The Virgil Awards are designed to encourage excellence in filmmaking and help defray some of the expenses required to pursue a degree in film production. The Virgil Awards are drawn from a University of Colorado Foundation fund set up in the early 1990s by Virgil Grillo (1938-1994), the founder and former Director of the CU Film Studies Program, whose dedication and vision helped shepherd Film Studies from its modest beginnings in the 1970s to an undergraduate program with some 600 students.

Awards & Prizes

Winners will receive award prizes valuing up to $1000.

Buffalo Award (2000)
Bronze Buffalo Award (2500)
Silver Buffalo Award (3400)
Gold Buffalo Award (4500)
Best Sound
Best Editing
Best Cinematography
Best Production Design
Best Documentary
Best Animation

Rules & Terms

GENERAL RULES
1. All applicants must complete the official festival submission form located on FilmFreeway.

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

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

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

5. If the submitted film link does not play, the password does not work, or the film is otherwise not viewable, we reserve the right to disqualify the film. It is the responsibility of the person submitting the film to update any changed passwords or links.

6. We are under no obligation to provide comments regarding submitted films to any applicant. We are not responsible for any internal comments obtained by the applicant regarding their film.

7. Films made Spring 2023, Fall 2023, and Spring 2024 are eligible for submission.