Theme: All films submitted for consideration by the D3F MUST PORTRAY IMPORTANCE OF FATHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS AND POSITIVE FATHER INVOLVEMENT (in its presence or absence). “Father” is defined as any adult playing a fatherly role; the “child” (also referred to as "student") may be any age. All films/video submissions also MUST RELATE TO AT LEAST ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THEMES defined by the Festival creators and submission guidelines:
• A letter to my father or A letter to my child(ren)
• The most joyful/fun thing I ever did with my father and/or child(ren)
• If I could make one wish come true for my dad and/or child(ren) it would be...
• My Daddy dream: the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my dad/child
• Men Caring – a film/video celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing, fatherly roles and make a positive impact in the lives of children and youth. Examples include foster dads, adoptive dads, granddads, uncles, teachers, mentors and "big brothers," inspirational philanthropists/patrons, and other daddying role models/VIP dads. The D3F Men's Caring Award is sponsored by Circle of Friends member Equimundo.
The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) will feature FOUR (4) types of films:
* FIRST will be STUDENT films/videos, 1 to 10 minutes in length, submitted in four different grade level groups: elementary (1st through 4th grades), middle (5th through 8th grades), high school (9th through 12th grades), and college undergraduates. The films must either be entirely student-produced or produced by a student working together with a father or father figure. Please refer to the description below.
* SECOND will be films/videos, 1 to 10 minutes in length, submitted by dads that relate to one of the daddying themes defined by the Festival submission guidelines. Dad-submitted films are eligible to win Best Short Film and Best Dad Film (the Roy R. Neuberger Prize). The Neuberger Prize also carries a $500 cash award.
* THIRD (new in 2024) will be films/videos, 1 to 10 minutes in length, submitted by another adult male who plays a fatherly role in the life of a child (aka "Dad figure"), including but not limited to foster dads, adoptive dads, granddads, uncles, teachers, mentors and "big brothers," inspirational philanthropists/patrons, and other daddying role models/VIP dads.
*FOURTH will be a collection of shorts (any length) and/or feature-length films selected from independent adult filmmakers (and possibly studios) worldwide.
Submissions by adult independent/non-student/non-dad filmmakers, IF ACCEPTED BY THE D3F, WILL BE FOR SCREENING AND ATTICUS TROPHY AWARD consideration ONLY and WILL NOT BE ELIGIBLE for scholarship/monetary awards. Two exceptions to this being dads and dad figures eligible for the Roy R. Neuberger Prize (Best Dad-created film) and D3F Men's Caring Award (Best Film about or by a Dad Figure), which both include a monetary prize. See details of these awards under "AWARDS & PRIZES."
All short and feature-length films/videos must be in English or include English subtitles.
Once submitted, a film may not be pulled from the D3F by the filmmaker for any reason. By submitting your film, you are agreeing to comply with this and all other requirements. D3F submission fees paid by student, dad/dad figure, and adult/independent filmmakers are non-refundable.
By submitting your film, you are warranting that you are authorized to commit the film for screening and accept full responsibility to provide the correct format of your film to our venue partners for festival play.
By submitting this film, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, and expenses (including but not limited to attorney's fees, and costs of the court) which may be incurred by reason of any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, publicity, screening, and loss of or damage to the screening videos entered. Note that this does include music rights for any copyrighted music. Even student filmmakers need to license the right to use copyrighted music.
By submitting your film, you agree to allow D3F to use it, in part or in its entirety, and any related artwork (e.g., promotional/cover photos or film/video screenshots) in Festival promotional materials and other media, including but not limited to Festival social media postings, Festival website, and Festival-related email marketing campaigns.
If/when we accept your film for screening during the D3F, you will receive an automated notification, which includes the deliverables needed in order to proceed adding your film to our festival offerings. You will be asked to upload an electronic file of your film, to our dropbox. Once received, it will be uploaded to our password-protected film programmer's site. This is not a public site. It is for screening by our jurors.
If/when your film is accepted to the D3F, you will receive notification via email. All accepted films will be streamed online during the festival on a D3F-chosen platform. Winners will named on the last day of the festival and you will be invited to participate in an online awards event.
We strongly encourage you to promote your film’s screening to your personal network of friends and family.
CORRESPONDENCE: All correspondence to the Festival management, including entry forms and support materials, must be in the English language and must be submitted online. At peak times during the submission process, it may take several days for us to respond. The Submitter will be the main contact for all communications. If you have questions, please send them to allan [at] daddyingfilmfest [dot] com.
WHERE TO SUBMIT: All submissions must be made through FilmFreeway. A separate online entry form, payment, and screener must accompany each submission. Entry fee, if applicable, must be paid in US Dollars and submitted through FilmFreeway. Entry fees are non-refundable.
FILM SUBMISSION FORMATS:
Online screeners must be downloadable
Downloadable file types are H264, mov, mp4, and avi
Include the link and password, if suitable.
Download link must be available through the first festival date.
All short films/videos must be in English or include English subtitles.
Blu-rays or DVDs may NOT be submitted for preview.
The preview copy must be formatted for all-region, multi-zone, or Zone 1 (NTSC, North America) and clearly labeled with title of production in English.
PRODUCTION STILLS (Independent short and feature-length films):
Two high-quality images from the production (jpg, png or tif format)
Images must be 300 dpi or higher and provided via FilmFreeway or emailed to allan@daddyingfilmfest.com
MARKETING LINKS - OPTIONAL (Independent short and feature-length films)
Websites, Social Media
Trailers, if available
OTHER PRODUCTION INFORMATION - OPTIONAL (Independent short and feature-length films):
Director headshot, 300 dpi
Director’s biography and filmography
Cast and Crew, names and titles
Posters, Lobby Cards, SWAG
Materials can be mailed directly to venue, please ask for specifics
JURY:
Our jury consists of youth, ages 9 to 22, who have received training as jurors, as well as adults who are educators, media professionals, youth advocates, and parents.
APPLICATION STATUS:
Filmmakers will be notified regarding acceptance or non-acceptance via FilmFreeway no later than the acceptance date listed on this site. Additional information regarding scheduled screenings will be sent via email once your film is scheduled to play at the festival. Notices are sent out via email for screenings times or you can check at the D3F Festival site.
FESTIVAL SCREENING FORMATS:
Festival Screening Formats must be in H264, mov, mp4 or avi format (1920x1080)
Exhibition screener cannot contain watermark, time code or other markings of ownership.
RULINGS:
The D3F and the DADvocacy Consulting Group staff reserve the right to rule on cases not covered by these regulations.
PARTICIPATION AGREEMENT:
By submitting to the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), the Submitter has read and agrees to the Participation Agreement and the Rules and Terms for Festival. The Participation Agreement is to be considered a part of the Rules and Terms and is hereby incorporated by this reference. All references to the Rules and Terms shall also expressly include reference to the Participation Agreement. The Rules and Terms are legally binding.
Daddying Film Festival & Forum
c/o DADvocacy Consulting Group
4822 Bradley Boulevard
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
allan@daddingfilmfest.com