FESTIVALS
Voted USA Today’s Best Film Festival, Cinequest is a hybrid in-person and virtual event based in San Jose, CA. It screens world premieres, Oscar-qualifying shorts, and tech-forward work across genres, while also hosting one of the industry’s most respected screenwriting competitions. Winners gain access to Netflix, HBO, and top distributors, with past films picked up by Lionsgate, Magnolia, and IFC.
Awards: Oscar-qualifying shorts; up to $8,000 in writing prizes; Maverick Awards for filmmakers and technologists
Key Details:
Film Festival Earlybird: August 11, 2025
Screenwriting Final Deadline: November 14, 2025
Festival Dates: March 11–22, 2026
Held annually in Bellinzona since 1988, Castellinaria is a youth-focused international film festival spotlighting stories of childhood and coming of age. Its Castellincorto short film competition is open to student filmmakers and school-related works under 15 minutes. Awards include cash prizes and a unique “Oltre le Sbarre” jury of incarcerated individuals. Screenings are held in-theatre and online, geo-blocked to Switzerland.
Key Details:
Regular Deadline: August 15, 2025
Festival Dates: November 15–22, 2025
Awards: CHF 1,500 Jury Prize, CHF 500 Audience Award, plus festival-selected special mentions
FUNDING & PROGRAMS
Hosted by the Hsin-Yi Foundation, this international award supports creators of animated short films for young audiences (ages 3–12). Open to filmmakers worldwide, it honors artistic storytelling that enriches childhood media with diverse and culturally relevant themes.
Key Details:
Deadline: August 15, 2025
Grand Prize: $3,000 USD
Fee: No entry fee required
Presented as part of the 2025 IDA Documentary Awards, this special honor recognizes the best use of archival news footage in a contemporary documentary feature. Sponsored by ABC News VideoSource, the award includes a $5,000 cash prize. Applicants must submit to the Best Feature category and select this sub-award during entry.
Key Details:
Deadline: August 15, 2025 (Final Extension)
Eligibility: Any feature doc that prominently incorporates archival news footage
Prize: $5,000 cash honorarium
TOOLS & RESOURCES
Story Architect is a next-generation writing suite that replaces KIT Scenarist. It supports screenplays, stage plays, audio dramas, comics, and novels, with features like AI-assisted outlining, visual cards, episode planning, character mapping, and built-in formatting to industry standards. Runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android.
Best For: Writers and showrunners building multi-format stories with modern planning tools.
Krita is a professional, open-source painting program designed by artists for illustrators, concept designers, and storyboard creators. It includes powerful brush engines, animation tools, layer and vector support, and resource packs. The July 2025 release (v5.2.11) improved Android compatibility and performance stability.
Best For: Art directors, production designers, and illustrators creating storyboards or visual assets.
JOBS
The NBA is hiring a Video Coordinator to support ingest, archive, and delivery of content across its Digital Media Management (DMM) system. Responsibilities include quality control of arena footage, basic compositing, and support for highlight delivery to media partners and social platforms.
Key Details:
Location: Secaucus, NJ, US
Type: Project-based
Pay: $33.16/hour
Electronic Arts is hiring a Senior Producer to lead campaign planning and creative execution for Star Wars and Marvel titles. This is a high-level, hybrid role involving strategy development, agency coordination, and budget oversight across global campaigns.
Key Details:
Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada (Hybrid)
Type: Type: 8-month contract
Pay: $130,800–$183,000 CAD (annualized)
INDUSTRY PULSE
Streaming platform Mubi is under pressure after filmmakers published an open letter criticizing its $100M investment deal with Sequoia Capital, a firm linked to Israeli defense tech. Signatories include Aki Kaurismäki, Miguel Gomes, and Joshua Oppenheimer, who argue the deal contradicts the platform's artistic values.
Estimated read: 2 min
A new exhibit, Hollywood on the Cuyahoga, opens this fall at the Cleveland History Center, spotlighting Northeast Ohio’s contributions to cinema—from The Avengers to Shawshank Redemption. The show features local legends like Wes Craven, Trent Reznor, and Margaret Hamilton, and highlights the region’s growing film economy.
Estimated read: 3 min
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