SCREENINGS & PERFORMANCES (IRL & Virtual)
EVENTS
Festivals
MeetUps
Webinars & Workshops
Conferences & Seminars
Retreats
Showcases
DEADLINES
Festivals
Grants, Applications & Internships
Screening Submissions
ACTIONS & PETITIONS
HOUSEKEEPING
Get excited New York! Coffeehouse Cinema is coming to you!
Their first ever event in New York will be Wednesday, October 14, 2026, time and location TBD.
Make sure to save the date and keep an eye out for more details.
(SS)
Coffeehouse Cinema is crossing the pond!
That’s right! The first ever Coffeehouse Cinema London Pop-Up will be Wednesday, September 23, 2026 in collaboration with Callo. Location TBA.
Save the date and make sure to keep an eye out for more details!
(SS)
They will screen 4 shorts paired with 4 wines along with a director Q & A and social hour. They also have 4 non-alcoholic drinks! Check out the post below for the lineup.
Tickets: https://luma.com/er0isdzl
(Someone please tell me there will be at least one Grease mention…)
(SS)
The second and final special 24-hour presentation of Christian Marclay’s The Clock at LACMA, running from Saturday, August 22 at 7pm through Sunday, August 23 at 7pm. Ticket holders may arrive at any point in that window; re-entry requires rejoining the queue. LACMA members receive priority access, space is limited, and wait times may be significant. The work contains brief nudity and strong language.
Tickets: https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/christian-marclay-clock-0
(TH)
From Sunday, July 26, through Sunday, August 23, The Clock will be on
view during regular museum hours and is included in general admission.
Tickets are on sale now for Coffeehouse Cinema Vol. 8. with special partner Intermission, a podcast from The Cinegogue.
Location: Re/creation Cafe Event Center
4510 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
Doors Open: 7:00 pm
Screening: 8:00 pm
Doors close at 8:05 PM, so please arrive on time.
Tickets: https://clyx.com/feed/coffeehouse-cinema-vol-8
(SS)
The night will feature an excellent lineup of short films and include many of the filmmakers who made them. There will be music, food, drink and more. Come enjoy a night as we celebrate each other’s work in person, off of our phones, under the stars—because community matters and our work matters and you matter—and we want to see all of you there. :)
(CR)
“Join us September 1st at Vidiots to celebrate an evening of indie doc shorts, featuring the LA premieres of The Life of the Party, Gatorville, and Oh Whale, followed by conversations with the filmmakers.”
(TH)
Location: Re/creation Cafe Event Center
4510 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(SS)
The tenth edition of the original Coffeehouse Cinema!
What a huge milestone! Congrats guys!
Location: Re/creation Cafe Event Center
4510 W Washington Blvd
Los Angeles, CA 90016
(SS)
The 2026 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Tour provides a curated glimpse into the Festival’s selections, highlighting the depth of narrative possibilities explored in the short film format. The tour invites audiences across the world to experience a collection of resonant, provocative, tender, and human-centered fiction, nonfiction, and animated shorts that showcase truly dynamic independent storytelling and offers a mix of stories that highlight bold perspectives and next-gen storytellers.
The program includes jury winners The Boys and the Bees (Nonfiction), Crisis Actor (U.S. Fiction), and Living with a Visionary (Animation), alongside Marga en el DF, Pankaja, and Sauna Sickness. For booking inquiries, contact Mike Plante.
Remaining Tour dates and venues:
August 28–30: Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
September 1: Wexner Center for the Arts, Columbus, OH
November 13–14: 815HORTS, Rockford, IL
December 12: Erie Community Library, Erie, CO
January 4, 2027: Enzian Theater, Orlando, FL
More info: https://www.sundance.org/festivals/sundance-film-festival/program/short-film-tour/
(TH)
“A new documentary short initiative
20 films, including multiple award-winning selections, were chosen from nearly 1,000 submissions and are now streaming to a global audience on Yahoo and Youtube.
Featured titles: Thank You for Listening, Chasin’ Butterflies, TR(ol)L, Dual Wielder, Shanti Rides Shotgun, Noggin, The Grandfather Puzzle, How Fast Can you Eat a Pickled Egg?, The Baker’s Hotline, A Home for Everything, The Moleman, Kowloon!, The Final Bow, Eco-Hack!, Love Birds, How We Roll, Panther Pat, Confessions of a Jumbotron Addict, Murewa, The Meloneers
Choose one film from the links above or Watch & Share the full Playlist!"
