Film Festival Submissions
I was thrilled to be a part of this wonderful event!!
Bill Cooper
The 35th Anniversary Iowa Motion Picture Film Festival
The Iowa Motion Picture Awards recognize outstanding creative and technical achievement in Iowa’s moving image production industry in all its forms — Program Categories and Craft Categories.
OPENING DATE: AUGUST 5, 2025
ENTRY DEADLINE: FEBRUARY 1, 2026
IMPORTANT NOTE: It has been the policy of the Iowa Motion Picture Association to accept films that are up to two years old. You may also submit films previously submitted, provided they are entered into new categories
SAVE THE DATE: 35th Anniversary Iowa Motion Picture Film Festival May 30, 2026!
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Awards & Prizes
Nominee films will be screened at the Fleur Cinema & Cafe located at 4545 Fleur Dr, Des Moines, Iowa, the last week of May 2026. The screening schedule will be announced by March 31, once the nominees are announced
Winners will be recognized at the 35th Anniversary Iowa Motion Picture Awards Gala Ceremony. There are two levels of recognition, the Award of Achievement and the Award of Excellence.
An entry’s score is determined by calculating the average score awarded by all judges assigned to the category.
Award Determination:
A nominated entry has achieved an average score of 70%. To be nominated for an Iowa Motion Picture Award is a major accomplishment, and all nominees will be recognized at The Iowa Motion Picture Awards Gala.
In each category, the nominated entry with the highest score is awarded The Award of Excellence if the threshold of 85% has been reached. This is the highest honor bestowed by The Iowa Motion Picture Association. The Award of Achievement, which recognizes a significant success in media production, is awarded to the nominated entry with the next highest score.
*Should a category have only one nominated entry, the Award of Excellence will be awarded if the entry has an average score of at least 85% (80% for Student Categories). An Award of Achievement will be issued if the entry scores above 70% but below 85% (80% for Student Categories)
Student categories may include an Honorable Mention Award for the third-place entrant. The Iowa Motion Picture Association wishes to recognize and encourage the efforts of student media producers.
Rules & Terms
(1) To be considered for judging, your entry must have a strong Iowa connection. To have an Iowa connection, your entry must have a prominent crew member or actor who was born, lived, educated, or worked in Iowa. Your entry qualifies if your film is set in Iowa, is about Iowans, or part, or all, of your film was produced in Iowa. You must clearly explain your Iowa connection that meets these criteria during your FilmFreeway submission process. Projects which do not meet the Iowa connection will be disqualified. Refunds are not issued for disqualified projects.
(2) The entry must have been completed between January 1, 2024, and February 1, 2026. The entry must not have been submitted before in the category or categories you are entering in 2026.
(3) You must possess creative control of the submitted work, including music used in your submission, or have written approval from the appropriate individual or entity. You may be asked to submit additional verification for any content submitted if there are questions about your license or authorization.
(4) The Iowa Motion Picture Association assumes no liability for entries. Entrants are responsible for all applicable rights and permissions. The IMPA reserves the right to refuse entries and/or refund fees at its discretion. It is the responsibility of the filmmaker or submission contact to ensure that all requirements are met. The festival retains the right to disqualify an entry, with no refunded fee, if submission guidelines are not met.
(5) Student Submissions: As a student, you may submit in the STUDENT category OR the PROGRAM categories, but not both, to avoid duplication. However, you may also submit your entry in any individual CRAFT category.
(6) You must be a member of the IMPA to submit your entries using the “Member” options on FilmFreeway. Entries submitted by non-members using those codes will be disqualified. You may become a member of the IMPA prior to submitting by visiting impa.tv. Upon completion of your registration and submission of your membership dues, you will immediately be eligible for the discounted submission fees.
(7) If you need assistance or have questions, please send an email to info@impa.tv
(8), Judging starts the day after the entry deadline, and no submissions can be accepted once judging has started.
WAIVER CODES: Non-Members do not need to enter a waiver code and pay the full submission fee, but all other submissions will require using a waiver code to ensure that you pay the correct amount for your submission. If you have any trouble with the waiver code on FilmFreeway, please contact info@impa.tv
Categories & Fees
FEES:
- Standard: $75
- Gold Members: $65
PROGRAM CATEGORIES:
- Digital Marketing
- Commercials (Under $1,000)
- Commercials ($1,000 to $4,999)
- Commercials ($5,000 to $14,999)
- Commercials ($15,000+)
- PSA (Under $5,000)
- PSA ($5,000+)
- Corporate Internal Communications
- Corporate & Community Marketing
- Corporate Training (Under $15,000)
- Corporate Training ($15,000+)
- Student Production (K-12)
- Student Production (Undergraduate)
- Student Production (Graduate)
- Educational Production
- TV News Feature or Series
- Documentary – Short form – (Under 30 minutes)
- Documentary – Long form (30 minutes or longer)
- Live Action Entertainment – Short Form
- Live Action Entertainment – Medium Form (30-59 minutes)
- Live Action Entertainment – Long Form – Includes Feature Films – Budgets Under $50,000 (60 minutes +)
- Live Action Entertainment – Long Form – Includes Feature Films – Budgets $50,000 and over (60 minutes +)
- Animated Entertainment – Short Form (under 5 minutes)
- Animated Entertainment – Long Form (5 minutes+)
- Interactive
- Episodic or Web Series
- Music Videos
CRAFT CATEGORIES:
- Screenplay (Unproduced) (Under 20 Pages)
- Screenplay (Unproduced) (Over 20 Pages)
- Script Writing (Produced) (Under 20 Pages)
- Screenplay (Produced) (Over 20 pages)
- Art Direction
- Lighting Design
- Director of Photography
- Direction – Documentary -Short form (under 30 minutes)
- Direction – Documentary – Long Form (over 30 minutes)
- Direction – Short Form (less than 30 minutes)
- Direction – Medium Form (30 minutes-59 minutes)
- Direction – Long Form (60 minutes +)
- Direction – Event
- Actor
- Actress
- Supporting Actor
- Supporting Actress
- Spokesperson
- Voice Over Narration
- Editing – Music Video
- Editing – Documentary – Short form (under 30 minutes)
- Editing – Documentary – Long Form (30+ minutes)
- Editing – Narrative Short Form (less than 30 minutes) (excludes music videos)
- Editing – Narrative Medium Form (30 – 59 minutes)
- Editing – Narrative Long Form (60 minutes +)
- Graphic Art Direction/Design
- Visual Effects (Mechanical)
- Visual Effects (Post-production; Under $10,000)
- Visual Effects (Post-production; $10,001+)
- Animation – Tag or Logo
- Original Music Score
- Soundtrack Audio Mix
- Direction – Music Video
