The Pitch Competition takes place during the Minnesota Film Festival (MFF) April 22-26, 2026 in person at the Zeitgeist Center for Arts and Community and surrounding venues in Duluth, MN!

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

In this 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.

Pitch competition finalists will receive accommodations and all access passes to the 2026 Zeitgeist’s Minnesota Film Festival. There will be 10 finalists total, 2 finalists chosen from each category listed below. Selected projects will have 20 minutes on stage (10 minutes to pitch and 10 minutes for feedback).

*** If you are selected you must be able to attend the festival in person.***

Short Film Pitch:
Open to filmmakers residing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio. Any genre. The pitch must be for a film with an intended length of under 25 minutes.

Feature Narrative Pitch:
Open to filmmakers residing in Minnesota, Wisconsin, North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nebraska, Ohio. The pitch must be for a fiction film with an intended length of over 40 minutes.

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

Awards & Prizes

Grants Awards for 1st place winners and runner ups:

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

Rules & Terms

Application Information:

Working Title

Logline (75 word max)

Project Description (250 word max)

Synopsis/treatment (500 word max)

Project status (250 word max)

Funding status (250 word max)

Distribution & marketing plan (250 word max)

Name & contact info with bio (175 word max each) for up to 2 pitch members

Link to video sample* (6 minutes max)

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

Eligibility:

Short Film Pitch, Narrative Feature Pitch and Documentary Feature Pitch are 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.
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
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  • 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
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  • 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
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  • 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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