Director: Matthew M. Foster

We focus each year on showcasing the finest independent films of the fantastic. We welcome not only Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror films, but any film of the imagination that steps out of the slice-of-life category. That includes short animated films of all types.

The Dragon*Con Independent Film Festival is a four day event of film screenings and panels, with directors, producers, writers, actors, SFX, and makeup artists all sharing their expertise. The Festival competition is primarily for short films (under 60 minutes), but we do take a few independent features.

Please go to the Main Festival Page for more information on the Dragon*Con Film Festival and on Film Panels at Dragon*Con.

2012 Film Festival Highlights

This year you will be meeting angry ghosts, articulate zombies, incompetent starship captains, desperate time travelers, and dinosaurs with lasers. You'll see a man discover a succubus, a teenager travel back through time to WWII, and a child search for a way to Zanzibar. There is the hysterical (a werewolf in a sorority) and the serious (an elderly woman finding the impetuous to go on). We even have a flamboyant rock n' roll superhero facing off against Lovecraftian monsters. There will be films from Germany, The Netherlands, Japan, and France, plus most of the English speaking world. 

Look for familiar names both in front of and behind the camera, such as: Tim Curry, Doug Jones, Juliet Landau, Elijah Wood, Michael Dorn, Malcolm McDowell, George Takei, Christopher Lloyd, Heather Henson, Claudia Christian, and many more.

The Films

See the complete list of our 2012 films, including descriptions, on our 2012 Festival Page.

Features

The 2012 Festival had an impressive list of features that will make you smile, and think, sometimes at the same time; sometimes not. You could find a zombie apocalypse, monsters in a storm, an in-depth look at fan films, real people discussing their desire to kill, and even Japanese schoolgirls with samurai swords. For titles and descriptions of our 2012 features, go to our Features page. We are proud to have hosted four world premieres, culminated with a screening of Rock Jocks, staring Felicia Day.

Awards

The Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival presents Best of Fest awards to films selected as:

• Best Short
• Best Animated Short

Also, the jury selects a 1st place for Feature Films as well as in genre categories, which for 2012 included: Comedy, Dark Comedy, Documentary, Fan Film, Fantasy, Feature, Horror, Horror Comedy, Music Video, Science Fiction, Thrillers, Animated Comedy, Animated Fantasy, and Animated Horror.

Congratulations to our 2012 winners!

Best Live-Action: ‘Til Death
Best Feature: Strange Frame
Best Animated: The Narrative of Victor Karloch

Animated Comedy
Winner: Zing
Finalists: Cedric & Hope and Inner City

Animated Fantasy
Winner: Opening Day
Finalists: Fisher and Scrap Metal

Animated Horror
Winner: The Narrative of Victor Karloch
Finalists: Dark Vessel and The Old Man and the Old Woman

Comedy
Winner: How to Get to Candybar
Finalists: Imminent Danger! and Pillow Fight

Dark Comedy
Winner: Twisted
Finalists: Blood on the Gaming Dice and Felix Graves

Documentary
Winner: When the Zombies Come
Finalists: Devoted to the Dark Side and Souvenir

Fan Film
Winner: A Light in the Darkness
Finalists: To Catch a Predator and Harvey

Fantasy
Winner: Wilt
Finalists: The Passage and Perception

Horror
Winner: ‘Til Death
Finalists: Baby-Sitting and Whom God Helps

Horror-Comedy
Winner: Reverse Parthenogenesis
Finalists: The Post-Lifers and Werewolf in a Girls Sorority

Music Video
Winner: Old Man Cabbage
Finalists: Giant Mushrooms and Madly in Love

Science Fiction
Winner: D.N.E.: Do Not Erase
Finalists: 88:88 and White Room: 02B3

Thriller
Winner: No Rest For The Wicked
Finalists: Owen’s Hobby and Stuffed

Honorable Mention: Blood on the Gaming Dice

Panels and Programming

With all our great films, you might forget our panels. Don't. The directors, writers, and producers of our films will discuss their experiences, and tell you how they created their works. Plus don't miss our seminars on the technical aspects of film production. You want to make a film? We'll show you how.

More information will be available on the festival site.