The Fourth Annual Tombstone Film Festival

January 29th – February 1st, 2026

The Tombstone Film Festival was created by John Marrs and Travis Mills to showcase the best Western feature and short films in America’s most iconic Western town. The event will include screenings of selected films, panels, a special opening night event, and closing awards party.

All selected filmmakers will receive two VIP passes which includes admission to all screenings, festival events, and the awards ceremony.

Submissions for our third annual festival open on May 1st. Mark your calendars for our festival dates, January 29th to February 1st, 2026. And new this year:

PITCH US YOUR WESTERN!

For our fourth year of the Tombstone Film Festival, we present a new category. We call it the WESTERN PITCH.

You are invited to submit a pitch video for your micro-budget Western feature film and enter a competition to receive $20,000 from ITN Films to make your movie!

The winner of this competition must produce their Western feature during March/April of 2026. Producers Travis Mills and John Marrs will assist and manage your budget and shooting schedule, overseeing your project from preparation to completion. The completed film must be delivered no later than November 2026. It will be distributed by ITN Films and screen out-of-competition at our fifth annual Tombstone Film Festival in 2027.

Basic Guidelines for Your Western Project:

– Must follow the budgetary guidelines set forth by Travis Mills and John Marrs.
– Must be a non-union project.
– Must be filmed in Arizona at the following locations: 1. Gammons Gulch Movie Set. 2. White Stallion Ranch. 3. Any other Arizona locations which are permitted by the production and free to use.
– Runtime must be between 80 and 120 minutes

Additional guidelines will be shared if your project reaches the final phase of our competition.

Now, here’s how you submit your Western!

Read the details for submission below:

YOUR PITCH VIDEO

Starting May 1st, you may submit the pitch video for your feature-length Western. Like our regular submissions, there is an early bird, regular, and late deadline. Keep in mind, the sooner you submit your video, the more time we will have to consider your project.

– Pitch videos must be 2 to 3 minutes in length
– Your pitch video may include photography/clips, conceptual drawings, excerpts from your script, and more. Get creative!
– Your pitch video must answer the following questions: 1. What’s your story? 2. Why do you want to make this movie? 3. Why should we want to watch this movie? 4. Why is the Western genre important to you?

After reviewing your video, our festival team will determine if you have reached the second round: sending us your screenplay.

YOUR SCREENPLAY

We will contact you via email if your pitch has passed to the second round. We will request a copy of your screenplay (so start writing now if you haven’t already!).

Scripts must be:

– 60 to 120 pages in length
– Formatted as a PDF
– Professional script formatting (proper use of script writing programs) will be taken into consideration when judging your screenplay

If you pass the second round to become one of our finalist, you will be invited as a finalist in the competition and screen your pitch video at our fourth annual Tombstone Film Festival. In addition, our festival team will reach out to you with details regarding budget, schedule, and rules for making your Western if you are chosen as this year’s winner.

FINAL COMPETITION

During our fourth annual Tombstone Film Festival, finalist pitch videos will screen throughout our event for our audience. The winner will be selected by an average of the following two groups:

– Judge’s panel including festival co-founders Travis Mills and John Marrs, plus select industry professionals
– Audience vote, collected during our festival events

The winner will be announced at our awards ceremony on Sunday, February 1st, 2026.

Click Here to Submit via FilmFreeway