The ICP Entertainment Film Festival is New York City’s electrifying annual celebration of creativity, culture, and cinematic brilliance! Founded in 2014 by visionary filmmaker Richard Oliver Jr. and co-founder Veena Kondapalli, the festival has grown into one of NYC’s most dynamic and engaging film events.

Set against the dazzling backdrop of Times Square, the festival kicks off with a star-studded Red Carpet Opening Night, followed by exclusive film screenings at one of the city’s most iconic theaters. The excitement culminates in a prestigious Awards Ceremony, honoring 22 outstanding winners, and a glamorous Dinner Gala where filmmakers, celebrities, sponsors, and VIP guests come together to celebrate the magic of storytelling.

We’ve just wrapped our 11th spectacular season, marking an incredible milestone — and it’s all thanks to you, our amazing community of filmmakers and supporters! Wishing everyone joyful holidays and a bright, cinematic New Year ahead.

✨ See you at our 12th Annual ICP Entertainment Film Festival — October 23–27, 2026!

CALL FOR 2026 SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
at: http://filmfreeway.com/ICPEntfilmfestival

Sponsorship Opportunities, Press or Volunteer inquiries
Email: icpentnyc@gmail.com
SUBSCRIBE TO OUR YOU-TUBE Channel at http://www.youtube.com/therhymeimpersonator
to view past HIGHLIGHTS of our Annual Film Festival

This year we are so excited to announce that we are finally able to provide INTERVIEWS! On the Rhyme Impersonator Show Media Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87n9LqLC_tk
With our festival founder and Celebrity Host: Richard Oliver Jr.
http://www.richardolivierjr.com

A personal Interview on our media channel (either in person or via zoom, or in audio format) or an Online Press Article are the best ways to promote and add legitimacy to your work. After submitting your film in this category you will be contacted by our team within a week with personalized questions about your project and yourself.

The INTERVIEW EDITORIAL will be published on our brand new website and promoted on our social media with thousands of everyday viewers.
Photos from the film, behind the scenes and personal portraits will be featured too.
Huge Dedicated posts promoting the interview on all of our social media outlets.

INTERVIEW LENGTH: 9 QUESTIONS
Expected publish time: 1 MONTH
Waiver codes are not allowed in this category.

HOW TO ORDER:
1) Go on our Film Freeway page (https://filmfreeway.com/icpentfilmfestival)
2) Select the 'PUBLISH AN INTERVIEW' category and submit
3) You will be contacted within 1 week by our team for the interview

After submitting your film for an interview our team will review your project and send you 9 personalized questions about yourself and your film. You can always ask for something specific of your desire to be mentioned along with your own photos.

WE WISH ALL OF YOU TALENTED AND BUDDING FILMMAKERS IN THE USA AND ACROSS THE GLOBE THE BEST OF LUCK! WE LOOK FORWARD TO VIEWING YOUR FILMS.

Who will win 22 of our most prestigious and coveted titles in 2025?
WILL IT BE YOU?

BEST FEMALE FILM

BEST LGBTQ FILM

BEST BLACK LIVES MATTER
Filmmakers Challenge

BEST CLIMATE CHANGE
Filmmakers Challenge

BEST MENTAL ILLNESS
Filmmakers Challenge

BEST MUSIC VIDEO

BEST HUMANITY
Filmmakers Challenge

BEST ANIMATION
BEST COMEDY FILM
BEST DRAMA FILM
BEST HORROR FILM
BEST WEB SERIES
BEST DOCUMENTARY FILM

“The Best of Luck to you all, never give up on your dreams, get ready for another amazing year of independent filmmaking 🎥. We look forward to viewing your films and we thank you in advance for your support of our festival” - Richard Oliver Jr.
(Founder/Creative Director)

Awards & Prizes

Screening and Award Ceremony Night selected filmmakers in 22 winning Categories!.
All winners will receive a laurel to forever commemorate your work, as an -OFFICIAL SELECTION OF THE ICP ENTERTAINMENT FILM FESTIVAL!

This Year our "12th Annual ICP Ent Film Festival Red Carpet Opening, Closing night and Dinner Gala" will be hosted on Friday Oct 23th, and Tuesday Oct 27th at:

SAAR Indian Cuisine and Bar
241 W 51st St,
New York, NY 10019

A star studded and elegant night of red carpet glam and amazing food for all of our winning filmmakers, sponsors, VIP & Celebrity Guests.

A Film Screening of all 22 award-winning films will be hosted on
Saturday Oct 24, 25, 26 will be screened at one of the most popular theaters in NYC. We will announce the location, time of screening of the films soon.

A 10 Minute Q&A session will be conducted via Zoom for all winners.

