“THE PEOPLE’S FESTIVAL”
Zepstone International Film & Music Festival is a grass roots, nonprofit 501(c)(3), IMDb qualifying festival with in-person events (Zepstone Arts Festival - film, music, arts) that take place annually in September, in the heart of Salt Lake City, Utah.
Zepstone is "arts reborn." Our goal is to reimagine how to support and showcase the arts, including films, screenplays, music videos, songs, podcasts, fashion, dance, theater, and visual arts.
We incorporate elements of these into our annual Zepstone Arts Festival. Some examples include film and music video screenings, educational community panels, podcast listening sessions, a fashion show, competition concerts, annual film award categories, and annual music award categories.
HOW DOES OUR FESTIVAL WORK?
Our festival is broken up into 4 rounds a year. At the conclusion of round, we announce Official Selections and Quartlery Winners for each round.
From those best-of-the-best winners from each annual category (shown below), they will go on to compete for annual awards presented at Zepstone Arts Festival, such as Best Short Film of the Year, Best Music Score of the Year, Best Music Video of the Year, etc. Please take some time to review the annual award categories below. All other award categories are for Quarterly Rounds.
Mark your calendars!
Live Events at the Zepstone Arts Festival
“ZEPTEMBER”
September 7th - 13th, 2025
Salt Lake City, Utah
Every September, we host the Zepstone Arts Festival in ZEPTEMBER, which showcases filmmakers, musicians, and the arts. If chosen as an annual Official Selection, your project will be screened in-person or virtually (or both!). This hybrid festival provides in-person and virtual screening opportunities, educational community panels, outside-of-the-box activites (such as fashion shows), live performances by Quarterly Award Winners, concerts, and networking opportunities.
The Zepstone ArtsFestival culminates with the prestigious Red Carpet Awards Show, where annual award-winners will be announced.
FEST FAQ (Updated - August, 2024)
A (*) next to a category means it is a qualifyer for an annual nomination if you win for a Quarterly Round.
What do the different FilmFreeway status mean?
Official Selection: means your project has been selected for the Quarterly Round in which you have entered. It also means that your project may be eligible for Quarterly Round awards.
Quarterly Finalist: means that you have won Quarterly Round awards.
Finalist: means that your project has been chosen to screen at the annual Zepstone Arts Festival.
Nominee: means that your project has been nominated for an annual award.
Winner: means that you have won an annual award.
Winner announcements: All Quarterly Round winners will be announced on our website and social media pages. Quarterly Round winners will also receive laurels & certificates. Annual award winners will be announced during the September festival and will receive the prestigious Zepstone Arts Festival award trophy.
QUARTERLY ROUND CATEGORIES:
-Best Feature Film
-Best Short Film
-Best Ensemble Cast
-Best Cinematography
-Best Assistant Camera
-Best Editing
-Best Director
-Best First-Time Director
-Best Music Score
-Best Sound Design
-Best Original Screenplay - Feature
-Best Original Screenplay - Short
-Best Makeup/ FX Makeup
-Best VFX/ CGI
-Best Wardrobe Design
-Best Production Design
-Best Story
-Best Web/TV Series Episode
-Best International Film - Feature
-Best International Film - Short
-Best Documentary
-Best Horror Film
-Best Comedy Film
-Best Drama Film
-Best Family Film
-Best Fan Film
-Best Action/Adventure/Family Film
-Best Fantasy Film
-Best Experimental Film
-Best LGBTQ+ Film
-Best Animated Film
-Best Science Fiction/AI Film
-Best Film Noir
-Best Actor
-Best Supporting Actor
-Best Actress
-Best Supporting Actress
-Best Stunt Work
-Best Music Video
-Best Producer
-Best Proof of Concept
-Best Drone Cinematography
-Best Actor Under 18
-Best Actress Under 18
-Best Western Film
-Best Dystopian / Apocalyptic Film
-Best Micro-Short (Under 5 Minutes-Long)
-Best Student Film
-Best Thriller/Horror Film
-Best Period Piece
-Best Fictional Podcast Recording
-Best Fictional Podcast Script
ANNUAL FILM AWARDS - ANNOUNCED AT THE ZEPSTONE FESTIVAL RED CARPET FILM AWARDS SHOW
Note: A (*) next to a category means it is a qualifier for an annual nomination if you win for a Quarterly Round.
*Short Film of the Year
*Micro Short of the Year
*Feature Film of the Year
*Web Series or Web Episode of the Year
*International Film of the Year
*Screenplay of the Year - Feature-Length
*Screenplay of the Year - Short
* Director of the Year
*Actress of the Year
*Actor of the Year
*Supporting Actor of the Year
*Supporting Actress of the Year
*Music Score of the Year
*Cinematographer of the Year
*Editor of the Year
*Sound Designer of the Year
*Documentary of the Year
*Costume Design of the Year
*Production Design of the Year
*Animation of the Year
*Makeup and Hair Styling of the Year
*VFX of the Year
*Inspirational Film of the Year
*Social Impact Award
*The Brightstone Award (Youth Actor/Actress)
*The Willowstone Award (Family Friendly)
*The Grimstone Award (Horror)
*The Sunstone Award (Comedy/Dramedy)
*Audience Choice Award (each screening, whether virtual or in-person, will be balloted)
ANNUAL MUSIC AWARDS - ANNOUNCED AT THE ZEPSTONE FESTIVAL RED CARPET MUSIC AWARDS SHOW
Note: A (*) next to a category means it is a qualifier for an annual nomination if you win for a Quarterly Round.
* Best Acoustic Song
* Best Bluegrass
* Best Blues Song
* Best Country Song
* Best EDM/Techno Song
* Best Folk Song
* Best Funk Song
* Best Jazz Song
* Best Metal/Progressive Song
* Best Pop Song
* Best Psychedelic Song
* Best Punk Song
* Best Rap/Hip-Hop/R&B Song
* Best Reggae/Ska Song
* Best Rock Song
* Best World Song
* Best Alternative/Indie Song
* Best Contemporary Song
* Best Music Video Producer
* Best Music Video Sound Engineer
* Song of the year
* Album of the Year
* Music Video of the Year
WILDCARDS: At the jury discretion, annual nominees for highly scored categories may be included as nominees in the annual events, even if they were not formally winners of a Quarterly Round. Many factors go into inclusion for wild card nominees. These nominees may have proven to have achieved high scores by the jury, but perhaps they didn’t formally win during a certain round because of volume, or perhaps these particular filmmakers have achieved more than one accomplishment during a festival year, etc. Love surprises? So do we!
- September 2024
- September 2024
-
Miles Stanley
September 2024 -
GERARD CUQ
September 2024 - September 2024
