
The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites filmmakers to submit recent, original work for the 11th annual Bethesda Film Fest, set for March 24 & 25, 2023. The festival will be will feature in-person screenings of the top selected filmmakers at Imagination Stage.
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 2022 festival are not eligible and may submit again for the 2024 festival.
Filmmakers are required to attend the film festival screenings in March and speak about their work.
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 2023), may also be chosen. Filmmakers whose films are selected will receive an honorarium of $1,000. Young filmmakers will receive $250.
2023 Judges
G Chesler - Professor of Film at George Mason University and an Advisor in the inaugural ITVS / NEH Documentary Development Fellowship program.
Penny Lee - Producer, Director and Film/Video Editor with more than 25 years of editing experience.
Adele Schmidt - Artistic Director of Docs in Progress and co-owner of Zeitgeist Media LLC.