(TH)
“The first-ever Yahoo x Nonfiction Hotlist Film Festival is coming to The American Dream Mall in East Rutherford, NJ, August 22–23. Selected doc shorts will screen at the new Dream Live Performing Arts Center, culminating in a special Sunday evening event featuring filmmaker fireside chats and live performances by country musician Joshua Ray Walker, star of Thank You for Listening and Coleman Itzkoff, featured in The Final Bow Admission is free! If you want to ride the bus from NYC with the Nonfiction Hotlist team members check out travel details here.”
(TH)
Okay, okay, so this one might feel a little far in advance, but you’re gonna blink and it’s gonna be October, so you better start planning now!
Submit: https://filmfreeway.com/NonDeShortsFestival
Location: Reading Biscuit Factory, Reading-UK
Subscribe and keep up-to-date on all the latest developments!
(SS)
Double Exposure — the United States’ first and only film festival dedicated to investigative reporting on film — returns for its 12th annual edition with the theme “On the Record,” pairing four days of film screenings with an expanded professional symposium. New this year is the inaugural DX Public Forum, which opens the festival’s programming to the broader public, on the premise that the rights and tools of accountability journalism belong to every citizen, not only credentialed press. Among the featured forum sessions is “Cast Out and Speaking Out: Voices from Inside Government,” exploring what compels scientists, civil servants, and journalists to speak out — and what they risk when they do. Note: Vanessa Hope and I attended Double Exposure 2025 and loved its curation, films, panels, participants, and venues across the board.
Passes & Tickets: https://dxfest.com/attend/passes-and-tickets/
(TH)
All
FilmStack
“Dan Sickles of Moonbeem will give us a walk through of the new platform that harnesses the power of clipping to convert social followers into real audiences of your film. For anyone who wants other people to use social to get the word out about your film… Don’t miss this one.”
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7x0NZ3jNSh2E7nlrPjjNVg
(SS)
All
“Join the Regional Civic Media Cohorts: National Kickoff as we launch a national initiative to develop regional strategies for more consistent and sustainable funding, stronger civic infrastructure, and community-centered approaches to supporting independent storytelling. Bringing together leaders from documentary film, journalism, public media, philanthropy, education, arts and culture, and civic engagement, the cohorts will explore practical models that communities can adapt to meet their own needs. This kickoff meeting will introduce the Civic Media 2.0 framework, connect participants across six regional cohorts, and begin a collaborative process to identify more durable approaches to funding, governance, and policy that strengthen local media ecosystems while respecting the distinct mission of every sector. Together, we'll help shape recommendations and practical resources that empower communities to take greater ownership of the systems that fund, distribute, and sustain public-interest storytelling.”
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/15K1Vt5eSD2gRhjJm3m-qA
Join a Regional Cohort: https://www.futurefilmcoalition.org/civicmedia#involved
More info: https://www.futurefilmcoalition.org/events
Keep up with the Future Film Coalition for more.
(TH)
All
“Join Future Film Coalition [Future Film Coalition] for a members-only working session on the latest developments in the #BlockTheMerger campaign and the ongoing challenge to the proposed Paramount–Warner Bros. Discovery merger. Special guest Gabe Lezra of Democracy Defenders Fund will help unpack where things stand, what the legal process ahead looks like, and what recent developments mean for independent filmmakers and the broader field. We’ll also use the session to hear from FFC members about the issues that remain most important to the independent film community and discuss how FFC can continue building awareness, education, and collective engagement around media consolidation. This is a participatory working session for FFC members. Come with questions, perspectives, and ideas for what the field needs next.”
Register: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/suefFXZhQWqIU3t-_RPkEw
More info: https://www.futurefilmcoalition.org/events
(TH)
This Show&Tell members-only webinar reunites Keith with filmmaker and paid-ads expert Nick Beaulieu to cover how to amplify organic content with small, focused Instagram ad campaigns. Nick will walk through which content performs best as paid ads, how your strategy should shift depending on your campaign goal, and how to avoid the common trap of boosting posts with no clear objective. Access options for non-members include a free guest pass (one per person), a paid webinar pass for $25, or a full Show&Tell membership.
This webinar is only for Show&Tell members but you can attend by requesting one Free Guest pass (if you haven’t already), purchasing a Paid Webinar pass for $25, or joining Show&Tell.
(TH)
Tickets are $10 each for individual workshops, but they are also offering a bundle.
August 29 from 11 AM - 1 PM: Secrets of Script Supervising with Carla Castaneira
September 19 from 11 AM - 1 PM: All About Props with Romain Gateau
Learn more about each event in the post below.
