***Please see Rules & Terms below to obtain free submission fee waivers!***

**KIFF has a K-12 student prize category! See Rules & Terms below for more information**

The Klamath Independent Film Festival is the premier Oregon-centric all-genre film festival, receiving more Oregon film submissions and giving more screen time to Oregon films & filmmakers (and our very northerly California neighbors!) than any other festival.

In 2020 KIFF gained national attention as the only fall film festival able of welcoming an in-theater audience during the COVID-19 pandemic, and took it one step further presenting the festival in a hybrid model via the Eventive Virtual Festival platform. Activities at the event were livestreamed, while films were available on-demand with exclusive Q&As with each filmmaker.

In 2021 KIFF will be even bigger, once again presenting the event in a hybrid format with improved interactive experiences connecting audiences to films and filmmakers. Back by popular demand will be the unique art pieces as each award winning category, custom designed to each winning film!

KIFF films and award-winners are selected by a three-level multi-person jury consisting of filmmakers, film experts, film fanatics and Klamath residents to ensure a non-biased, balanced exhibition which celebrates films for film's sake in a way even general audiences can appreciate. Real films selected by real people, for real audiences to enjoy!

Awards & Prizes

Celebrating, growing, and bringing attention to filmmakers is our primary purpose. We program and award Northern and Southern films separately in order to give the greatest opportunity for filmmakers to be seen and recognized for their work. We aim to pass our success back to filmmakers through awards and promotion, both of which increase as our success increases.

***IN 2021 WE HAVE INCREASED OUR PRIZE MONEY TO $5,000***

Southern films: shot predominantly in, or by residents of Oregon (and California counties on the Oregon/California border):
- Jury Grand Prize Feature $1,000
- Jury Grand Prize Short $600
- Jury Runner Up Short $400
- Jury 2nd Runner Up Short $300
- Jury Best K-12 Student Short $200
Northern films: shot predominantly in, or by residents of the remainder of the State of Oregon:
- Jury Grand Prize Feature $1,000
- Jury Grand Prize Short $600
- Jury Runner Up Short $400
- Jury 2nd Runner Up Short $300
- Jury Best K-12 Student Short $200

All submitters, regardless of whether their film is selected for the festival or not, are entitled to two (2) free Weekend Passes (Saturday/Sunday), in order to bring filmmakers together and encourage them to meet/network/see each other's work!
*This pass does not include the Friday opening night gala and feature.

Rules & Terms

*Student films must meet all KIFF guidelines below. For specific student film info, see [5].

*We list a submission fee on FilmFreeway in part to prevent an onslaught of ineligible films from being submitted to us. If your film meets our eligibility requirements below, we are happy to offer you a free submission waiver upon request. Contact us at info@klamathfilm.org to receive a unique waiver code.

[1]. KIFF 2020 is open to shorts (less than 40 minutes in length) and features (more than 40 minutes in length) completed January 1, 2020 or later, by filmmakers who are residents of the state of Oregon, or California counties on the Oregon border (Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Modoc counties), *or* residents from anywhere in the world whose film was predominantly shot in Oregon and/or Northern California in Del Norte, Modoc or Siskiyou Counties.

[2]. Films must be submitted no later than June 1, 2021. Please note we have a tight review and selection schedule. We will not accept films submitted after June 1, however if films are still being edited we will work with filmmakers to accept the original cut and showcase the final version at the festival.

[3]. Limit two (2) short and two (2) feature submissions per filmmaker.

[4]. Submissions shot in or by residents of Oregon and California counties in Coos, Douglas, Curry, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Harney, or Malheur counties of Oregon or Del Norte, Siskiyou, or Modoc counties of California will be considered for our Southern categories. The remainder of submissions will be considered for our Northern categories.