Selected WINNERS will also receive an exclusive virtual ZOOM interview on The Rhyme Impersonator Show ARTIST SPOTLIGHT SERIES!. With festival founder and celebrity host: Richard Oliver Jr.. All interviews will to air LIVE on our YOU-TUBE Channel at www.youtube.com/therhymeimpersonator

Additional promotion, marketing and advertising exposure will be provided for all the official 22 selections of The ICP Entertainment Film Festival.

WE WISH ALL OF YOU TALENTED AND BUDDING FILMMAKERS IN THE USA AND ACROSS THE GLOBE THE BEST OF LUCK! WE LOOK FORWARD TO VIEWING YOUR FILMS...

Rules & Terms

In the ICP Entertainment Film Festival, filmmakers will pay a SUBMISSION fee and submit either their feature or short film(s) via Film Freeway for review and consideration. The films will then be reviewed by our select panel of judges and 1 short film and 1 feature film in each of the following 13 categories will be selected to screen:

***NEW Categories *****

BEST FEMALE FILM
BEST LGBTQ FILM

And the Other Categories are :

BEST BLACK LIVES MATTER (Filmmakers Challenge)
BEST CLIMATE CHANGE (Filmmakers Challenge)
BEST MENTAL ILLNESS (Filmmakers Challenge)
BEST COMEDY
BEST DRAMA
BEST HORROR
BEST ANIMATION
BEST WEB SERIES
BEST DOCUMENTARY
BEST MUSIC VIDEO

1) All films must have been completed not earlier than January 1, 2012.
Length of short film: 5-30 minutes, features 90 min to 2.5 hours.

2) Films must be in English or have English subtitles

3) Films can be submitted via Film Freeway.

4) ICP Entertainment Film Festival does not require World Premiere but appreciates if you notify us if you are either a World Premiere, International Premiere (your first premiere outside your country of origin), North American Premiere or New York Premiere.

5) Entry fees are in U.S. dollars, per film entry and are non-refundable.

6) Submitting filmmakers/individuals will be notified by e-mail on or before Sep 21,2026

7) Regarding shipping to ICP Entertainment Film Festival, the submitting filmmaker will be responsible for the mailing/shipping cost of the work, both for the submitted cut for consideration and final screening copy for screening at the film festival.

8) All submitted entry materials will not be returned.

10) A filmmaker with multiple entries (titles) must submit each entry and entry fee separately.

11) The ICP Entertainment Film Festival reserves the right to remove a film from the festival program for any reason or for no reason and shall not be liable for any refund or claims of any kind arising out of such removal.

12) ICP Entertainment Film Festival reserves the rights to cancel the event if there is any emergency as declared by NYC govt or due to personal emergencies.

13) All trophy requests must be ordered and purchased; the cost for the trophy will be $100.

14) ICP Entertainment Film Festival will charge additional costs for mailing the trophy.
ICP Entertainment Film Festival is not responsible if the trophy is returned due to wrong address.

The ICP Entertainment Film Festival is hereby granted the right to utilize an excerpt from any film submitted and accepted for exhibition at the Festival for promotional purposes. The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations.

The undersigned shall indemnify and hold harmless ICP Entertainment Film Festival from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered.

For any additional information concerning submissions, contact us at icpentfilmfestival1@gmail.com
11 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Sandra Anderson

    As the Film Producer/Writer and on behalf of the cast/crew of "America, I Can't Breathe", we are forever thankful to win BLM Filmmakers Challenge for our short film. It was a special celebration with the distinguished filmmakers, directors, executive producers, and ICP’s Ent. Film Festival Founder (Richard) and Co-Founder (Veena). Special thanks to you both for your timely communications/updates and your great hospitality during the weekend at the film festival. Wishing you continued success.

    December 2025
    Helpful
  • Brian Sachson

    ICP was a great festival! We were thrilled to have been selected for their climate change category. They took the time to do interviews with us beforehand, and the screening day was well organized. Would submit again in the future!

    November 2025
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  • Nozomu Kubota

    ICP Entertainment Film Festival provided an inspiring and professional experience. Their communication was clear, and the team showed genuine appreciation for the artistic and ethical depth of my film “ AI’s Silent Omissions”.
    The selection process felt thoughtful, and the festival’s curation balanced innovation with humanity—a rare quality today. I’m deeply grateful for the recognition and highly recommend this festival to other filmmakers exploring meaningful, boundary-pushing work.

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • mark oliver

    I had a great time and the whole thing was very professional and I loved meeting everyone involved. The food at the location it was at was great too, and we were surprised with a nice award and trophy!

    October 2024
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  • SUE ORLOFF

    We are proud to be one of the films shown at the 2024 ICP Film Festival. Thanks so much for including "The Straight Poop" in your festival.

    October 2024
    Helpful