Categories
Best Fiction Feature
Best Non-Fiction Feature
Best Documentary Short
Best Drama Short
Best Thriller Short
Best Western Short
Best Comedy Short
Best Horror Short
Best Sci-Fi Short
Best Animated Film Short
Best AI Generated Short
Best Art Short
Best Music Short
Best Dance Short
Best Low Budget Short (under $5k)
Celebrating the best in independent film made in the 21st century.
Submit your feature or short film for consideration in our monthly and annual awards!
About American West Film Fest
Our Mission
At American West Film Fest, we believe in the power of storytelling to inspire, challenge, and connect us. Founded in 2026, our mission is to celebrate independent cinema made by both emerging and established filmmakers from around the world. We are dedicated to showcasing innovative, diverse, and thought-provoking films that push boundaries and spark meaningful conversations.
What We Look For
Whether it’s a feature film, documentary, or short, American West Film Fest champions creative voices and unique visions. We curate our awards across a wide range of genres, and most of all, we celebrate the independent filmmaker's ingenuity.
What We Offer Filmmakers
We hate entering a festival to never hear back or see your film on the website when the submission status on FilmFreeway says "accepted". That's why we promise to update our winners and list them on our website and socials!
Monthly Winners will be given Gold Winner or Honorable Mention laurels and Annual Winners given Annual Winner laurels and unique certificates as a token for all the hard work they put into their projects.
Our Story
Our founder, Elizabeth Holloway, has been an independent filmmaker in Colorado for over twenty years. She has co-produced film events including Open Screen Night at the Oriental Theater in Denver, the Special PeaceJam Jury Prize at the Monte Carlo TV Festival, and the Spaghetti and Westerns Film Festival in Colorado and New Mexico. Her love of independent film festivals and connections to other film afficados interested in being jury members including Zach Olivares, Jane Debow Welles, and Zachary Shapiro, spurred the idea to begin the American West Film Fest with the idea being to start in Raton, New Mexico for the first year, then taking the festival to a different American West town each year as the festival progresses. We thank you for being here for our first year!
Festival Rules
| Title | Regulation |
|---|---|
| Eligibility | We consider ourselves a 21st Century Film Festival. Any films created from January 1, 2000 on are eligible to submit. |
| Submission Limits & Categories | Filmmakers may only submit one film per category each month, but may submit multiple films in different categories. |
| Submission Cut-off Time | Films submitted after 12pm Mountain Standard Time on the last day of the month will automatically be put into the next month's submissions. The final submission deadline will be December 27, 2026. |
| Premiere Status | Because we are a monthly festival designed to celebrate the best in independent film, we do not require a World, National, or Regional Premiere status for submission. Films that are currently available publicly online (YouTube, Vimeo, etc.) remain eligible for all monthly awards. |
| Prior Submissions | Projects submitted to the festival in previous months or years are eligible for re-submission only if the film has been significantly recut or altered. |
| Runtime Definition - Feature Films | Any narrative, documentary, or experimental work with a total running time of 30 minutes or longer (including credits). |
| Runtime Definition - Short Films | Any project with a total running time of 29 minutes and 59 seconds or shorter (including credits). |
| Language & Subtitles | All non-English language films must include embedded, legible English subtitles. |
| Closed Captions | English-language films are strongly encouraged to include English Closed Captions (CC) or subtitles for accessibility, though it is not strictly required for submission. |
| Secure Screeners | All submissions must be provided via a secure online screener (a password-protected Vimeo or YouTube link, or a direct FilmFreeway screener upload). We do not accept physical media (DVDs, Blu-rays, or flash drives). |
| Updated Links | If your screener link or password changes during the judging period, you must notify the festival immediately. Dead links may result in disqualification without a refund. |
| Clearances & Intellectual Property Rights Ownership | By submitting to the American West Film Fest, the applicant represents and warrants that they hold all necessary rights, licenses, and clearances to exhibit the film. No films will be exhibited without prior filmmaker acknowledgement. |
| Music & Archival | All music, trademarked imagery, and archival footage must be fully cleared for public exhibition if accepted to be screened. |
| Promotional Rights & Materials | By submitting a project, the applicant grants the American West Film Fest the non-exclusive right to use images, logos, screenshots, trailers, posters, and other promotional assets provided by the submitter (or extracted from the film) for public advertising, festival promotion, and marketing purposes across all media platforms. |
| Indemnification | The submitting filmmaker agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the American West Film Fest, its staff, and its venue partners from any claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from any copyright or trademark infringement within the submitted work. |
| General Hold Harmless | By submitting to the American West Film Fest, the applicant agrees to hold the festival, its directors, staff, volunteers, and venue partners harmless from any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including attorney's fees) arising from physical injury, property damage, or loss sustained during participation in the festival or attendance at any live events. |
| Technical Failures | We strive to provide the highest quality exhibition for our filmmakers. However, the American West Film Fest is not liable for any technical issues, projector or audio failures, or file formatting glitches that may occur during screenings. |
| Force Majeure & Event Cancellation | The American West Film Fest reserves the right to alter festival dates, venues, or formats at its sole discretion. The festival is not liable for any costs incurred by filmmakers (such as travel or lodging) in the event of a cancellation or date change due to extreme weather, public health emergencies, venue closure, acts of God, or other unforeseen circumstances. Submission fees are strictly non-refundable under any circumstances, including festival cancellation. |
| Final Authority | The festival reserves the right to update or amend these rules at any time. All programming decisions, including monthly awards and annual live showcase selections, are final and at the sole discretion of the festival organizers. |
Last Updated August 31, 2026
Latest News & Updates
August 2026 Winners Now Live!
