CALL FOR ENTRY: VLX8 - VASTLAB Experimental 2027

Experimental film and visuals have run through VASTLab since the beginning. This February we return for our 8th annual program, then take it on the road, with selected works traveling to new cities throughout the year. Submissions are open now.

VLX works at the intersection of experimental film, music, visual art, and technology. We program work that blends these mediums and reflects the full, complicated range of human experience. We are an artist-run creative collaborative based in Los Angeles, built for lovers, learners, and masters who want to collaborate, create, and connect, whether in our studio or at an offsite satellite program.

*What we're looking for*
Work that challenges the norms and expands what storytelling can do. Experimental film, video, animation, projection, audiovisual performance, and hybrids that don't fit cleanly anywhere else. Bring us the unfinished, the strange, and the luminous. We are not looking for the safe or the formula-finished.

*A touring program*
VLX8 launches in Los Angeles in February and travels through the year, bringing experimental work to audiences in new cities. Selected works may screen across multiple program stops.

*Who should submit*
Emerging and established artists working in experimental visual and time-based media.
International submissions welcome / open to all career stages.

*Key dates*
Submissions open: June 2026
Submission deadline: Nov 2026
Notifications: Dec 2026
Los Angeles launch: February 2027
Tour: throughout 2027, cities to be announced

See prior years' programs at vastlab.org.
Questions: hello@vastlab.org

Rules & Terms

*Submission Guidelines*
Maximum run time for all VLX films is 10 minutes or less, unless otherwise agreed for LIVEscore or installation work.
We welcome work originated on Super 8, 16mm, and HD video. All work screens digitally. Submit via Vimeo, YouTube, or another online video service. We cannot accept physical screeners.

If selected, we will ask you to provide film and production stills and a clip or trailer of 60 seconds or less for publicity.

*Terms of Submission*
By submitting, the filmmaker/artist acknowledges and agrees that:

Selected work will be screened in live venues before live audiences, including at multiple stops on the VASTLab Experimental 2027 tour.

VASTLab may use publicity materials (film excerpts, production stills, posters, clips, and similar) from selected works to promote the festival in print and online.

The filmmaker/artist warrants that they are the rightful owner of the submitted work and that it does not violate or infringe any trademark, trade name, copyright, or literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, or other intellectual property or personal rights, including all necessary music and likeness clearances.
30 Reviews
Overall Rating
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  • Peter Whittenberger

    It was an absolute privilege to participate in your amazing festival. Thank you!

    March 2025
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  • Wilson Stiner

    We were so impressed by the forum for new voices and live atmosphere. Looking forward to engendering more community around experimental filmmakers in cultural hubs and beyond!

    March 2025
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  • Adam E. Stone

    An amazing festival! VASTLAB provides a great venue for high-quality, thought-provoking, yet unconventional, off-the-beaten-path films. We need more festivals like this one!

    March 2025
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  • Toni Mitjanit

    Great experimental festival with amazing showcase.

    March 2025
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  • Wheeler Winston Dixon

    An excellent festival, with a wide variety of different work. The projection is superb, the work cutting edge, and the people at Vastlab are clearly in the vanguard when it comes to experimental cinema. This festival, and Vastlab itself, is a treasure.

    March 2025
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