DerpyCon is New Jersey's anime, gaming, sci-fi, and comic convention - held annually at the Hyatt Regency New Brunswick in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The convention has been one of New Jersey's only anime & multi-genre conventions held in the fall and has been bringing nerdy fun to the region since 2014.

DerpyCon is proud to present the 2nd edition of our Film Festival for 2023. We are excited to showcase the amazing contributions by independent filmmakers from across the US, especially those focusing on the anime, gaming, cosplay, sci-fi, horror, comic, and general nerd fandoms.

Filmmakers are encouraged to attend the convention to speak about their film and submit panels to our programming schedule.

Awards will be handed out, as voted on by our panel of judges:
- The Golden Cone (Best in Show)
- The Golden Cloud (Top Animated Film)
- The Golden Muffin (Top Regional Film - NJ, NY, MA, RI, CT, DE, PA, VA, MD, DC)

- All films must be submitted by the FilmFreeway Submission Form.
- All films must be related to anime, gaming, cosplay, sci-fi, horror, comics, or a similar nerdy genre. DerpyCon reserves the right to reject any film that does not meet these criteria.
- All films must contain content that can be shown to all-ages audiences (i.e. at most PG-13). Films deemed to show obscene or questionable content, or are deemed inappropriate for an all-ages audience will be rejected.
- All films must be the filmmakers own work and no one else's. If you use any footage from another film or work, such as trademarks, copyrights, or other properties, you must identify the title(s) in your submission form and guarantee that these are used with permission.
- All films being submitted must be in their completed and final form and shall not be changed between submission and the time it is shown at the DerpyCon Film Festival.
- All films shall be in English or with English Subtitles.
- All filmmakers must be residents on the United States. International entries are not allowed, at this time.
- Films may be at most 180 minutes long and must be at least 5 minutes long to be accepted. Films shorter than 5 minutes will not be eligible for judging or participation in the main festival, but may be showcased in a timeblock devoted to short films.
- At least two (2) production stills for use in promotion and publicity must be provided. These should be submitted with at least 300dpi for best quality.
- Filmmakers may submitted multiple films, but only one film per filmmaker may win an award. A single film is eligible to win multiple awards, however.
- Films shall be submitted as a copy of the film, not the original, as physical media will not be returned. Preferred media format is MP4 encoded with x264/h264 codec in 1080p resolution and 29.97 fps.
- Filmmakers must provide a typed summary of the film (250 characters or less).
- Attendance at DerpyCon 2022 is not required for festival entry. Attendance at the convention has no effect on the judging process.
- Films from DerpyCon 2022 Staff and Volunteers are not allowed.
- By submitting a film, entrants agree that: they have read, understand, and will comply with all official rules and consent to their film, name, and information used for the purposes of promotion of the DerpyCon 2022 Film Festival.
- By submitting a film, entrants grant DerpyCon the rights to show the entry at DerpyCon 2022 Film Festival.

Overall Rating
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Networking
  • Great to hear that our documentary film 'Doors to Fantasy' was an Award Winner, and screened, at your terrific festival. Wish I could have been there. All the best for next year!

    November 2023
  • Fantastic, the people of New Jersey are so nice. I am so happy my movie was shown on your online stream several times , I really enjoyed it, hope to join you again if I make another science fiction movie.

    November 2023
  • Thanks for Selecting My Film "Dhakay Comics- A Brief History of Bangladeshi Comics" (2020).

    November 2022
  • my entry is "THE ENDING" Thank you and God bless

    November 2022
  • Very humbled to have my film "The Implant" selected for this event. What a cool festival. Thank you so much.

    November 2022