The Chicago International Movies and Music Festival (CIMMfest) inaugural competition (March 2009) will bring together movies and music, showcasing films about music, movie scores and soundtracks, and other syntheses of moving image and musical performance.

From March 5 to 8, 2009, the historic downtown Chicago Cultural Center will be home to movie and music lovers from around the world. A unique and exciting addition to the international film festival circuit, CIMMfest will consist of three full days of movie screenings, panel discussions, workshops, and other programs bringing together professionals and devotees from across the globe to entertain and educate. Premieres by new and established film and video directors, as well as retrospectives, classic films and videos will fill the days, while genre-bending musical performances will rule the night at participating venues around the great music town that is Chicago.

Awards will be presented in the following categories: Music Video, Feature Documentary, Short Documentary, Fictional Feature, and Fictional Short. Alongside the competition program, there will be film retrospectives of distinguished filmmakers, special event screenings, and cutting-edge crossover media presentations.