(SS)
The Film Independent Forum is an annual two-day conference at the Directors Guild of America designed to inspire and empower filmmakers with the tools and connections needed to get projects made and seen. The 2026 edition features screenings, panels, workshops, one-on-one meetings, and networking receptions, exploring how the boundaries between fiction and nonfiction, big and small screen, and global and local are being redefined. Passes are on sale now: free for Arts Circle Members and Film Independent Fellows (with active Membership), $165 for Members, and $220 for the general public. Full program details, speakers, and Industry Connect session info are coming soon.
Passes & Info: https://www.filmindependent.org/programs/forum/
(TH)
“This fall, we are bringing together journalists—as well as TV and movie screenwriters, producers, directors, and content creators—to discuss nuclear security issues related to artificial intelligence, health, the environment, and outer space.
Wednesday, October 21
Arrive in Los Angeles in the afternoon
Evening cocktail reception at the Hoxton Downtown LA hotel
Thursday, October 22 at Warner Bros. Studios
Full-day program with evening entertainment
Friday, October 23 at ASU California Center Broadway
Half-day program
Depart Los Angeles”
The conference is FREE and some includes meals. Space is LIMITED so register now!
Email Andy Adams at andy@outrider.org with questions.
Register: https://forms.gle/zjCMdE5A1UoL32Bj9
More info, including the full list of speakers: https://outrider.org/conference/2026-nuclear-media-summit
(TH)
All
“The 2026 Hotlist is a curated slate of standout nonfiction works in progress, spanning documentary features, shorts, series, podcasts, and reality.
We connect creators with audiences, industry opportunities, and partners who can move a project forward.”
It is FREE to submit!
More info: https://nonfictionhotlist.com/the-2026-hotlist
Submit: https://nonfictionhotlist.com/submit2026
(TH)
Applications for the 2027 cohort of WGF’s Writers’ Access Support Staff Training Program open August 13 at 11am PT and close September 13 at 11:59pm PT. The 14-week program — led by instructors Debbie Ezer (The Good Doctor) and Clay Lapari (Community) — is designed to help underrepresented writers, including those who identify as BIPOC, LGBTQ+, disabled, and/or over the age of 50, gain the skills needed for support staff roles such as writers’ assistant and script coordinator. The Submittable application link will be posted on the program page when the window opens on August 13.
Application Window Opens: August 13, 2026 at 11am PT
Application Deadline: September 13, 2026 at 11:59pm PT
Learn More: https://www.wgfoundation.org/programs/writers-access-support-staff-training-program
(TH)
Now in its twelfth year, Double Exposure is the United States’ first and only film festival dedicated to investigative reporting on film, pairing public screenings with a professional symposium for watchdog journalists and documentary filmmakers. Feature-length films and shorts that are world, national, or DC premieres are eligible; submitted works must have an investigative angle and must not have been previously available to Washington, DC audiences. The festival runs November 5–8, 2026, with filmmaker notifications going out on or around October 2. Submit via FilmFreeway.
Regular Deadline: September 13, 2026
Submit: https://filmfreeway.com/DoubleExposureInvestigativeFilmFestival
(TH)
Deadline: September 15th, 2026
A no-fee submission opportunity for emerging and established filmmakers, with selected works offered international screening opportunities plus potential collaboration and distribution support. The festival itself takes place in Tokyo around November 2026.
Submit: https://expcinema.org/site/en/call/liminal-archive-2026
Submissions are now open for the 2027 SXSW Film & TV Festival, accepting feature films, short films, music videos, TV projects, and XR experiences. The festival itself runs March 15-21, 2027 in Austin, Texas, and is a premiere platform for world premieres in front of press, industry, and enthusiastic audiences. Projects must have been completed in 2025 or 2026, or be on track for completion in early 2027. All projects must be submitted via link, which must remain accessible through March 2027.
First Deadline: August 25, 2026 at 11:59pm CT
Second Deadline: September 15, 2026 at 11:59pm CT
Final Deadline: October 1, 2026 at 11:59pm CT
Submit: https://sxsw.com/apply/film-submissions/
(TH)
NYS Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development | Online
The 2026 Independent Film Production Tax Credit Program opens for applications on Monday, July 13. Established in last year’s state budget, the program is unique in letting productions claim their tax credit in the year the project is completed, rather than waiting.
