2026 Light Matter South American Invitational
Dates: October to December 2026
Location(s): TBD, confirmed in Buenos Aires, Quito, and Santiago.

ENGLISH TEXT:
Over our first five years, Light Matter has been proud to partner with organizations and venues across Latin America to host international traveling programs. In 2026, we are excited to announce a limited call for entries for our 2026 "invitational" festival to be held across various cities in Latin America.

NOTE: OUR 2026 CALL FOR ENTRIES IS LIMITED TO WORK FROM ARTISTS IN LATIN AMERICA / THE LATIN AMERICAN DIASPORA AND/OR WORKS THAT ENGAGE LATIN AMERICA IN SOME WAY, SHAPE, OR FORM. The expectation is to curate one to three news programs to be shown alongside retrospective programs outlined below.

If you are in Latin America and would like to host a Light Matter screening from October to December 2026, please reach out to James at lightmatterfilmfestival@gmail.com.

By doing the festival as a smaller scale, international, quasi-road show, it is not feasible to do a traditional call for entries. I am sorry to disappoint, but this is the only way of keeping the number of submissions manageable based on the possible number of films selected. I also want to honor the work of the host venues, cities, and communities by centering Latin American work. Thank you for understanding.

The 2026 festival will include a retrospective program of Peer Bode's video work, a small retrospective of films from Light Matter's first five years, and new programs featuring the work of Latin American artists and filmmakers.

Light Matter is curated by James Hansen.

SPANISH TEXT:

Durante sus primeros cinco años, Light Matter ha colaborado con organizaciones y espacios culturales en toda América Latina para presentar programas itinerantes internacionales. Para 2026, nos alegra anunciar una convocatoria limitada de obras para el festival de este año —que será solo por invitación— y que se llevará a cabo en distintas ciudades de la región.

Nota: La convocatoria 2026 está dirigida a artistas radicados en América Latina o parte de la diáspora latinoamericana, así como a obras que se relacionen de alguna manera con la región. La idea es armar entre uno y tres programas nuevos, que se presentarán junto a los programas retrospectivos que mencionamos más abajo.

Si estás en América Latina y te interesa organizar una proyección de Light Matter entre octubre y diciembre de 2026, puedes escribirle a James a: lightmatterfilmfestival@gmail.com.

Dado que el festival es concebido como un evento internacional de menor escala —un circuito itinerante—, no podemos hacer una convocatoria abierta tradicional como en los años anteriores. Sabemos que esto puede ser un poco frustrante, pero es la mejor manera de manejar la cantidad de propuestas en relación con las obras que podemos seleccionar. Además, queremos poner el foco en la producción artística latinoamericana y en las comunidades y espacios que hacen posible el festival. ¡Gracias por entender!

La edición 2026 va a incluir un programa retrospectivo dedicado al trabajo en video de Peer Bode, una selección de películas de los primeros años de Light Matter y nuevos programas con artistas y cineastas latinoamericanos.

Light Matter es un proyecto curado y gestionado por James Hansen.

Rules & Terms

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND
We are an experimental film and media art festival, showcasing the work of experimental film, video, and media artists. Conventional narrative films do not qualify for consideration.

NOTE
What limited funding we had in past years has been completely eliminated. We continue to refuse to fund the festival through submission fees. This means the festival cannot pay screening fees to artists, venues, or distribution companies.

AUTHORIZATION
By entering the festival, the entrant authorizes a public screening of the work and agrees to provide an exhibition copy for the period of the festival. If selected, the entrant will be requested to submit images for press use.

YEARS
Work must have be from the last five years (2022-26).

ENTRIES
Maximum three (3) entries per artist.

PREVIEW SCREENERS
Entries should be submitted via FilmFreeway with access to online streaming with password-protected link (if necessary)

EXHIBITION FORMATS
All selected works will be screened via Digital File (h264 or ProRes preferred). We will attempt to include analog film (8MM, 16mm) as a screening option, but artists will be responsible for shipping costs.

NOTIFICATION
All entries will be notified of their selection status by the end of August.

FEEDBACK
Due to the number of submissions received, I cannot provide feedback on work that is not selected.

CONTACT
For more information, contact James at lightmatterfilmfestval@gmail.com
12 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • christopher tym

    Delighted to screen again with Light Matter, they clearly put a lot of careful work into the curation because their program is filled with amazing works. my only reservation is that i was not able to attend in person!

    November 2025
    Helpful
  • Alex Broadwell

    Great festival. Well worth a visit. James does some inspired programming, brings excellent guests, and champions your work long after the festival's closing date.

    May 2025
    Helpful
  • maria bilbao·herrera

    Great experience, great Festival, thanks for the opportunity!

    March 2025
    Helpful
  • Pierre Yves Clouin

    ***** ***** ***** ***** ******

    November 2024
    Helpful
  • Kyle Petty

    I'm very thankful for my film being included this festival. Communication was clear. I wish I could have gone in person because the 2024 program looked stellar.

    November 2024
    Helpful