About Us

Original. Indie. Anti-Niche.

ReelHeART International Film and Screenplay Festival is a worldwide, fiercely independent film festival held in Toronto, Canada  the 1st week of July.

We screen Film and Documentary Premieres from the best in independent filmmakers from around the block and around the World. We host very competitive Screenplay Competitions for both Short and Feature Scripts.

ReelHeART also holds year-round screenings, talks and events.

Advance Tickets and Program for ReelHeART Season 14 On Sale
May 02, 2018 at www.reelheart.org

MISSION & OBJECTIVE
In 2004, a film supporter and world traveler of Irish descent who speaks 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 over 100 ‘specialty’ film festivals.

Our vision has remained strong – – We believe in “All Cultures Under One Roof”.
That’s why visiting filmmakers and screenwriters from 42 countries to date, come to ReelHeART.
To celebrate the culture of film and all aspects of filmmaking – – from script to screen.

After placing a festival Managing Director as second in command, the shape and focus of ReelHeART became a reality and to this day, ReelHeART constantly evolves to refine its mandate to put the spotlight on the best of independent filmmaking and find the best unheard voices in screenwriting from around the world working in any genre.

ReelHeART accepts films and documentaries of all genres, countries and film lengths. There are 12 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 filmgoers 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 around the world. We put emerging and student artists alongside established and master filmmakers in an effort that all filmmakers can be recognized for their art, rather than their credits.

We also have a goal to satisfy and challenge the interests of filmgoers and film supporters, to encourage, reward and celebrate the “Real HeART” of Independent Film and New Media.

Whether filmgoer, filmmaker, reviewer, media or industry professional, the welcome and networking opportunities you experience at ReelHeART will be talked about from one year to the next!

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
FOR FILMMAKERS and SCREENWRITERS
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 3 Short Screenplay Winners too.

Did you also know that unlike many other screenwriting competitions, we do not charge extra for Feedback?

Amazing things have happened to a large number of our Top 3 Winners. Literary agent representation, Options at big Hollywood studios like CAA, Paramount, and Disney. And one of our writers even became a jury member for the Golden Globes. Pretty cool huh?

Never entered a film festival before? If you have never entered a competition before for film, documentary or screenplays, ReelHeART should be your first film festival stop.

Local 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 and how to garner distribution interest. Filmmakers refer to us as “The Filmmaker’s Film Festival”. We are proud to wear both banners. We invite you to find out why…

The experience you gain at ReelHeART along with 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.