Productions that already began principal photography between January 16, 2026 and July 12, 2026 can also apply to access remaining funds from the previous window, on a first-come, first-served basis. These productions must submit initial applications starting July 13 at 10 AM and no later than July 30 at 4 PM, pending fund availability. For all applicants, principal and ongoing photography must begin within 180 days of initial application submission. Applications are accepted in the order their project summary is signed via DocuSign. Application-specific questions can go to filmcredits@esd.ny.gov or (212) 803-2328; general questions go to nyfilm@esd.ny.gov or (212) 201-5605.
Applications are now open for Berlinale Talents 2027, the 25th anniversary edition of the Berlin International Film Festival’s talent development platform. Up to 200 emerging film and television professionals will be selected from across 15+ disciplines for a six-day onsite Summit in Berlin (February 12-17, 2027) featuring workshops, industry conversations, mentoring sessions, and international networking. A service fee of €10 applies for the Early Bird Rate, rising to €15 at the standard rate after August 19. Applicants born in or after 1990 may also be eligible for The Dream Makers, a short-film initiative with production funding of up to €120,000.
Final Deadline: September 2, 2026, 12:00 noon CEST - Service Fee €15
Apply Here: https://www.berlinale-talents.de/bt/page/c/apply
(TH)
Talent Press, an initiative of Berlinale Talents in collaboration with FIPRESCI and the Goethe-Institut, is an international incubator for emerging film critics and journalists. Selected participants gather in Berlin during the Berlinale (February 12–17, 2027) to critique festival films, publish essays and reviews, and connect with critics and cinephiles from around the world. An Early Bird service fee of €10 applies through August 19; the standard fee of €15 applies through the final deadline. All applicants must have an existing track record in film criticism or journalism.
Final Deadline: September 2, 2026, 12:00 noon CEST — €15 service fee
Apply Here: https://bit.ly/4wAEuET
(TH)
Applications are open for the 17th APostLab Annual Post-Production Workshop, a five-day residential plus two-day online, project-based program taking place November 13–17, 2026 in Vienna, Austria. The intensive workshop covers technical, financial, and creative aspects of post-production in a European international co-production environment, combining plenary sessions, group work, and individual training. It is open to producers with a feature film, documentary, or series project, as well as post-production supervisors. The workshop is conducted in English and supported by Creative Europe MEDIA, the Austrian Film Institute, and other industry partners.
Application Deadline: Sunday, September 6, 2026 midnight CEST
Interviews (pre-selected participants): Starting second week of September 2026
Announcement of selected participants: Last week of September 2026
Workshop dates: November 13–17, 2026 — Vienna, Austria
Apply Here: https://apostlab.com/workshops/annualworkshop/
(TH)
Since 1995, Slamdance has been the festival where first-time directors break through. Christopher Nolan, Bong Joon Ho, Lena Dunham, and Sean Baker all premiered here. The 2027 festival takes place February 18–24 in Los Angeles, and submissions are now open. The main competition accepts narrative and documentary features by first-time directors with budgets under $1M; the Breakouts program is open to non-debut directors with no budget cap. Shorts, Episodes, and DIG (Digital/Interactive/Gaming) are also accepted.
Late Deadline: September 14, 2026 — Features $110 | Shorts $70
Extended Deadline: October 6, 2026 — Features $130 | Shorts $90
TorinoFilmLab’s Green Film Lab is a three-day residential workshop on sustainable filmmaking practices, taking place October 21–23, 2026 in Rome, Italy. The programme is open to film and TV industry professionals — producers, directors, writers, heads of department, line producers, and delegates from film funds and commissions — with or without a project, who want to build or sharpen their skills in on-set sustainability. Up to 24 participants will be selected; the participation fee is €300 per person (+ VAT if applicable), with training and lunches covered. One team from the ACE Producers or EAVE networks may receive a scholarship covering half the fee. The workshop is especially welcoming of professionals based in Rome and Lazio, with seats reserved for local applicants.
Apply Here: https://torinofilmlab.it/labs/green-film-lab/green-film-lab---rome-2026
(TH)
A nonprofit prize awarding $30,000 in cash, equipment, and services across one winner and three finalists — early-career filmmakers producing short films. The 2026 package includes a $12,000 cash grant, a $15,000 PANAVISION Gold Package, a $1,000 KODAK grant, mentorship from an acclaimed filmmaker, discounted ATHOS production insurance, and fiscal sponsorship. Open to projects at script stage or finished projects seeking finishing funds.
