Dedicated Exclusively to Midwestern Filmmakers.
WELCOME TO THE NEXT CHAPTER OF MIDWEST CINEMA
For more than two decades, the Midwest Film Festival has served as a home for the filmmakers, artists, and creative voices shaping our region's storytelling landscape.
As the nation's only year-round film festival dedicated exclusively to Midwestern filmmakers, we've built our community around a simple belief: the Midwest is home to extraordinary stories deserving of recognition, celebration, and connection.
Today, that mission continues—larger, bolder, and more ambitious than ever.
The future of Midwest cinema is being written right now, and we're proud to help provide the stage.
A NEW ERA BEGINS IN 2026
In 2026, Midwest Film Festival evolves into a refreshed and expanded five-day festival experience.
This next chapter marks a significant step forward in our commitment to elevating Midwest filmmakers and the stories shaping our region. With a new venue, expanded programming, and a traditional multi-day festival format, we're creating more opportunities for discovery, conversation, and connection than ever before.
Designed with filmmakers at its center, this evolution brings increased visibility, broader audiences, and deeper engagement for the artists driving Midwest cinema forward.
EXPANDING THE CANVAS OF MIDWEST STORYTELLING
Midwest Film Festival has always championed a broad spectrum of creative work—from narrative and documentary films to music videos, branded content, experimental projects, and emerging formats that continue to redefine the art of storytelling.
Beloved programs like AdComm and Emerging Filmmakers remain an essential part of our identity, showcasing the depth, innovation, and diversity of work being created across the region.
As we move into our expanded festival format, we'll have new opportunities to present additional short film programs, feature presentations, filmmaker conversations, and curated experiences that reflect the full breadth of Midwest creativity.
The stories have always been here. Now we have even more room to celebrate them.
MARK THE BEGINNING OF THE SEASON
The road to Midwest Royale begins May 31, 2026, at the Chicago Cultural Center during our annual Midwest Film Fair.
The day will feature the 2025 Best of the Midwest Winners Showcase, bringing audiences together to celebrate some of the region's most celebrated creative work while offering a first look at what's ahead.
We'll also officially announce the 2026 Best of the Midwest Award nominees—setting the stage for a season dedicated to the filmmakers, artists, and storytellers shaping the future of Midwest cinema.
SAVE THE DATE
Our 2026 Festival will commence on Wednesday, July 22nd and end with the Best of the Midwest Awards on Sunday, July 26th.
WHAT WE DO
The Midwest Film Festival exists to create meaningful opportunities for filmmakers and audiences to connect through the power of storytelling.
Throughout the year, we provide a platform for Midwestern filmmakers to share their work, engage with new audiences, build relationships within the industry, and participate in conversations that extend beyond the screen.
Through screenings, filmmaker discussions, networking events, educational programming, and industry-focused initiatives, we help foster a thriving creative ecosystem that supports artists at every stage of their journey.
Each year, we also celebrate outstanding achievements in Midwest filmmaking through the Best of the Midwest Awards, recognizing the artists and stories shaping the future of cinema across our region.
JOIN THE COMMUNITY
Whether you're a filmmaker sharing your work, an industry professional discovering new voices, or a film lover seeking stories that reflect the richness and complexity of our region, there's a place for you here.
The Midwest Film Festival is more than a series of screenings—it's a community built around creativity, collaboration, and a shared belief in the power of independent film.
Together, we're helping ensure that Midwest stories continue to be seen, celebrated, and discovered.
We look forward to welcoming you to the next chapter of Midwest cinema.
OFFICIAL SELECTION & AWARDS
Official Selection status at the Midwest Film Festival represents more than inclusion in a screening program—it signifies recognition among the region's most compelling and accomplished creative work.
All Official Selections automatically become eligible for consideration at the Best of the Midwest Awards (BMAs), our annual celebration of excellence in filmmaking and one of the festival's most anticipated events.
Held on the festival's closing night, the BMAs bring together filmmakers, artists, industry leaders, and supporters to honor the stories and creative voices shaping the future of Midwest cinema.
FAQS
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We follow The Census Bureau's definition consists of 12 states in the north central United States: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.
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Ideally, a “Midwest film” is one that is wholly produced in the Midwest by Midwest filmmakers. However, on an individual basis, we do also consider films produced by Midwest filmmakers outside of the Midwest and films produced by non-Midwest filmmakers within the Midwest.
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Films produced outside of the Midwest are considered on an individual basis. If a film is shot in Wyoming and the director, producer and lead actors are all Midwest, then it is likely we will accept that film for consideration. If a film is shot in Wyoming with an all-Wyoming cast and crew but the editor is Midwest, it is unlikely we will accept the film for consideration.
The best thing to do is to get in touch us before submitting your film if you are unsure your film will qualify.
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The Midwest Independent Film Festival will consider films ranging anywhere from one to 120 minutes. We will consider films from all genres – narrative, documentary, experimental, music video, animated, etc. If your film is accepted to our festival, we will require BluRay, DCP or uncompressed Quicktime file for screening.
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Because our film festival screenings are held year-round, the screening process can range from three weeks to a few months as we often program our monthly screenings around a theme or specific focus such as by genre, or within established annual events such as Female Filmmakers Night or Advertising Community Shorts Night. Generally speaking, though, a film is considered under consideration until the filmmaker is notified otherwise.
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We're dedicated to great Midwest filmmakers, films, and stories of any genre or length, and each submission is considered and scored on an individual basis.
Upon submission, members of our Screening Committee** view and score each film 1-10 in the following areas:
- Creativity/originality: is it a fresh idea, creatively executed?
- Direction
- Writing
- Cinematography
- Performances
- Production value
- Pacing
- Structure
- Sound quality/music
After each film is scored by Screening Committee members in these areas, an overall score is calculated from each judge based on the average scores given in each area. Overall scores given by the judges are then calculated to formulate an overall average score. Films receiving high scores from the Screening Committee advance to be considered for screening.
Screening Committee members and festival leadership then work together to program each month's film lineup based on many factors like overall film quality, as well as other factors such as monthly theme, flow with other films (if showing multiple films in one night), timeliness of film's message, and similarity to other recently screened films. Which is to say, sometimes we have to reject great films because we recently showed a film on a similar topic or other very practical reason.
** Our Screening Committee is made up entirely of volunteers who are film industry professionals. At present, we have 34 members of the Screening Committee, and approximately 54% of the committee is female-identifying