Attack of the $5 Film Festival

September 26, 2026 • Submission deadline August 15

No budget? No problem!

Welcome to the movie festival for the no-budget oddballs, the dorks, the creators self-exiled from the halls of High Art.

Go Go Guerillas

Celebrating the modern spirit of guerilla filmmaking: creators armed with iPhones and 25-year-old handicams, using ketchup for blood and trawling yard sales for props.

Short Films for a Short Fest

We're looking for short and weird, for a six-hour sprint of the best of the no-budget world.

Free as Hell

We don't charge fees to submit films; we don't require mailed screeners. Low budget, low barriers.

No funders, no restrictions

Just two guys renting a cinema for an afternoon to screen cool shorts. We're not beholden to government agencies, private donors, or anybody else.

Free to submit – no fees or screeners required

Leading to a cavalcade of nonsense in Kingston's finest indie cinema

Get Started

SELECTION CRITERIA

Your film (submission deadline: August 15) will be reviewed by untrained dorks with no formal qualifications. If it feels like a good fit, we'll toss 'er in there. Selections will be made based on vibes, commitment to the bit, best use of limited resources, fearlessness, and length (we're going to try to fit a bunch in, so short is good). It will be very arbitrary.

Submit!

it's a gorilla with a shut up brain sign, what do you want from us

THE FESTIVAL

An afternoon of no-holds-barred high-octane no-budget sticky messes of filmmaking in Kingston, Ontario on September 26 from noon - 6 pm.
It will be hosted at the Screening Room, a classic old-school indie cinema, with real butter on the popcorn, candy at the concession stand, and normal seats.

FAQ for details

it's a movie still with we are death written on the wall, brothers and sisters, this is the bomb

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS?

Hey, we love quality films as much as the next folks. Elegantly shot, beautifully scripted, lavishly set, delicately acted cinema has its place.
And its place is every other film festival.
We want to make a home for the grimy, the weird, the amateurish; the I've-got-a-barn-let's-put-on-a-show school of filmmaking. The first-timers, the burnouts, the dropouts, the has-beens and never-weres.

Submit!

What's the vibe, Clyde?

Anything goes! But here's some stuff we like, both from friends of the Fest and total strangers.

Dr. Control

Dollar-store toys and abundant silliness. From Manuel Fiver, one of the people behind the Fest.

CHICKEN

A fake trailer made by a creator affiliated with the Fest's co-hosts. CC0 footage, a 40-year-old Casio SA-1 Tonebank preset, and the word "Chicken."

Crow Hand

NOT AT ALL affiliated with us, just a groovy short we like that captures the length / tone / budget vibe.

The Lump

NOT AT ALL affiliated with us, but a great example of stop-motion resourcefulness. By John Weldon (1991).

Abstract Animation INTVA

NOT AT ALL affiliated with us, but a good example of self-created pure abstract work (but please note our requirement that music needs to be copyright-cleared for public use; you can't rely on YouTube music licensing for AttackFest submissions).