[5]. K-12 students are eligible for our student prize. Films must be no more than 5 minutes in length max, and meet all other KIFF guidelines in these rules (completion date, rights to content as detailed in [6] below, etc.). Students who are residents of Coos, Curry, Josephine, Jackson, Klamath, Lake, Harney, or Malheur counties in Oregon or Del Norte, Siskiyou, and Modoc counties in California should enter as a "Southern Student Short". Residents from elsewhere in Oregon should enter as "Northern Student Short." The winner of each category will receive a $100 prize!

[6]. Filmmakers shall have all rights to, or have received permission to use, all video/images, music and any other media and/or trademarks contained in submitted films. If unsure of rights requirements please contact Klamath Film at info@klamathfilm.org.

**We strongly encourage filmmakers to stay away from relying on "fair use" to use protected content. "Fair use" is not always clear and we reserve the right to disqualify films we feel do not comfortably meet its standard, or which open us to receiving an excess of films with protected content under the guise of "fair use." This includes "fan films", "remakes", trademarked character or product use, and more. It is best to be totally original!

We are more particular about this issue than many festivals due to the range of experience/knowledge among our filmmakers, in order to keep a level playing field for everyone as best we can. Alternatively, some rights-free sources can be found on the internet via a search, such as "rights free music," for example.

For more information, contact us. We want to help you get your film on the big screen!

[7]. We reserve the right to not exhibit works which we feel are not intended for, or well suited to, the big screen audience/film experience. While we don't want to discourage great works of unique, entertaining, or artistic quality, this means submissions made for television, commercials, etc. may be dismissed.

[8]. If your film is selected for show, you grant KIFF the right to exhibit your film, and use clips/stills from your film, for promotion of the film festival.

[9]. All decisions by judges and organizers are final. Any submissions which do not meet the requirements will be disqualified, so please be sure you meet all requirements. Film submissions are rated by judges on a 1-10 scale based on technical achievement, entertainment value, and overall film quality. Scores are averaged among the judge panel to determine selections, with additional judge panels considering selected films for KIFF awards. Entry fees are non-refundable.

[10]. Klamath Film does not discriminate in any way, nor does the Klamath Independent Film Festival follow any set theme, religion, sexual preference, gender, race, or ideology in its structure. KIFF is a celebration of film as an art form showcasing Made-in-Oregon films. The festival is all-welcoming. The selection or non-selection of a film for KIFF is done on artistic merit by our eclectic panel of judges; not based on any specific religion, political belief, or otherwise controversial subject matter. We encourage artistic expression with all that film may encompass.
11 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Mahesh Madhav

    Kurt does an amazing job at running KIFF. His Q+As were well researched and prepped, which led to some great discussions at the end of every film. It was tremendous achievement by is team to conduct virtual AND in-person screenings! We were humbled to be part of KIFF2020 online, and hope that we can visit in person soon.

    November 2020
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  • jesse blanchard

    An incredibly special festival, KIFF goes all out to make it super fun for the filmmakers and the audience. I was thoroughly impressed at every turn with the care they put towards me and my film. I can't wait to come back!

    September 2020
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  • Rollyn Stafford

    A wonderful festival in a wonderful town. I will definitely be back next year.

    September 2020
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  • Ross Williams

    A really well-run film festival for Oregon filmmakers. I've had a film play 4 out of the last 5 years and every year it gets a little bit better, the crowds get bigger, more filmmakers are there, better parties, etc. It's a really fun weekend, full of cool people and great films. You couldn't ask for a better theater to have your film shown in, a huge, beautiful classic theater, with a nice big screen and good sound. If you're an Oregon filmmaker this is a must enter!

    September 2019
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  • Taylor Morden

    This festival has everything I love about smaller independent film festivals:
    - They take care of their film makers.
    - They screen your films in nice theaters and attract a great audience.
    - They have quality films from all over the state of Oregon.

    I was skeptical before driving down to the small town fest, but I was really impressed by the whole production. The staff is great and the town really seems to embrace the festival as well.

    September 2019
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