Held annually in the Spring, the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival (ZMFF) celebrates bold storytelling from regional to international filmmakers, and highlights stories from Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the greater Midwest.

The 6th Annual Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival will take place April 21–25, 2027 in person at the Zeitgeist Center for Arts & Community and surrounding venues in Duluth, MN! ZMFF brings 5 days of exceptional independent film, conversations, special events, and community to Duluth.

The Pitch Competition will take place on Friday, April 23rd, 2027 in the Teatro at Zeitgeist.

🚨 Call for entries are now open to filmmakers residing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio.🚨

During the annual pitch competition filmmakers from across the Midwest have TEN MINUTES to pitch their next film production for financial support. Participants present their concepts or works in progress to a panel of judges composed of filmmakers and industry professionals, who will offer constructive feedback to all participants. NO VIDEO OR MOVING IMAGES CAN BE USED IN THE FINAL PRESENTATION.

Here’s how it works:

10 finalists (2 for each category listed below) will be selected from submissions and be invited to compete in person. Finalists will receive lodging accommodations and all access passes to the 2027 Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival.
Finalists will then prepare a pitch that can be supported with a slideshow presentation.
During the festival, finalists will be scheduled for a 20 minute slot on stage. (10 minutes max to pitch and up to 10 minutes for feedback from a judging panel of industry professionals).
Winners and Runners Up are then announced the following evening at the Spotlight Celebration along with other film awards.

🚨 If you are selected you MUST be able to attend the festival in person.🚨

ZMFF Pitch Categories include:

Short Film Pitch
Feature Narrative Pitch
Feature Documentary Pitch
MN Filmmaker Pitch
Indigenous Filmmaker Pitch

🎉 CELEBRATING COMMUNITY AND CREATIVITY
The Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival continues to serve as a vital cultural event in Duluth, offering film lovers, creators, and industry professionals the chance to connect, exchange ideas, and celebrate independent cinema. With screenings, discussions, networking opportunities, and awards celebrations, ZMFF fosters a thriving environment for storytelling that reflects the diverse voices of our communities.

🫰🏼 Pitch Alumni & Zeitgeist Media Art School students are eligible for a fee waiver! Please email: mff@zeitgeistarts.com 👀

*For more information about the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival, and to submit a completed film, visit: https://filmfreeway.com/ZMFF 👀

Send any questions to: submissions@zeitgeistarts.com

Awards & Prizes

Grants Awards for 1st place winners and runners up:

🏆 Short Film Pitch - First Prize $1000, Runner Up $500
🏆 Feature Narrative Pitch - First Prize $3000, Runner Up $500
🏆 Feature Documentary Pitch - First Prize $3000, Runner Up $500
🏆 MN Filmmaker Pitch - First Prize $3000, Runner Up $500
🏆 Indigenous Filmmaker Pitch - First Prize $3000, Runner Up $500

Got a completed film? Consider submitting to the Zeitgeist Minnesota Film Festival: https://filmfreeway.com/ZMFF 👀

Rules & Terms

🚨 ABSOLUTELY NO AI GENERATED PROJECTS ARE ACCEPTED FOR SUBMISSION. 🚨

Eligibility:

Short Film Pitch, Narrative Feature Pitch and Documentary Feature Pitch:
Open to filmmakers residing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio.

Indigenous Filmmaker Pitch:
Open to Indigenous filmmakers who are tribal citizens or tribal descendants across the Midwest.

MN Filmmaker Pitch:
Open to filmmakers who are residents of Minnesota. Applicants must provide proof of residency.

Application Questions:
Include a link to a pdf with your answers to the questions when prompted in your submission. Please be sure to include the questions below in the document and follow the formatting and the word limits.

-Working Title

-Logline (75 word max) A one or two sentence description of your project.

-Project Synopsis (250 word max) A more detailed description of the film project, including main characters and plot points.

-Treatment (2000 word max) A prose, beat by beat description of your film’s story.

-Director’s Statement (500 word max) What is your connection to the project, its characters/participants and themes? Why is it important to tell this story now? Why are you the person to tell it? What is your vision for the film - how will you use the camera, sound, and mise-en-scene?

-Project status (250 word max) What stage is the project in - development, pre-production, production, post-production? If in production, how much has been shot and how much is left to shoot? Has the project participated in any development labs, workshops or retreats? Does the project have any crew, cast, or participants attached?

-Budget - What is the estimated budget for the project?

