CALLING ALL WOMEN and GENDER NONCONFORMING DIRECTORS to the 22nd Annual LUNAFEST Film Festival. 

Please visit our FilmFreeway page to enter your film!

Dates & Deadlines
Opening Date: May 1, 2022
Early Bird Deadline: June 1, 2022
Mid-Season Deadline: July 1, 2022
Final Deadline: August 1, 2022
Notification Date: September 18, 2022
Event Dates: January 1 – December 31, 2023

Awards & Prizes
LUNAFEST directors often range from journalists to artists, activists, and change agents – coming from all walks of life, including young film school graduates testing the waters and industry veterans testing boundaries.

The director of each selected film will receive an award of $5000.00. Winning films will be screened by nonprofit organizations to audiences at more than 200 locations across North America, both in person and virtually. Each event will serve as a vehicle for raising awareness and funds for important causes.

Rules & Terms
Submitted films must be directed by a woman or gender nonconforming filmmaker to be considered. *LUNAFEST and Chicken & Egg Pictures support self-identifying women (cis or trans) and gender nonconforming individuals.

The lead character(s) in the film should be a woman, women, or gender nonconforming individual(s).

Showcasing diversity continues to be a priority for LUNAFEST as we strive to reflect & celebrate the fluidity of gender, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, body type, age, ability, and religion.

Only films under 18 minutes in duration will be considered.

You, the filmmaker, must certify that you have the rights necessary to commit this film to LUNAFEST screenings in over 200 locations during the 2023 season: January 1, 2023 - December 31, 2023.

Short films in any form (documentary, fiction, animation, etc.) are accepted.

If not in English, your film must be in its original language with English subtitles.

Judges are looking for films that are fresh, immediate, and relevant. Criteria will also include the filmmaking quality, a unique and compelling point of view, and relevance and timeliness of the content/subject matter. The film’s integrity, authenticity and the dialogue generated among its viewers will also be rated.