MISSION STATEMENT

The Maverick Movie Awards was founded by moviemakers who have been through the glorious highs and crushing lows of the international film festival circuit; from these shared experiences came the calling to create a real alternative to the nepotism, politics, and commercialism that defines far too many festivals.

Our goal is to help talented moviemakers achieve the recognition they deserve by awarding independent/underground movies that have a sense of style, a foundation in craft, and the power to communicate.

By championing only true independent/underground cinema created outside of the Hollywood system -- regardless of style, genre, or budget -- our hope is to re-ignite the spirit of the major film festivals and distribution pioneers by celebrating what they once valued above glitz, glamour, and movie stars: great cinema.

MORE ABOUT US

The Maverick Movie Awards’ founders and selection committee members are working Hollywood insiders and outsiders (not mere academics, critics, fans, or dabblers) with ages ranging from mid-twenties to mid-fifties. In fact, everyone involved in our jury process has been a principal collaborator in award-winning work that has achieved top-ten film festival “official selection” and/or international video/television distribution and/or a theatrical release. Yes, all of us. We’ve even got a bona fide movie star on our team.

But we’re not telling you who we are. No siree! If it’s true that “it’s a small, small world” then this is quintuply true of the entertainment industry so since we have no way of knowing who we may offend with our mission statement or by our very existence, it is not in our best interest to reveal our identities. And then there are those whose work we don’t award or nominate hell-bent on revenge: we don’t need the misguided retaliation of this angry minority to add to the punishment we must already endure on the World Wide Web due to our luck and suck as moviemakers, etc. (Yeah, it’s weird, but the harder we work, the luckier and suckier we all seem to get.)

And if those reasons aren’t good enough for you, please consider that we are NOT doing this for our greater glory (like far too many film festivals/awards organizations/grant foundations); we do what we do at the Maverick Movie Awards for all the talented moviemakers who deserve recognition. Those talented folks are the ones with the names to know. And, so far, quite a few have even become the names to watch.