The 3rd annual "BlackBox Film Festival" will celebrate exemplary films made by young Black filmmakers on the East Coast. The festival will take place on September 26th, 2025 on Boston University's campus.

Of the submissions, judges will select 6-10 finalists to screen their short films at the film festival. Filmmakers will get the opportunity to discuss their films in a Q & A session moderated by black student filmmakers.

Awards & Prizes

Finalists will have their films screened at the "BlackBox Film Festival" and receive a certificate of achievement.

The Top Three Films will receive the following monetary awards:

3rd place: $150
2nd place: $300
1st place: $600

Rules & Terms

Short films must be 4-15 minutes. Any films longer than that will be disqualified.

Shorts that are submitted are encouraged to have a Black student in a lead crew role (Producer, Director, Cinematographer), or a predominantly Black cast.

Only Undergraduate and Master's students who attended a school in the New England area can submit (recent 2025 grads permitted).

Criteria for Media Submissions:

- Movie File: 1080p HD, 23.976 fps, Quicktime .mov, with codec of either DNxHD or ProRes 422 HQ
- Standard:
- Sound Mix: -20 dB (overall average) -12dB (peak average), 2ch (stereo), 48kHZ, 24-bit
- Color Grade: Rec. 709, 8-bit