The Helios Film Festival was established to respond to a very simple need, the desire to watch examples of brilliant films made by talented independent filmmakers from all over the world.
With the main sponsorship of the Clermont County Foundation, Helios Film Festival strives to present a different program that focuses on the story, raises questions and opens new discussions. Instead of dividing the films into sections in the usual way, we rather try to bring them together, mix them, and support them with panels and interviews. It also wishes to revive the old summer cinema tradition with its open-air screenings and to re-establish the habit of watching movies together as residents of the neighborhood.
Although the festival being a competitive one, it tries to open a space to talk and think about films. On the other hand, the main sponsor Clermont County Foundation gives the Director of the Year Award to support creativity as well as other award prices.
We believe that people unite with art and no matter how challenging the conditions, such a festival will be a new hope, especially for young people. For this reason, it is among the priorities of the festival to ensure that students participate in the festival by collaborating with universities, and to organize cinema workshops for children and university students.
The audience in Cincinnati, the city's history, architecture and cuisine, the openness of its horizons are the most important factors in choosing Cincinnati for the festival. It is the goal of the festival to make Cincinnati a centre for cinema lovers and filmmakers, with projects such as open-air screenings held before the festival in the summer and a cinema camp designed for the future.
The Queen City will bring independent film out of the darkness and will illuminate the best in film. Our three-day event will be jam-packed with networking, workshops, guest speakers, film premiers, discussion panels, monologue competitions and Director/Actor Q&A sessions.
Come be a part of what is sure to be one of most prestigious film festivals in the country!
Grand Price for Best Feature Film (Narrative, Documentary)
Best Short Film (Narrative, Documentary, Experimental, Animation)
Jury Award for Director of the Year
All awards comes with a Statuette, Certificate and Cash Prize.
There are also prizes awarded for Best Writing, Best Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best of Fest.
An additional $1500 prize will be awarded to the film that wins Best of Fest.