2025 Filmmaker Competitions

Debuting in 2016, the Student and Emerging Filmmaker Competitions gives filmmakers the opportunity to use cinematic storytelling to answer important themes like “what’s your civil right?” and “speaking truth to power.” The annual short film competition receives over 150 submissions from across the world. An esteemed jury of civil rights, industry leaders, and established filmmakers select the winners, and the shortlisted films are screened during the festival. Now in its eighth year, the competition has continued to attract industry supporters, including a diverse portfolio of funders. Prizes for this competition are funded in part by the generosity of Deborah Zipser and Craig Emanuel.

2025 COMPETITIONS

SEPTEMBER 16-21, 2025
The March On! Film Festival strives to increase awareness of the events and heroes of the Civil Rights Era and inspire renewed passion for activism. The festival uses the power of film, music, and the arts to share these important stories.

The Festival continues its Competition for Emerging and Student filmmakers to submit short form content, both narrative and documentary, which focuses on civil rights movements, the civil rights era and social justice issues.

Opal Hope Bennett

Emerging & Student Filmmaker Competitions Director

Opal H. Bennett is the Emmy-winning Executive Producer at POV Shorts and Senior Producer at POV. Under her curation, POV Shorts won the 2020 and 2022 IDA Award for Best Short Form Series and the series broadcast the 2021 News & Documentary Emmy winner for Short Documentary, The Love Bugs.

Previously, Opal was Shorts Programmer and Director of Artist Development at DOC NYC and Senior Programmer at Athena Film Festival. Prior to that, Opal also worked with Nantucket Film Festival, Aspen ShortsFest, Tribeca Film Festival and consulted for The Gotham (formerly IFP). She is a Programming Consultant for March On!. Opal is a member of the AMPAS Documentary branch. She has served on juries for SxSW, HotDocs, Aspen & Palm Springs ShortsFests, Cleveland, Milwaukee and Seattle International Film Festivals and IndieMemphis Film Festival among others. She has also served on the shorts selection committees for Cinema Eye Honors and the IDA. Opal has participated on various selection committees for film programming and grants.

A Columbia Law grad, Opal holds a Masters in Media Studies from the London School of Economics, and received her B.A. from New York University.

Awards & Prizes

The MOFF Student and Emerging Filmmaker Competitions will award 8 prizes, as follows:

4 Jury Awards for Best Narrative and Documentary Short, Student and Emerging Artist Jury Award Prizes:

$1,000 Cash Prize
$ 500 gift card towards production services and equipment
$ 500 towards travel to DC

4 Special Mentions for Narrative and Documentary Short, Student and Emerging Artist Special Mention Prizes:

$ 500 Cash Prize
$ 250 gift card towards production services and equipment

The 8 Prize winners will be selected from a Shortlist of 12 finalists. All Shortlisted films will have a public screening at the 2025 March On! Film Festival.

All Shortlisted filmmakers will also receive:

2 All-Access passes to this year’s MOFF

Awards subject to change.

Rules & Terms

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:

FILM SUBJECT MUST BE ON CIVIL RIGHTS OR SOCIAL JUSTICE
Projects must have been completed after September 1, 2020
Films must have a composite optical sound
Entries must be completed – including Vimeo link and payment – by the Extended Deadline date
Films may not have been released theatrically or aired on television in the U.S. prior to the festival. If the film has been screened online, the filmmaker is required to include this information in the film’s submission materials

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE:

Submissions must be made via FilmFreeway
Keep a copy of your completed application for reference
Applicants can check the status of the submission by emailing: submissions@marchonwashingtonfilmfestival.org

Applicants will be notified of the festival’s decision by the end of July.

2024 Jurors

2024 Shortlist

Student Narrative Shorts

Mon Afrique

Director/Producer: Michael Thomas Solomon

Mon Afrique is an experimental student short, shot on film, that explores the experience of diaspora and longing through the journey of a hand-carved traditional African mask. (USA, 4 MIN)

The Ally

irector/Producer: Jennifer Marie

An energetic, young, white chick blurs the lines of black culture appreciation with appropriation, now she must avoid losing her dream job and her dignity. (USA, 11 MIN)

Anywhere the Wind Blows

Director: Jay Liu; Producers: Dalton Zongshian Lu, Allegro Yang

Alex is an activist who moved from Hong Kong to the US in fear of political persecution. As he is trying to rebuild his life, his ex-boyfriend Brandon unexpectedly visits him, rekindling unresolved desires. (USA, 18 MIN)

Student Documentary Shorts

For Those That Lived There

Director/Producer: Shawn Antoine II

Amidst the gentrified remnants of Chicago's Cabrini Green, For Those That Lived There captures the haunting displacement of Black legacies and the emergence of migrant narratives, offering an evocative exploration of a community in metamorphosis. (USA, 6 MIN)

Freedom Waders: The Struggle to Integrate Chicago's Rainbow Beach

Director/Producer: Alex S. Hinton

Inspired by sit-in campaigns of the South, Velma Murphy and Norman Hill organized wade-ins at Chicago's Rainbow Beach, braving mob violence. (USA, 15 MIN)

Half-Brother

Director/Producer: William J Jenkins

While documenting the birth of his niece, Director William Jenkins leads a series of intimate conversations with his father and half-brother — both named Ronald — as he confronts the impacts of Ronald’s incarceration on family dynamics. (USA, 27 MIN)

Emerging Narrative Shorts

Fannie

Director/Producer: Christine Swanson

Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer gives an impassioned speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention and a prophetic warning to America. (USA, 10 MIN)

Lyrical

Director: Carter M. Stewart; Producers: Tristan Daley, Carter M. Stewart

A privileged, Black law student, trying to escape pressure from his dad, finds himself in a potential police violence situation. (USA, 18 MIN)

A Lien

Director: Sam Cutler-Kreutz, David Cutler-Kreutz; Producer: Tara Sheffer

On the day of their green card interview, a young couple confronts a dangerous immigration process. (USA, 15 MIN)

Emerging Documentary Shorts

"I Identify as Me"

Director/Producer: Tina Colleen, Monick Monell

Through the intimate lens of eight Black & Brown Trans, gender-diverse people, and masculine-presenting women, the social concept of gender is challenged. (USA, 10 MIN)

The Purpose

Director/Producer: Dan Abrusci

Born with a disability, a young music enthusiast is lured into a life of crime and spends a decade in jail after hanging with the wrong people. He discovers his purpose in jail: to help at-risk youth and prevent them from making the same mistakes he did. (USA, 10 MIN)

1001cuts

Director/Producer: Sarah M Temkin

Explore the careers of the daughters of Title IX through the experiences of surgeons facing pervasive stereotypes and gender-based discrimination. (USA, 24 MIN)

2023 Jurors