-Funding status (250 word max) - Has the project received any funding so far from grants or private investors? Are you applying for any grants or fellowships? What is your funding plan?

-Screenplay (optional)

-Names and Bios of Pitch Members (175 word max each)

🚨Pitch Competition Judges will NOT have access to any video content or materials prior to the competition. ALL Pitch Competition Judges will be judging Pitches for the first time on the day of the event.

🚨Final copies of presentations must be received by April 2, 2027.

🚨Pitch Presentations received on April 3, 2027 and after may be disqualified due to inadequate time to prepare and test.

🚨 NO VIDEO OR MOVING IMAGES CAN BE USED IN THE FINAL PRESENTATION.

The Festival is unable to waive entry fees or provide discounts beyond those indicated. You may submit any number of titles; however, a separate entry form, preview copy, and entry fee are required for each title. Entry fees are not refundable. 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. If entries qualify for multiple categories, the submitter needs only to submit to one category.

Category Descriptions

Short Film Pitch
Any genre. The pitch must be for a film with an intended length of under 25 minutes.

Feature Narrative Pitch
The pitch must be for a fiction film with an intended length of over 40 minutes.

Feature Documentary Pitch
The pitch must be for a non-fiction film with an intended length of over 40 minutes.

MN Filmmaker Pitch
Open to filmmakers who are residents of Minnesota. This can be any genre, any length.

Indigenous Filmmaker Pitch
The project can be any genre, any length. Open to Indigenous filmmakers who are tribal citizens or tribal descendants across the Midwest.
8 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Leander Nora Sharp

    Had an incredible time at this festival and was honored to be part of the pitch competition as well as receive the award in the Narrative Feature category. Communication was excellent, people were kind and warm, competition judges and projects were all incredible, films we saw along the way were dope. Overall would strongly recommend. Thank you Zeitgeist team - can't wait to come back!!

    May 2026
    Helpful
  • Ben Taman

    We had an amazing time pitching our film Do You Think I'm Weird? in the pitch competition! I enjoyed it so much I will most likely submit films in the future.

    April 2026
    Helpful
  • MotherSon Productions

    Full disclosure* I am biased because I was lucky enough to win the 1st place prize in the short film competition in 2025. - - - BUT I have attended other pitch competitions, and **** THIS IS THE BEST PITCH COMPETITION I'VE EVER ATTENDED **** Zeitgeist's MFF is built around helping filmmakers thrive, and their pitch competition is no different. On a basic level, the Zeitgeist staff host a far better and more hospitable pitch competition than I have ever seen anyone else do. (No guarantee that they will do it the same exact way in the future, but here is what they did in 2025) ----- Firstly, they had excellent communication, and when I had questions, they got back to me promptly. Also, they did not limit the number of pages we could have in our pitch PDFs, which made preparing just that much easier- we could focus on crafting the best pitch possible instead of sweating unnecessary details. THEN THE ACTUAL PITCHES: Everything ran smoothly. There were no surprises on the day, because they had fully prepared all participants for what to expect. Then they divided the pitch competition into two sessions on separate days so competitors did not have to do their pitches on the same day, let alone back to back, instead we got to sit in the audience, take in the pitches, and really root for each other— instead of biting our nails and mindlessly waiting for our pitch. They gave each of us 10 minutes to pitch, but instead of cutting pitch participants off at 10 minutes, they gave us a 2-minute grace period. Then the judges got 10 minutes to ask questions and give feedback. The 3 judges were industry professionals who live and work in the Midwest. They offered actionable feedback, and because they had 10 minutes to do so, it felt like a discussion between the judges and me. I found every facet of the experience to be rewarding. (Personal success story: I met many people at this festival/pitch competition, and I am currently working with two of them on my short film, which is the very same short film I pitched and won the competition for! -------- So I can confidently say it was a VALUABLE NETWORKING EVENT ............ THIS FESTIVAL IS WORTH THE MONEY.

    June 2025
    Helpful
  • Ajuawak Kapashesit

    I had a lovely time connecting with local and non-local film community at the Minnesota Film Festival! I would highly recommend visiting- the team, the movies, DULUTH! So beautiful! I hope to return soon!

    March 2025
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  • Katrina Lillian Sorrentino (Treen)

    This was such an incredible festival and experience. We pitched our documentary feature. We were supported throughout the entire experience. The team at MN Film Fest is the best. They really take care of their filmmakers. 10/10 recommend.

    March 2025
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