Chicago Indie Film Awards

The IMDb qualifying Chicago Indie Film Awards in partnership with Chicago Movie magazine promotes the art of indie filmmaking; a journey of artistic expressionism, compelling narratives and unique forms in filmmaking and screenwriting. Our team will be looking for arthouse indie films that are pushing the boundaries of cinema. The fest celebrates indie U.S. and international film and script projects. 

We are looking for fiction, documentary, experimental, animation, comedy and all genres of filmmaking which can inspire us, challenge us and make us think. U.S. and international projects compete together in various sections of the festival. The official selections are screened privately to jury members of each edition in various categories and have the option to screen publicly through our online platform. Every year, we also promote and screen the best indie short and best indie feature of the year further in order to seek distribution for talented indie filmmakers who are looking to find a larger audience for their projects.

In addition to being visual, cinema combines most aspects of art; these include symbolism, subject matter, theme and background. Cinema is the most influential form of art since it is the only form in which you can have the largest impact on a wide range of individuals.

Our team consists of filmmakers, actors, directors, writers and critics. We believe that we live in a new era of digital technology and the festivals need to be able to adjust to various forms of online competitions, screenings and virtual events in order to recognize and promote talented indie artists working in media. Chicago Indie Film Awards is committed to indie filmmaking and the language of cinema as an art form.