Zeitgeist's Minnesota Film Festival (ZMFF) will take place April 22 - 26, 2026 in person at the Zeitgeist Center for Arts and Community, Zeitgeist Arts Building and surrounding venues in Duluth, MN!

ZMFF will consist of a variety of local, national, and international films, post-film conversations and Q&As with filmmakers, and grant cash awards.

ZMFF also hosts the ZMFF Pitch Competition, consider submitting to our Pitch Competition here: https://filmfreeway.com/MFFPitch

ZMFF alumni are eligible for a fee waiver! Please email mff@zeitgeistarts.com for a waiver.
Zeitgeist's Minnesota Media Art School Alumni are eligible for a free waiver! Please email mff@zeitgeistarts.com for a waiver.

Zeitgeist's Minnesota Film Festival is passionate about programming films from filmmakers that are working in their own communities. We are excited about films that are being made with limited budgets, from small towns, and from resourceful filmmakers.

We focus on highlighting filmmakers and stories from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the greater Midwest.

COMMUNITY CENTERED:
Building and nurturing a thriving film and media arts community is important to us. In order to connect more with the community, we have established community partnerships with organizations that have a strong foothold across a diverse range of people in the region. Through these partnerships, we aim to prioritize artists who have historically been denied access to resources and opportunities within the industry.

CREATIVE EXPRESSION:
We judge films solely based on their artistic and creative expression not on the resources they were drawn from. We look for films as art, evocative of reflection and response.
We invite filmmakers to submit innovative works that do not adhere to conventional storytelling techniques.

Send any questions to mff@zeitgeistarts.com.

Thank you for sharing your films with us!

Awards & Prizes

We will be giving awards to the following categories below. All awards will be juried by industry professionals:

Best Documentary Feature Award $500

Best Narrative Feature Award $500

Best Documentary Short Award $500

Best Narrative Short Award $500

MN Filmmaker Award $500

Got a pitch for a film? Consider submitting to our Pitch Competition: https://filmfreeway.com/MFFPitch

Rules & Terms

SHORT FILMS are classified as having a runtime of 1–25 minutes in length.
FEATURE FILMS are classified as having a runtime of 40–120 minutes in length.

Finished projects must be completed no earlier than January 2024 to be eligible for the 2025 festival.

Submission fee is non-refundable.

Filmmakers will assume shipping and handling costs to the festival.

All submissions must be in a visual format of 1080p or greater quality, 24fps, 25fps, or 30fps, and be 1-120 minutes in length.

All films must be submitted digitally, via links on Vimeo or Youtube or an attached digital download in MP4, WMV, AVI, Quicktime, or Apple ProRes format.

All films should be in their final form.

Any films that have a significant amount of non-English dialogue must include English subtitles.

Filmmakers must have the rights to their films, and through submitting thereby grant the Minnesota Film Festival the right to screen their film.

All submissions received by December 19, 2025 will be reviewed for the Minnesota Film Festival’s 2026 programming (April 22-26, 2026). All applicants will be notified of inclusion or otherwise by January 30, 2026.

Final copies of accepted films must be received by February 27, 2026, with a daily fee of $5 for copies received after. Films received on April 1, 2026 and after may not be shown due to inadequate time to prepare and test.

The Festival is unable to waive entry fees or provide discounts beyond those indicated. Entry fees are not refundable. You may submit any number of titles; however, a separate entry form, preview copy, and entry fee are required for each title. If the Festival determines a work is entered in the wrong category and needs to reassign it, any discrepancy in entry fees between the categories must be paid by the filmmaker.

31 Reviews
Overall Rating
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Value
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  • MotherSon Productions

    ONE OF THE BEST FESTIVALS I have been to! VERY HIGH VALUE! This festival makes artists feel appreciated. They have fantastic communication and are generous with their time and attention. This festival is built on the ethos of LOVE for Film and Filmmakers. One of the best networking events I have attended in years! Every aspect of the festival was smooth running and started on time. They know what they are doing! I will be going every year. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO HAVE WON THE PITCH COMPETITION Short Film Grant! And our short film looked & sounded fantastic in the screenings. They did a great job making DCPs for us. LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, MFF!

    April 2025
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  • Khayman Goodsky

    Great festival with an amazing team! They always make film makers feel welcome and appreciated!

    March 2025
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  • Ahmad Khoshniat

    I didn't have the chance to participate in this festival, but it's clear that it is a well-organized event. Their communication with filmmakers is smooth and professional, and everything seems to be handled with great care.

    March 2025
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  • James Howells

    A really great festival with wonderful people and excellent communication. Our cast represented the movie on the day and were made to feel really welcome. Head and shoulders above other festivals of a similar size in terms of organisation and presentation. Legit. Highly advised.

    March 2025
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  • Ezra Justin Lee

    We were so honored and delighted to have our short film “Pastor’s Kid’ be an official selection at Minnesota Film Festival. The staff were caring, careful, communicative, and supportive (PR, morale, etc). Thank you so much for having us!

    March 2025
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