The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites filmmakers to submit recent, original work for the 13th annual Bethesda Film Fest, set for spring 2025. The festival will be will feature in-person screenings of the top selected filmmakers at Landmark Bethesda Row Cinema.
Short (5-30 minutes), documentary films by filmmakers from Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. will be considered. Films must have been completed within the last two years. All topics are eligible. Filmmakers chosen for the 2024 festival are not eligible and may submit again for the 2026 festival.
Filmmakers are required to attend the film festival screenings in April and speak about their work.
The Bethesda Film Fest jury is made up of local noted filmmakers and documentarians.
Samirah Alikassim
Samirah Alkassim is an experimental documentary filmmaker and Assistant Professor of Film Theory at George Mason University. She has taught film studies and film/video production at a range of institutions of higher education in Singapore, Egypt, and the United States. She is the co-editor of the Palgrave Studies in Arab Cinema and her publications include the co-authored book The Cinema of Muhammad Malas, contributions to Cinema of the Arab World: Contemporary Directions in Theory and Practice, the Historical Dictionary of Middle Eastern Cinema, 2nd Edition, as well as chapters in Refocus: The Films of Jocelyne Saab, Gaza on Screen, and an anthology text book Global Horror: Hybridity and Alterity in Transnational Horror Film which she co-edited. She is currently editing a documentary about Jordanian artist Hani Hourani and researching for her book, A Journey of Screens in 21st Century Arab Film and Media.
Johnny Holder
Johnny Holder is an award-winning filmmaker who has worked with a variety of organizations including NASA and National Geographic. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Geography and an Master of Fine Arts in Science and Natural History Filmmaking from Montana State University, after serving for eight years in Army Special Operations. He focuses on inclusive and humanizing storytelling that explores humans' relationship to the environment and was selected for fellowships with Jackson Wild and the International Wildlife Film Festival. His most recent short film, Sonora, was made with Juan Pablo in Colombia. The film has received over 20 official selections, and won nine awards from some of the top festivals in the industry including Jackson Wild's Special Jury Award for Diversity and Inclusion.
H. Paul Moon
H. Paul Moon is a filmmaker whose works concentrate on the performing arts. Films include Sitka: A Piano Documentary about the craftsmanship of Steinway pianos, Quartet for the End of Time about Olivier Messiaen’s transcendent WWII composition, and an acclaimed feature film about the life and music of American composer Samuel Barber that premiered on PBS. Moon has created music videos and opera films for composers ranging from Handel to Moondog, and is currently finishing documentaries about Western poetry, music legends and U.S. history. His films have been screened to live audiences at over 200 film festivals around the world, with several awards and museum exhibitions. Highlights include works featured at the Nevada Museum of Art and the City Museum of New York, PBS television broadcasts, and best of show awards in over a dozen international film festivals.
Up to five films will be selected to be shown. A film by a young filmmaker, under age 18 (or still in High School Spring 2025), may also be chosen. Filmmakers whose films are selected will receive an honorarium of $1,000. Young filmmakers will receive $250.
