WHAT is The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)?
The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) is not your ordinary film festival. It is the world’s first and only film festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive dad involvement for kids and families. D3F was created in 2022 by the DADvocacy Consulting Group’s Daddy Appleseed Fund (DAF), as a virtual festival (due to COVID restrictions) to offer children and youth a stage to express through film/video how they feel about the relationship they have or wish they had with their dads. The 2023 Daddying Film Festival expanded to provide a worldwide stage to Dads/father figures as well as students and non-student indie filmmakers to convey the importance of fathers in their lives. Since its inaugural year in 2022, D3F has received submissions from student, Dad/dad figure, and indie filmmakers in 57 countries and counting!
Based on our virtual festival experience, and to more directly improve the daddying experience for children and Dads alike, the D3F expanded in 2023 to include a stand-alone, “live” Daddying Film Forum that brought children/youth together with their Dads to examine thoughts, feelings, and insights in response to live screenings of select D3F films and to express them through discussion and other creative means.
The 6th annual virtual Daddying Film Festival will take place January 11-20, 2027 on Eventive. FREE PASSES for unlimited viewing of Official Selections during festival week will be available in Dec 2026: https://daddyingvirtual2026.eventive.org/films
Our 5th annual LIVE Daddying Film Forum will take place at American University in Washington, DC, January 29-30, 2027. More details TBA.
[Notes: 1) “Daddying” is what occurs when fatherhood and nurturing converge in service to a child. 2) When we use the word father or Dad, we refer to all those who play a fatherly role.]
WHY does the D3F exist?
Our relationship with our father – in its presence or its absence – is one of the most important relationships in our lives. Because a father's presence or absence most directly impacts kids, D3F offers them a creative outlet to freely express feelings about their relationships with their Dads or dad figures and, likewise, we provide a complementary opportunity for Dads. D3F’s mission is to:
• Shine a spotlight on the importance of Dads in their presence and in their absence.
• Provide opportunities for kids and fathers alike to reflect upon and express feelings about what daddying qualities are most important to them; what kind of Dad a father wants to be, and what kind of Dad a kid wants and needs.
• Provide opportunities for emotional authenticity, creativity, and originality.
• Portray a variety of family dynamics in order to explore and encourage constructive relationships.
• Demonstrate film- and/or video-making skills and production values.
In 2023, D3F broadened the spotlight to include Dads and dad figures in its call-for-entries as more men are recognizing the critical role they can play in their kids’ lives and are embracing the opportunity to do so as they move from an understudy to a co-starring parenting role. After all, when men are positively involved, all measures of social well-being improve for kids, fathers, families, and communities. And even though the benefits to kids and youth of positive Dad involvement are increasingly known and supported by research, including dads/dad figures in the program will help demonstrate some of the lesser-recognized benefits men get from being involved in their children’s lives.
All student FINALISTS earn a $250 award for use toward an activity or project to enjoy with their dad. All D3F WINNERS, including Dads, Moms, dad figures, and non-student indie filmmakers, earn an “Atticus,” a statuette symbolizing Atticus Finch from the film based on Harper Lee’s book "To Kill a Mockingbird." Finch, an iconic single Dad, represents several ideal daddying qualities. Student Atticus winners also earn an additional stipend to advance their studies or create a project encouraging positive dad involvement. The D3F Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Film submitted by a Dad and the D3F Men Caring Award for Best Film submitted by or about a Dad Figure both carry a $500 cash award.
Here are the 2027 D3F award categories:
1.) 3rd through 5th grade (elementary school)
2.) 6th through 8th (middle school)
3.) 9th through 12th (high school)
4.) College/university (undergraduate)
5.) Best Feature Film (non-student indie filmmakers)
6.) Best Short Film (indie filmmakers)
7.) Best Animated Film
8.) Best Music Video
9.) D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Feature Film (selected by D3F Judges & Staff)
10.) D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Short Film (selected by D3F Judges & Staff)
11.) NEW for 2027: "Salute to Moms" – for best film about and/or by a mother or grandmother who, for a variety of reasons, faced challenges caring for their child(ren)/grandchild(ren) as a result of an absent father in the parenting equation.
12.) NEW for 2027: "Importance of Play Award" for best film depicting Dad/dad figure-child bonding through active play, including games, sports, imaginative/role play, performing arts/dance, reading, and other creative endeavors.
13.) NEW for 2027: "Best DadPod" – for best single episode of a parenting (Dad or Mom) video podcast focused on the importance of positive Dad involvement, in its presence or absence.
14.) Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-created Film; and
15.) Best Dad-Figure Film, aka The D3F Men Caring Award for best film 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.
16.) Best Film by/about a "Returning Dad" (e.g., deployed military, incarcerated, estranged, etc)
17.) D3F Audience Choice Award – Film/video earning the most votes during the virtual D3F on Eventive (selected by virtual film fest audience votes).
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Sevenskies Distribution
May 2026 -
ELHASSAN ELHOUT
February 2026 -
February 2026
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February 2026
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Andrew Coughlin
February 2026