Read all about it & more on our Substack blog:
Press Releases
Submissions
Submissions are judged monthly and released on the 1st of the following month. The Annual Winners will be announced on December 31st, 2026.Submit on FilmFreeway:
Event
Our first ever event will be at the Isabel Castillo Performing Arts Center in Raton, New Mexico on January 16, 2027.Check here on December 31, 2026 for the full schedule.Submit on FilmFreeway:
Winners
2026 Monthly Gold Award Winners
Outstanding films chosen as this month's winners and are eligible for our Annual Awards which will be announced on December 31, 2026
| August Awards | Film Name | By |
|---|---|---|
| Best Documentary Feature | Successful Outlaw | David Luis Leal Cortez |
| Best Drama / Thriller Feature | Redemption | Asif Akbar |
| Best Western Feature | The Birth & History of Western Swing | Michael Allen Markwardt |
| Best Horror Feature | The Monster of the Valley | Gaultier Barra |
| Best Music or Dance Feature | DANCE: Generations | Dawn Gifford Engle |
| Best Low Budget Feature (under $20k) | A Boy Named Dot | Brad Cook |
| Best Documentary Short | The Virgin's Wake | Isaac Kerlow |
| Best Drama / Thriller Short | Burning Virtue | Catriona Rubenis-Stevens |
| Best Western Short | The Tracks | Matthew Meunier |
| Best Comedy Short (Tie) | Furpeezenough | Preston Leiner |
| Best Comedy Short (Tie) | The Jerk Off | Zack Cooper |
| Best Horror Short | The Legend of Spearfinger | Christopher E Knox |
| Best Sci-Fi Short | Eye For An Eye - The Short | Ashley Bowers |
| Best Animation Short | Module | Matt Rasch |
| Best AI Generated Short | A New Day | Dariush Rezaei |
| Best Music or Dance Short | Hope | John Dawson |
| Best Low Budget Short(under $5k) | Files | Adrian Ciechacki |
2026 Honorable Mention Awards
Films that deserve recognition for their great work
| Month | Film Name | By |
|---|---|---|
| August | 1000 O | Barbara Peikert |
| August | Affluence | Greg S. Reid |
| August | A More Colorful World: The Artistry Behind Rita Winkler | Mark Winkler |
| August | AnimalZone: Punchlines & Paw Prints: Bella Speaks! | Arthur Von Wiesenberger, William G. Conlin |
| August | Becoming BIlly | Raen L LeVell |
| August | Charro 250 | Diego Huerta |
| August | Church of Lost Souls | Trix StarT |
| August | Christmas at Moriah Hallow | Emile B B LaCerte Jr |
| August | Club V | Leslie Streit |
| August | Darling, Forgive Me | Dave McGrath |
| August | Do and Obey | Guy Shilo |
| August | Elumetra | Mitch Greer |
| August | Estrella | Daniel Alvarado-Nava |
| August | Family Meeting | Holly Bentea |
| August | Inside Hurricane Melissa | Jamaica Strong | Aleca King |
| August | Invisible Life | Natalia Arjona |
| August | Khaki Dreams: An Achy Breaky Heart Parody | KS Brooks, Kathryn D. Patton |
| August | Kör Ses (Blind Vocie) | Oğuzhan Denizol |
| August | Lotus | Bryce Mackie, Brennan Collins |
| August | Not A Good Man | Carsten Clemens |
| August | Nothing | Amir Niyakam |
| August | Save Her | Law Jones |
| August | She Came From Outer Space | Simon King |
| August | The Castle of Baron Finch | Don Cunningham |
| August | Undone | Brett Ryder |
| August | Vintage Journey | Philip C. Sedgwick |
Our festival submissions are recieved exclusively via FilmFreeway.
Winners of the Inaugural 2026 Season of the American West Film Fest
| September Awards | Film Name | By |
|---|---|---|
| Best Fiction Feature | Name | Name |
| Best Non-Fiction Feature | Name | Name |
| Best Documentary Short | Name | Name |
| Best Drama Short | Name | Name |
| Best Thriller Short | Name | Name |
| Best Western Short | Name | Name |
| Best Comedy Short | Name | Name |
| Best Horror Short | Name | Name |
| Best Sci-Fi Short | Name | Name |
| Best Animation Short | Name | Name |
| Best AI Generated Short | Name | Name |
| Best Art Short | Name | Name |
| Best Dance Short | Name | Name |
| Best Music Short | Name | Name |
| Best Low Budget Short(under $5k) | Name | Name |
Event Screening Schedule
| Award | Film Name | By | Runtime | Screening Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cat | Name | Name | 28 mins | 3:50pm |
| Best Drama / Thriller Short | Film Name | Creator | 40 mins | 2pm |
| Best Low Budget Short | Film Name | Creator | 1hr 10 mins | 2:40pm |