Apply: https://pandora.org/
NRDC’s 2026 Rewrite the Future, in partnership with the Black List, CAA Community + Impact, NBCUniversal, and the Redford Center, invites writers to apply for the NRDC Climate Storytelling Fellowship, now open for submissions.
The annual fellowship encourages climate storytelling by supporting the revision of screenplays or pilots that engage with climate change in a meaningful way, through events, actions, character, emotions, plot, and/or setting.
The fellowship awards three recipients with $20,000 each and six months of mentorship with industry professionals and climate storytelling experts to provide creative support for their original script. At the conclusion of the fellowship, revised scripts will be hosted on the Black List website and may be reviewed for development by prominent studios, agencies, and/or production companies. Writers will retain all rights to their scripts.
The 2027 fellowship cycle is now open for submissions through December 4, 2026. Reach out to rewritethefuture@nrdc.org with any questions.
(TH)
Save the Date!
Six months out, Porto/Post/Doc has announced its 13th edition. The festival runs ten days in Porto, Portugal, bringing together filmmakers, audiences, researchers and industry professionals around documentary and non-fiction cinema. This year’s thematic programme, In The Land Of Others, closes a trilogy on displacement and belonging — with screenings including Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano, Kieślowski’s The Double Life of Véronique, Kalatozov’s I Am Cuba, and Vojtěch Jasný’s All Good Countrymen.
Key dates:
Festival: November 19–28, 2026
Porto Industry Days: November 23–26, 2026
Film submission deadline: July 31, 2026
Industry open calls (Industry Screenings, Co-Production Meetings, Arché Porto): May 15 – July 15, 2026
If you’re a filmmaker with a documentary or hybrid project, the submission window is open now. Industry accreditations and passes to be announced.
More info: portopostdoc.com
(TH)
More info here: https://www.documentary.org/ida-emergency-assistance-program
Although no deadline is specified, the application window is limited for the Culture House Talent Pool Open Call.
More info here: https://culture.house/open-call
This grant is GLOBAL/international, so if you have a project that you think might fit, definitely look into it, even if you’re not in the US!
For more info, follow @spike_johnson on Instagram.
Or, for those of us not on IG, here is the website:
http://impactpartnersfilm.com/
(SS)
Coffeehouse Cinema has just opened up submissions! Check out how they handle submissions and what they’re looking for in the post below and then submit your short!
Submit your short to Coffeehouse Cinema: https://www.coffeehousecinema.com/submissions
(SS)
Wine Cellar Cinema has opened submissions and is currently accepting shorts, features, rough cuts (for work-in-progress screenings) or scripts for a table reads!
Check out what they’re looking for on their “About” page.
Note: Submissions from LA-based filmmakers are strongly preferred but not entirely necessary.
Submit your film, script, or rough cut to Wine Cellar Cinema: https://forms.gle/29N8CBm1H2wZCrJf9
(SS)
MicroCinemaOne, the London microcinema from FilmStack UK, has opened submissions for short films.
Please email microcinemaone@gmail.com and include the following: - Your film's title
- Genre
- Names of key crew/cast
- Short synopsis
- Length
- Downloadable watch link to your film
(SS)
It’s go time in a big way friends! Intrinsic Entertainment Collaborative, run by Elizabeth Joyce and advised by Ted Hope is running a campaign to buy Letterboxd and run it for the people and by the people.
All the details about the how, what, why, and again, HOW, lie within this piece:
But the action you can take now is to pledge $4 of support to the campaign and support the coalition here:
(CR)
We ARE going to #BlockTheMerger. It is NOT a done deal. The State Attorney Generals will pick up the fight — provided you sign this petition that Robert Reich has launched. Sign today! I did.
Sign the Robert Reich Petition Here
Sign the Free Press Petition Here
Don’t delay! Sign it today.
Where Future Film Coalition is collecting short, first-hand accounts from across the industry - including exhibitors - to document how media consolidation is affecting the film ecosystem. Use your voice and share your story!
(TH)
Who’s sharing what, you ask?
ARB= Alex Rollins Berg AS= Amanda Sweikow AV = Ami Vora CR= Courtney Romano DS= Danielle A. Scruggs SS= Sara's Soliloquies TH= Ted Hope SG= Sam Gallen
Need to get in touch with FSDD? Our inbox is open!
Email us general info, questions, suggestions: filmstackdailydigest@gmail.com
Email us events for the weekly calendar update: filmstackcalendar@gmail.com
Thanks for reading FilmStack Daily Digest! This post is public so feel free to share it.
Comments
Nothing yet. Say the first thing.
Sign in to join the conversation.