The Independent Awards is an exclusive competition to showcase your talent with the international film industry. We are happy to welcome filmmakers from all over the world. Our mission is to discover talented filmmakers from all over the world and help them promote their productions in our network, expanding their project possibilities. Our main goal is to showcase their brilliant projects in the major cities of the planet for a diverse audience of cinephiles. We will promote and feature every member of our community enhancing the opportunity for networking with directors, cast, crew and people from the industry.

All the Winners of The Independent Awards will receive a Winner Laurel, our Official Certificate (digital format) ready for printing, will be listed on our website, can list their win at our official IMDB https://www.imdb.com/event/ev0029636/overview/

We proudly announce all our IMDb qualifiying Categories

Your project might become a multi award winning film!.

CATEGORIES+

Best Short
Best Foreign short
Best Documentary Short
Best Animation Short
Best Experimental Short
Best Student Short
Best First Time Filmmaker Short
Best Horror Short
Best Music Video
Best Producer
Best Female Director
Best Male Director
Best Female Student Director
Best Male Student Director
Best Actress
Best Actor
Best New Actress/Actor
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Production Design
Best Sound Design
Best Original Score
Best Screenwriting
Best Actor Debut
Best Supporting Actress
Best Supporting Actor
Best Acting Ensemble
Best Cinematography
Best Editing
Best Production Design
Best Sound Design
Best Original Score
Best Screenwriting
Best Visual Effects
Best Costume Design
Best Makeup and Hairstyling
Best Young Filmmaker
Best Animator
Best Us Feature Film
Best International Feature film
Best Us Documentary Film
Best International Documentary Film
Best Director in a Long Feature Film
Best Women Filmmaker in a Long Feature Film
Best First-time Filmmaker in a Long Feature Film
Best Actor in a Long Feature Film
Best Actress in a Long Feature Film
Best Music in a Feature Film
Best Editing in a Feature Film
Best Cinematography in a Feature Film
Best Script in a Feature Film
For Short Films:
Best Us Narrative Short
Best International Narrative Short
Best Us Documentary Short
Best International Documentary Short
Best Us Experimental Short
Best International Experimental Short
Best Micro Short
Best Erotic Short
Best Music Video
Best High-school Level Short
Best Advertising
Best Director
Best Producer
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Child Actor/Actress
Best Script
Best Cinematographer
Best Editor
Best Music
Best Poster
Best Trailer
Best Animation
Best Music Video
Best Women Empowerment Short
Best Women filmmaker in Short
Best Student Short
Best First-time Filmmaker Short
Best Social Justice Short Film
Best Horror Short
Best Comedy Short
Best Family Short
Best Erotic Short
Best War Short
Best History Short
Best Thriller Short
Best Web Series/ Tv Pilot

Full list to the right.---------------------------

– Films must be submitted via an online screener ONLY.

– We do not accept films submitted on DVD.

– You are providing TIA a nonexclusive limited license to use segments of your film (including trailers/film posters/press kits/teasers) for promotional purposes.

-Submissions DO NOT guarantee selection.

-If selected, Filmmakers will receive our official laurel by email.

-All international films MUST have English subtitles if in another language.

– Entrants confirm and warrant that they have the required legal authority to use all music, images, and content in the entry submitted.

– Works-in-progress and films with distribution are accepted. Add cover letter on your submission.

– No restrictions on premiere or online statuses.

-Official Selections will be announced on the website and social media.

* BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR FILM PLEASE READ CAREFULLY ALL RULES AND REGULATIONS * ENTRY FEES ARE NON-REFUNDABLE *

