FAQs

What is the KinoFest?

Kino Fest started in 2001 as an event to showcase the work of University of Idaho students who produced their own short films. It has grown over the years to include filmmakers from across the Pacific Northwest and acts as a staple event to bring local filmmakers to Moscow and connect them with UI students.

What does Kino mean?

Kino means “cinema” in many Slavic languages.

When is Kinofest?

KinoFest is typically held sometime in the month before the University of Idaho spring commencement. 2023’s festival will be held in person and streamed online April 28 2023 at 6:30 pm right here.

Where does this take place?

This event is held at the Kenworthy Theatre in Downtown Moscow, Idaho. The 2023 festival will also be streamed online right here at KinoFilmFest.org.

Who can participate in Kino?

As an audience member, Kino is free and open to the public for all to attend. If you are a filmmaker looking to submit your work, you must live in (or the work must be produced in) the Pacific Northwest region of the United States of America. We accept films from Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Alaska and Washington.

How do I submit a film?

KinoFest uses Filmfreeway.com to solicit and review all film submissions. There are simple instructions on their website to create an account and begin submitting your film to festivals across the globe. Find our festival on FilmFreeway by clicking here!

Does it cost anything to attend?

KinoFest is free for audience members to attend, though we do encourage you to donate and support our festival and students.

Does it cost to submit a film?

It depends.

If you are a student filmmaker, it is free to submit to our festival through our regular deadline (small fees apply for the extended and final deadlines).

If you are a non-student or alumni, we do charge a fee to submit your films, which increases slightly as each deadline passes. We try to keep our submission costs down and as reasonable as possible.

What are the rules regarding what can I submit?

All films must be produced within the past two years.

All films must be ten minutes or less in length.

We only accept work created in or by filmmakers from Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington.

All entrants submitting acknowledge they hold the copyright to their work and have clearances and permissions for any intellectual property included in their film (music, etc.).

How are films selected?

Each year, a team of at least three production professionals or industry experts is assembled to review and rate all open submissions. That team then reviews all scores and decides on the final film selections for programming.