Prismatic Ground is a New York festival centered on experimental documentary and avant-garde film. Hosted by Maysles Documentary Center and media partner Screen Slate, the festival will hold its third edition May 3-7, 2023 (with a virtual component).

We seek work that pushes the formal boundaries of non-fiction in the spirit and tradition of experimental filmmaking. This "spirit" is somewhat amorphous, undefinable, and open to interpretation, but refers to work that engages with its own materiality, privileges a heightened artistic experience over clear meaning, and/or conveys a liberatory political sensibility in the agitprop tradition.

Especially encouraged: Analog exhibition formats (16mm, 8mm); Queer, Trans and BIPOC filmmakers; medium length films; expanded cinema.

For a better— though not exclusive— sense of what we're looking for, here is the lineup for the 2022 edition of the festival: https://www.screenslate.com/events/prismatic-ground-2022

Rules & Terms

We have no firm premiere rules at this time, but work that has already played extensively at other festivals— or that will have played in NYC prior to the festival— may not be prioritized. Likewise for films completed before May 2022.

Please direct all questions to prismaticground@gmail.com.
12 Reviews
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  • Ryan Clancy

    It’s an honor to have been included in this truly special festival. Inney has created a space for exciting, intimate, and powerful work. Can’t wait for the next edition!

    December 2022
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  • Suneil Sanzgiri

    A brilliant re-imagining of what a film festival experience can be like. No others out there like it. Prismatic Ground is pushing the gambit, and we are all the more enriched by it.

    June 2022
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  • Sofia Theodore-Pierce

    A radical festival with outstanding programming. I was honored to be in the company of so many brilliant makers.

    May 2022
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  • Isidore Bethel

    Such a warm festival – the connections between the films that Inney Prakash programs for each wave were astonishing, exciting, and thought-provoking. The screenings assembled a beautiful, multifaceted community of makers and appreciators. Everything about this festival exudes care and passion!

    May 2022
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  • FEDERICA FOGLIA

    World class programming delivered both online and in person, truly groundbreaking! Wishing them to grow and prosper in the years to come!

    May 2022
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