Cinema Columbus works collaboratively with venues throughout central Ohio to establish an outstanding annual film festival bringing independent film from around the globe, and here at home, to our audiences.

Cinema Columbus, in partnership with Gateway Film Center, is proud to present four awards for this year’s festival – three juried competition awards and one voted on by the audience!

Each of our competitions will have three jury members per category who will deliberate and judge what they deem to be the “best” of their respective competitions, selecting one winner to take home the prize. These jury members are esteemed individuals of the film industry across education, writing/directing, film festival programming, and more.

Our Audience Choice award will be decided by you, our moviegoers. Before each feature film screening, you will be handed a ballot to vote for the film on a scale of 1-4, with your completed ballot going to a Cinema Columbus representative after the screening.

All awards presented at our festival go directly to the creators. We believe in celebrating and empowering filmmakers, ensuring that their talent and hard work are recognized and rewarded.

Audience Choice Award: $3,000
Documentary Feature: $2,000
Narrative Feature: $2,000
Short Film: $1,000