Film Festival FAQ
EIFF 2024 EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE SUBMITTING When is the festival? EIFF 2024…
The International Film Festival is one of the most exciting components of Emberlight, bringing films completed within the last 36 months to our live audience. Our fourth season will celebrate Feature and Short Films from around the world in Ironwood, Michigan from August 16 – 23, 2024.
Word is out that the Emberlight International Film Festival is one of the most exciting things to hit the Upper Peninsula in a long time! Over the last three seasons our audience has grown into a dedicated group of film lovers. From 2022 to 2023 we saw a 121% growth in ticket sales for our screenings.
Since our founding in 2021, EIFF has received 2,322 films (and counting!) from 78 countries across 6 continents. Only 115 films have been Official Selections in our festivals, making our annual acceptance rate below 5%. Each summer we award over $3,000 in cash prizes at our annual Award Show (August 23, 2024).
We have been honored to host filmmakers from Europe, Mexico and across the United States at our annual festivals. Emberlight offers small town charm like none other. The audience at Emberlight is warm, welcoming, and eager to meet filmmakers. We encourage anyone from the film industry who’s interested in visiting Emberlight to join us at the festival!
2024 film screenings will show at The Ember Club on August 16, 18, 21 and 23.
2024 EIFF AWARDS
BEST FEATURE FILM – $1,000 cash prize, laurel
BEST NARRATIVE SHORT (40 minutes or less) – $750 cash prize, laurel
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT (40 minutes or less) – $500 cash prize, laurel
EMBERLIGHT CHOICE – $500 cash prize, laurel and 150 volunteer hours if the recipient decides to returns to Ironwood to make a film (The Winner will be selected by the Emberlight Board of Directors)
YOUNG MICHIGAN FILMMAKER – $300 cash prize, laurel (Must be 30 years of age or younger, residing/attending an education program in Michigan)
AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD – $200 cash prize, laurel
BEST MICRO FILM – $150 cash prize, laurel
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
BEST DANCE FILM
BEST EXPERIMENTAL SHORT
BEST PERFORMANCE
DISTINGUISHED WOMAN IN FILM
INDIGENOUS FILMMAKER AWARD
BEST DIRECTOR
BEST CINEMATIC WRITING
BEST SOUND DESIGN
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
BEST EDITING
BEST FOREIGN SHORT
BEST LGBTQ+ SHORT
BEST SOUND DESIGN
SAVE ON YOUR TRIP TO NYC THIS YEAR. EXPERIENCE EMBERLIGHT INSTEAD.
Your favorites like Art in the Park, Emberlight Photographers and Performance Infusions are back this summer and totally FREE. New this season are free master classes with our Artistic Director and international tenor Miles Mykkanen in a series we’re calling Tenor Talks.
The International Film Festival, Cabarets and our new Chamber Music series will set our stages ablaze in August. We are transforming Theatre North into The Ember Club and bringing big city vibes to Ironwood. Then we’ll be “jumping across the border” to Hurley, WI for rhapsodic chamber music concerts with Adam Rothenberg and The Broadway Strings.
Over 60% of our festival is absolutely free. The average ticket price is $19. Young adults 20 years old and younger get free tickets to every event.
In 2023 we welcomed audiences from 36 states, Finland, Spain, Canada and Mexico to our events. Help us continue to turn Ironwood and Hurley into a cultural destination by donating, buying tickets, or sharing videos with your friends.
TICKET PACKAGES
BUNDLE AND SAVE: BUILD YOUR OWN TICKET PACKAGES
We have revamped our 2024 ticket packages to bring you versatility and immense savings this summer. It’s pretty simple — Buy tickets to multiple events and save money!
This season you pick which events you want to attend, rather than buying a package to every event like in years past. Buying three of more events will bring you at least 10% off your tickets.
Select the seats you want for your first event. In the checkout window click “Continue Shopping” in the upper right hand corner to add more tickets to your order. Once all your events have been selected, enter the following codes in the “Discount Code” line and click “Apply.”
If you buy 3 or 4 events, you’ll receive 10% OFF all your tickets — Code: bundle10
If you buy 5 or more tickets, you’ll receive 15% OFF all your tickets — Code: bundle15
PRO TIP: All of our tickets are discounted until July 1. If you buy your ticket packages before the end of June, you will get the lower ticket prices PLUS the 10-15% off discounts!
2023 Films
2023 Films 2023 EIFF AWARDS