The Bethesda Arts & Entertainment District invites filmmakers to submit recent, original work for the 12th annual Bethesda Film Fest, set for April, 2024. 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 2023 festival are not eligible and may submit again for the 2025 festival.
Filmmakers are required to attend the film festival screenings in April 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 2024), may also be chosen. Filmmakers whose films are selected will receive an honorarium of $1,000. Young filmmakers will receive $250.
2024 Judges
Addie Moray - Former VP of Production Management for The Smithsonian Network.
Kamilah Thurmon - Producer, Director, HumanitiesDC grant recipient, District of Columbia Office of Cable Television, Film, Music, and Entertainment (OCTFME) Filmmaker of the Month.
Randall Blair - Filmmaker, author, and Program Director of the American University graduate program Producing Film, Television, and Video
