COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) — Ohio’s film festival scene celebrates the art of cinema with events spanning every genre, style, and perspective.
From showcasing local talent to hosting international filmmakers, these festivals provide opportunities for creators to share their work and for audiences to immerse themselves in diverse storytelling. This guide highlights must-attend festivals across Ohio for film buffs and submission opportunities for filmmakers.
FEBRUARY
• Feb. 1-27
• Mayerson JCC Jewish & Israeli Film Festival
• Location: 8485 Ridge Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45236
• Details: A diverse, inspiring lineup of award-winning films and engaging, educational programming. Twelve in-person film showings and select companion special features. Four virtual film showings will have a 48-hour watch availability window.
• Feb. 20-25
• Cinema Revival: A Festival of Film Restoration
• Location: The Wex, 1871 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210
• Details: Annual festival celebrating the art and practice of film restoration. Hear from experts working to revive historically overlooked films and filmmakers, meet visiting directors, and see newly restored classics and forgotten treasures.
Feb. 23 – March 2
• Short. Sweet. Film Fest.
• Location: Atlas Cinemas Shaker Square, 613116 Shaker Square, Cleveland, Ohio 44120
• Details: A short film-only film festival created by filmmakers.
• Submissions: Begin in September for 2026.
MARCH
March 6-8
• Over-The-Rhine International Film Festival
• Location: Various venues in Cincinnati, Ohio
• Details: Organized by leading disability services and advocacy organization LADD, the festival includes films that tell stories about communities whose voices are marginalized.
March 21-22
• Picture Lock
• Location: The Wex, 1871 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210
• Details: Screenings of recent projects and works from the archive by filmmakers in the Wex’s Film/Video Studio residency program.
March 21-23
• HorrorHound Film Fest
• Location: Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
• Details: An award-winning weekend convention and international film festival hosted by the HorrorHound bi-monthly periodical.
March 27 – April 5
• Cleveland International Film Festival
• Location: Playhouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio 44115
• Details: CIFF49 will showcase hundreds of films, accompanying post-film Q&As, as well as audience and juried awards with more than $130,000 in cash prizes for feature and short films.
• Submissions: CIFF50 (2026) Call for Entries will open in July 2025.
APRIL
April 7-13
• Athens International Film + Video Festival
• Location: The Athena Cinema, 20 South Court Street, Athens, Ohio, 45701
• Details: A premier platform for showcasing international cinema for over 50 years.
• Submissions: Begin in August for 2026.
April 19
• Ohio Shorts
• Location: The Wex, 1871 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43210
• Details: Celebrate local and regional filmmaking with the center’s annual festival of Ohio-made short films. All entries are produced in the Buckeye State and span documentary, animation, dramatic narrative, and everything in between.
• Submissions: The entry deadline is 11:59 p.m. on Monday, March 3, 2025.
April 26
• Columbus International Film and Animation Festival
• Location: Phoenix Theatres Lennox Town Center 24, 777 Kinnear Road, Columbus, Ohio 43212
• Details: The Columbus International Film & Animation Festival is the oldest film festival in the United States.
• Submissions: Open in April for 2026.
April 30 – May 4
• Cinema Columbus Film Festival
• Location: Various venues in Columbus, Ohio
• Details: The festival includes narrative feature films, documentary feature films, and short films.
• Submissions: Begin in August for 2026.
MAY
May 17
• Golden Lion Film Festival
• Location: Academy of Cinematic Arts, 6049 Yankee Rd., Liberty Township, Ohio 45044
• Details: Produced and directed by the Academy of Cinematic Arts, a Christian, arts/education nonprofit committed to helping students discover their stories with educational programming, competition, award recognition, social experiences, and a sense of community.
• Submissions: Entries for the 2025 Golden Lion Awards will be accepted until March 14, 2025, the late submission deadline is April 4, 2025, and includes a fee of $25.
May 22-25
• Columbus Moving Picture Show
• Location: Crowne Plaza North, 6500 Doubletree Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43229
• Details: Vintage 16 mm movies, including silent-era pictures, accompanied by live piano. Experts share their expertise before selected screenings.
TBA
• Hilliard Short Film Festival
• Location: Hilliard Civic and Cultural Arts Center, 5235 Center Street, Hilliard, Ohio 43026
• Details: Celebrates independent filmmaking and showcases local film and film-makers.
• Submissions: TBA
JUNE
June 19-22
• International Horror Hotel Film Festival
• Location: Crowne Plaza Cleveland Airport, 7230 Engle Rd., Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130
• Details: Annual competition for films, scripts and music videos in the following genres: fantasy, horror, horror-comedy, slasher, sci-fi, martial arts, lgbtq+ and suspense-thriller, and experimental, as well as a yearly horror film scoring competition.
• Submissions: For 2025, the regular deadline is March 5, 2025. The final/late deadline is April 1, 2025.
AUGUST
Aug. 15-17
• The Indie Gathering International Film Festival
• Location: Crowne Plaza Cleveland Airport, 7230 Engle Rd., Middleburg Heights, Ohio 44130
• Details: The weekend-long film festival is a gathering for filmmakers young, old, student, amateur, or professional.
• Submissions: For 2025, the regular deadline is May 10, 2025. The final/late deadline is June 6, 2025.
