Dark Monarch Films is on an absolute tear right now — and today, I’m proud to announce not one, but two major festival selections for Where The Shadows Wait. The momentum behind this film keeps building every single week, and these new wins prove that our story is resonating far beyond Chicago.
First, we’re officially an Official Selection at the Culver City Film Festival 2025 — a prestigious Los Angeles festival known for showcasing bold, independent filmmaking from across the world. Getting recognition in the heart of the film industry means everything, and it’s another confirmation that the work we put into this film continues to shine on its own merit.
We were also recently accepted into the Crown Point International Film Festival, a festival known for discovering powerful emerging voices. This one hits differently, because it reflects exactly what Where The Shadows Wait was built to be: a raw, intimate, and genre-bending story created with authenticity and vision.
Getting into these festivals isn’t just a win for the film — it’s a win for the entire team behind it. Riley, the cast, and everyone involved poured their heart into every frame. And as we continue building out DMF+ and the future of Dark Monarch Films, these moments fuel the bigger mission: handling our own distribution, building our own platform, and proving that real independent filmmaking doesn’t need permission.
This is only the beginning.