About

Fresh. Indie. Anti-Niche.

We Believe in All Cultures Under One Roof…

ReelHeART Festival Group is a 21 Year-old Fully Registered
Not-For-Profits Arts Organization.

ReelHeART celebrates the Culture of Film and all Aspects of Indie Filmmaking from Acting, to Script, to Screenwriting. ReelHeART is an open genre Competition for Premieres of Film, Documentaries, Screenplays and TV Pilots from the Best in Emerging and Master Indie Filmmakers and Screenwriters from Around the Block and Around The World.

Each year we hold Five (5) Premiere Only Competitions for Filmmakers and Screenwriters. Our largest event is the week-long ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival held in early July, Online with Zoom Q&As, Live Script Reads and 1 Week of FREE  Film Premieres through our proprietary CineBox to Audiences around the Block and Around The World.

We Also Hold Year-Round Community and Film Related Commemorative Events Online or in Public in Ontario, Canada, the United States and Europe.

Mission and Objective
In 2004, a film supporter and world traveler of Irish descent who spoke 3 languages founded the ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival (ReelHeART).

Our Founder had a vision that a new film festival could be formed to fill the void created by the growing trend of ‘niche’ festivals in the City of Toronto. That trend has now grown to 120+ ‘specialty’ film festivals. But our vision remains strong.

We believe in “All Cultures Under One Roof”
That’s why Filmmakers and Screenwriters Enter ReelHeART.
To Celebrate the Culture and ART of Filmmaking from Around the World From Script to Screen.

We also did not care for the Programming Practices at many Festivals around the World (we’re talking low end to Oscar Qualifying Festivals and More!).

ReelHeART was the First and Only Festival To Implement our
Programmer’s Pledge.

We Vow To Watch Every Frame of Your Film from FADE IN to the Closing Credits
We Vow To Read Every Word of Your Screenplay from FADE IN: to the The End

We are still the ONLY Festival Group in the World that Honors this Pledge.
You Pay For Your Entry, so we show Respect to the Filmmakers and Screenwriters who choose ReelHeART as part of their Festival Strategy.

After placing a Managing Artistic Director as second in command, the shape and focus of ReelHeART became a reality. To this day, ReelHeART constantly evolves to refine its mandate to put the spotlight on the Best of ‘Indie Filmmaking’ and the most Creative Voices in Screenwriting from around the World in any Genre.

ReelHeART accepts Films and Documentaries of all Genres, Countries and Film lengths. There are 40+ Competition Categories to choose from. Our Top Prize is the “Founder’s Award” (‘Best of the Fest’).

ReelHeART brings a cultural mix of dedicated sponsors, media and film goers to our events and establishes long-term relationships. This adds to the cultural and creative exchange from planning stages to launch of every Annual ReelHeART Festival Week.

ReelHeART is dedicated to supporting the need for exposure for ALL LEVELS of Independent Filmmakers and Screenwriters from around the block and around the World. We put emerging and student artists alongside established and master filmmakers and Screenwriters in an effort that Everyone can be recognized for their art, rather than their credits.

We also have a goal to satisfy and challenge the interests of our Audience, to encourage, reward and celebrate the “Real HeART” of Independent Filmmaking.

Whether Filmmaker, Screenwriter, Audience member, Reviewer, Media or Industry Professional – the welcome and networking opportunities you experience at ReelHeART will be talked about from one year to the next in person or Online.

For Filmmakers. For Screenwriters. For Actors.
ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival is for Films and Screenplays made with ‘Real Guts’ and ‘Real Heart’.

We celebrate films that are  International. Original. Indie. Anti-Niche.

Regardless of genre, it’s the story we’re interested in. If your film or documentary has that balance of a terrific story, an interesting vision and solid production standards, then we think an audience should see your film. We’ll do what we can to make that happen.

Any Genre is accepted at ReelHeART: Feature and Short Narratives such as: Drama, Comedy, Black Comedy, Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Film Noir, Satire, Mockumentary, Animation, Experimental, Music Videos, as well as Feature and Short Documentary, Profiles, Underground and More!

What kind of film or documentary do you have? Is it a fun film, an outrageous film, a quirky film, an intense film; a film that will rip your heart out or a film that will make your ribs hurt with laughter, a gut wrenching, bittersweet or tragic story? Then ReelHeART is for you…

Screenwriters, Did you know that ReelHeART was the first screenwriting competition that offered a Rehearsed Cast-to-Type Live Read for its Top 3 Feature Script Winners? Well, now we do that for our Top Short Screenplay and TV Pilot Winners too.

Did You Know, (unlike many other Screenwriting Competitions), Our Extensive and Exclusive Script Coverage is FREE?

Amazing things have happened to a large number of our Top Winners. Literary Agent Representation, Options at big Hollywood studios like CAA, Paramount, HBO, and Disney to name just a few. Even jury members for the Golden Globes, UK, and other International Competitions and Award Shows. Pretty cool huh?

Never entered a Film Festival or Screenplay before? ReelHeART should be your first film festival stop.

Film Industry Pros affectionately refer to us as “The Filmmaker’s BootCamp” as the only film festival that shows all levels of filmmakers ‘the complete indie package’ on how to hit the ground running with Promotion, Marketing, Networking, Screenwriting and how to garner Distribution interest.

Since our first year, Filmmakers have affectionately called us as “The Filmmaker’s Film Festival”. We are proud to wear both banners. We invite you to find out why…

Did You Know ReelHeART also Casts Approximately 40 Non-Union and Union Actors and Actresses Worldwide (since Covid19)?

Every season these incredible Talents perform our Live Script Reads (in their entirety) to help bring all those Screenplays to life for Screenplay Winners from our Writing Competitions.

During our Live ‘Brick And Mortar’ Festival we made sure all of our Screenwriters, Actors, Actresses and Filmmakers  and even our ‘Volunteers Of The Day‘ got to network every night for a week, making new friends and new connections in the film industry from around the Block and around the World.

The experience you gain at ReelHeART, the networking opportunities and the welcome you’ll receive are among our priorities and quite possibly one of the top film festival events you’ll ever experience.