Aug. 25
• F3 Queen City Film Festival
• Location: RJ Cinema Distillery & Taproom, 4450 Eastgate South Drive, Cincinnati, Ohio 45245
• Details: A monthly film competition with a virtual audience award competition four times a year and annual in-person screenings in Cincinnati.
• Submissions: Check for details.
SEPTEMBER
• Sept. 4-14
• Cleveland Jewish FilmFest
• Location: Cedar Lee Theatre, 2163 Lee Road, Cleveland Heights, Ohio 44118
• Details: Eleven-day festival that brings the best of international Jewish and Israeli cinema to Northeast Ohio theaters.
• Submissions: The deadline for 2025 is May 31, 2025.
Sept. 10-14
• Cleveland Silent Film Festival
• Location: Various venues in Cleveland, Ohio
• Details: Showcases the best films of the silent era combined with the creative talents of noted specialists in silent film musical accompaniment.
Sept. 12-14
• HorrorHound Film Fest
• Location: Sharonville Convention Center, 11355 Chester Rd., Cincinnati, Ohio 45246
• Details: An award-winning weekend convention and international film festival hosted by the HorrorHound bi-monthly periodical.
Sept. 18-20
• Cindependent Film Festival
• Location: Memorial Hall, 1225 Elm St., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202
• Details: Three days of indie film programming, live screenplay readings, masterclasses, networking and parties.
• Submissions: Open, the early bird deadline is Feb. 28, 2025, and the extended deadline is June 30, 2025.
Sept. 18-26
• Greater Cleveland Urban Film Festival
• Location: Atlas Cinemas at Shaker Square, 13116 Shaker Square, Cleveland, Ohio 44120
• Details: A platform for independent filmmakers, screenwriters, and actors from the African Diaspora to showcase their talents to a diverse and enthusiastic audience in Greater Cleveland.
• Submissions: Opens Feb. 1, 2025, the late deadline is May 31, 2025.
Sept. 18, 25, Oct. 2
• Cleveland Italian Film Festival
• Location: Strosacker Auditorium, Case Western Reserve University, 2125 Adelbert Road, Cleveland, Ohio 44106
• Details: The local premieres of three recent Italian films and one short film program.
Sept. 20
• Akron Independent Horror Short Film Festival
• Location: Akron Civic Theatre, 182 South Main Street, Akron, Ohio 44308
• Details: A celebration of Ohio filmmakers spotlighting the horror genre.
• Submissions: Open, final look deadline, July 1, 2025
Sept. 26-28
• Maumee Film Festival
• Location: Maumee Indoor Theater, 601 Conant Street, Maumee, Ohio 43537
• Details: Celebrates the art of creativity, filmmaking and storytelling and allows aspiring filmmakers to see their work in the iconic and beautiful Maumee Indoor Theater.
TBA
• Brood X Film Showcase Toledo
• Location: Downtown Toledo, Toledo, Ohio 43604
• Details: Brood X, provides a platform for visual storytellers to share their work in front of an audience of other movie-makers, creatives, producers, enthusiasts, and storytellers.
TBA
• Dayton Independent Film Festival
• Location: Roger Glass Center at the University of Dayton, 29 Creative Way, Dayton, Ohio 45479
• Details: Celebrates regional filmmaking and stories from Midwestern filmmakers who offer their DIFFerent and unique vision.
TBA
• ReelAbilities Film Festival
• Location: Cleveland and Akron
• Details: The largest festival in the US dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of the lives, stories and artistic expressions of people with different disabilities.
OCTOBER
Oct. 2-5
• Yellow Springs Film Festival
• Location: Little Art Theatre, 247 Xenia Avenue, Yellow Springs, Ohio 45387 and The Foundry Theater at Antioch College, 920 Corry St., Yellow Springs, OH 45387
• Details: A celebration of creativity, connection and innovative performances exhibiting narrative and documentary feature films, shorts of all genres, stand-up comedy and live music.
• Submissions: Open, the earlybird deadline is Feb. 24, 2025, and the regular deadline is May 2, 2025.
Oct. 7-12
• Chagrin Documentary Film Festival
• Location: Various venues in Chagrin Falls, Ohio 44022
• Details: A celebration of documentary storytelling and filmmakers.
Submissions: Open, the earlybird deadline is March 21, 2025, and June 30, 2025, is the extended deadline.
Oct. 16-19
• Nightmares Film Festival
• Location: Gateway Film Center, 1550 North High Street, Columbus, Ohio 43201
• Details: Audiences and filmmakers discover their new favorite genre films at the world’s premier program of horrific, dreadful and weird movies.
• Submissions: Open, May 13, 2025, is the midterm deadline and Aug. 31, 2025, is the final deadline.
Oct. 25
• Youngstown Film Festival
• Location: The Vault, 6 West Federal Street, Youngstown, Ohio 44503
• Details: Provides a platform to filmmakers who think creatively, differently and outside the box in the form of shorts and features to help make their vision come to life.
• Submissions: Open, March 1, 2025, is the early bird deadline and Aug. 31, 2025, is the final deadline.
NOVEMBER
Nov. 20
• Suds & Cinema Short Film Festival
• Location: Crooked Can Brewing Co., 5354 Center Street Hilliard, Ohio 43026
• Details: The event promises an incredible lineup of short films from talented filmmakers across Ohio and beyond. From thrilling microfilms to inspiring trailers and imaginative stories.
• Submissions: Open Jan. 31, 2025, the late deadline is Oct. 24, 2025.