

    May 2024
  • Elizabeth Mihelich

    The first year of the Pueblo Film Festival was very exciting. A well run festival, held in a beautiful venue! I can't wait to see what the next few years bring! Submit now and become a part of this exciting new fest!

    May 2024
  • Jim Hall

    WOW! Highly recommend this festival. Absolutely blown away by the hospitality and vitality of Pueblo. Well thought out event with opportunities to connect with iconic film industry members in attendance. When they roll out the Red Carpet at the Pueblo Film Fest, they really ROLL iT OUT! Inaugural year presented like a 10th anniversary edition with attention to every detail that makes filmmakers feel at home. Support this festival with all your ART & HEART and SOUL!

    May 2024
  • Mason Flint

    A young, charming, and exciting festival. Staff were friendly and very responsive. Thank you PFF for having me, and I'm looking forward to watching this operation grow over the coming years.

    May 2024