- In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.
- The Independent Awards relationship will exclusively be related to the film submitter.
- Any Foreign film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
- You always retain 100% of all rights to your intellectual property.
- All fees are non-refundable.
- The Independent Awards will not be responsible for damaged copies.
- Students must present a valid Student ID in order to receive our student discount.
- Not all the submissions are selected for the official competition. Our Judges are free to make their own choices and no answers will be given about not selected films.
- The Independent Awards can consider any film to be disqualified if the festival considers the content inappropriate.
- Filmmakers can submit the film in multiple categories in order to become a multi-award film. Still, the decision about the selection is strictly determined by our judges' team and no selection is guaranteed.
- The applicants (submitters) must accept The Independent Awards Rules and Terms.
All submissions in personal categories require the name of the person you are registering to the category. You can easily send us this information in the cover letter at the FilmFreeway website, otherwise, your film could be disqualified from that specific category.
- Submitting your movie, you authorize The Independent Awards to use, distribute and share the film poster, trailer, synopsis and movie stills on our social media. (but do not release, under any form or circumstances, the full film or project)
- We do not require premiere status.
- Submissions DO NOT guarantee selection.
- If a feedback option is selected, the entry will be judged and the submission status will be updated (From Undecided to Selected) within the next 72 hrs after your full submission. Note that this is not a writing review service.
If no main category is selected in the expedited feedback option, automatically the entry cannot be considered.
The full submission is a main category or more selected in your entry. The feedback is an additional option to get notified if your project is worthy of being included in our Official Selection within 72 hours from the time we receive your full submission.
All films must be submitted in at least one main category and may also be submitted with the feedback option.
* ​Films submitted with the feedback option without at least one main category will be disqualified with no refund.
All our main categories are listed underneath the trophy and feedback option.
Note: any DISCOUNT CODES ARE NOT VALID for the purchase of trophies at “FilmFreeway”. DISCOUNTS CODES ARE VALID, ONLY for submitting films at the festival. If there is a trophy purchased at “FilmFreeway” with a discount code, that purchase will be CANCELED. *Before purchasing trophies we highly recommend contacting our agents by email. If necessary, you will need to cover the difference in the fee.*
Remember that payments are not refundable**
* Next Public Event: 2023 (date and location to be announced) *
- Winning categories vary every month depending on the submissions we receive. If we think the categories submitted are not to a standard of The Independent Awards win, they will be removed.
- If the project is "Selected" to be included in our festival, it will be sent to the review sessions that are the next stage to know whether or not they will be considered as part of the official selection of the edition. If the project does not advance at this stage, the Judging Status cannot be upgraded to "Nominee" to be part of the Official Announcement.
The Competition reserves the right to refuse entries and the Jury can remove a movie from the competition at any time. Entry fees are non-refundable. The individual or corporation submitting the film/script hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for possible screening (private and/or public) and understands and accepts these requirements, rules and regulations. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless The Independent Awards, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney’s fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss or damage of the screening videos entered.
The festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission at any time if there is any question of ownership, copyright infringement, or any sign of disrespect (in any form of media) to the festival or its representatives. When a project is submitted without a poster, trailer, or credits or sometimes without any of the aforementioned topics, the judges take points off the final rating.
You cannot cancel your participation in the competition after the announcement of the official selection.
All our official communications must be through email. It is not possible for us to respond to messages through social media platforms, due to the large number of requests we have on them.
Festival dates & times may be subject to delay or change without notice. Please check our FilmFreeway page for deadlines and any other updates.
Regarding credits on IMDb, please note that only IMDb can approve or reject your submission(s). If your nominees/wins are not published, it doesn’t depend on us,
and you should report your problem to the official IMDb support community.
No work or artist will be either discriminated or favored by their country of origin, language, age, race, education, ideology, sexual orientation, or by their economic resources. Every content, every form, and every technique will be considered with no censorship of any kind.
It is The Independent Award´s policy not to offer comments and reasons for films not selected, results and/or decisions for the program.

All stated information, eligibility and submission guidelines, terms and conditions of entry, and entry information is subject to change by the film contest, without notice. By submitting your film/script, you acknowledge you have read, understood and accepted all rules, regulations & conditions above.

** This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. The Independent Awards® All Rights Reserved **

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
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Networking
  • My film plays more like English films, so I was glad to have a festival to see how I do in that market.

    August 2023
  • Keith Bisset

    Thanks for all your support! Amazing festival and feel honoured to be a part of the team

    December 2022
  • Film festivals enable us to promote our work. There are many different types of film festivals, some focus on international and domestic releases, others focus on different film genres or subject matter and others just celebrate films. At the end of the day, I am just happy to have my work screened in a setting where people can enjoy it.

    December 2022
  • It was fantastic. I am glad you are there for us filmmakers with no voice.

    June 2022
  • its a grat honor to be part of your family!
    thank you so much for your recognition!

    love

    June 2022