**In partnership with the Mission Zero Fund, the Mimesis Documentary Festival presents the Mission Zero Prize for documentaries that address issues around the ecology, environment, and climate of our planet. Documentaries exploring these themes will be eligible for up to $2,500 in prize money, awarded by the MDF 2022 Jury. All categories, including the new Climate Documentary categories, are eligible for the Mission Zero Prize. Visit missionzero.io to learn more.**

**Each project can be submitted to one category only**

**50% discounts on submission fees provided to previously selected MDF Artists (unlimited-use) and University of Colorado Alumni (single-use) upon request to mdf@colorado.edu**

**Full submission fee waivers will only be granted to current University of Colorado students upon request to mdf@colorado.edu from your colorado.edu email account.**

Emerging from behind our screens, documentary creates new windows for experience and understanding...

The third annual Mimesis Documentary Festival presented August 2-7 at the Dairy Arts Center in Boulder, Colorado is an immersive theatrical and virtual experience featuring in-person and at-home screenings, workshops, and conversations with documentary artists, scholars, and producers from across the world.

The Mimesis Documentary Festival is an artist-focused event encompassing short, feature, and expanded nonfiction ranging from traditional, experimental, ethnographic, and regional documentary. We focus on personal, underrepresented, and culturally specific subjects that offer the most profound experiences of art made from life.

Mimesis is a not-for-profit initiative of the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Documentary and Ethnographic Media to create and foster a local, regional, and international network of documentary artists and scholars. We are artist-focused, community oriented, and committed to providing a platform for the infinite potential of nonfiction media.

Submission Categories:

Short Documentary
Feature Documentary
Short Regional Documentary
Feature Regional Documentary
Short Ethnographic Documentary
Feature Ethnographic Documentary
Short Experimental Documentary
Feature Experimental Documentary
Short Docufiction
Feature Docufiction
Student and Emerging Documentary Artists
Expanded Documentary Arts
Short Audio Documentary
Long Audio Documentary
Short Climate Documentary
Feature Climate Documentary

Awards & Prizes

Jury Awards:

Best Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best Emerging Artist
Best in Documentary Arts
The Mission Zero Prize (up to $2,500)

Audience Awards:

Best Feature Documentary
Best Short Documentary
Best Emerging Artist
Best in Documentary Arts

Rules & Terms

We strive for transparency in our submission and selection process to bridge the gap between festival and artists as much as possible. We are committed to programming 80% of our festival from submission-based content with the other 20% reserved for the selection of special programming. Each year we also select our Opening Night Artist from our submission pool. While not all submissions can be screened at the festival, everyone who submits a film through FilmFreeway will be given a full access pass to all virtual screenings and events during the festival.

All submissions are considered for the 2022 festival.
We give priority to projects completed after January 1, 2020.
We also favor work that has not been publicly shown in Colorado.
Selected artists must sign a Screening Agreement.

MDF is unable to pay screening or distribution fees for any submissions selected for exhibition.

Open: Monday, February 14th, 2022
Early Deadline: Sunday, March 6th, 2022
Regular Deadline: Sunday, April 3rd, 2022
Late Deadline: Sunday, April 24th, 2022
Notification: Friday, June 3rd, 2022
In-person Festival Dates: August 2-7
Virtual Festival Dates: August 2-14

Submission fee waivers will only be granted to current University of Colorado students upon request to mdf@colorado.edu from your colorado.edu email account.

50% discounts on submission fees provided to previously selected MDF Artists and University of Colorado Alumni upon request to mdf@colorado.edu

Entry fees are non-refundable.

All projects must be submitted through an online link only.

Submissions to the Student and Emerging Documentary Artists category will only be eligible for the Best Emerging Artist awards.

All other category submissions are for programming purposes only, not related to awards.

Projects exploring themes around the ecology, environment, and climate of our planet will be eligible for the Mission Zero Prize. The Climate Documentary Category is for programming purposes only - all categories are eligible for the Mission Zero Prize. Up to $2,500 in prize money will be awarded by the MDF 2022 Jury.

16 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ken Fero

    A great festival that cares about documentary.

    September 2021
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  • Bentley Brown

    Filmmaker attendance made this event so special. Here’s to many more to come!

    August 2021
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  • Azalia Muchransyah

    I am really honored to be a part of this festival. I love the lineup and the festival really did a great job inviting artists and filmmakers for the talks and workshops. I highly recommend this festival and I look forward to attending again in the future.

    August 2021
    Helpful
  • Malia Bruker

    Mimesis is dedicated to programming from their pool of submissions rather than skimming from other festivals, and they've proven that this does not diminish the programming. The program of experimental documentary was excellent--thought-provoking, boundary-pushing, and enjoyable. What they've accomplished in 2 years as a festival is remarkable and I look forward to seeing how they grow.

    August 2021
    Helpful
  • Sean Hanley

    The programming at Mimesis was tremendous - always illuminating, rigorous, and thoughtful.

    August 2021
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