An open call for utopian short films

Submit yours here.

Every year I attend the Sundance Film Festival where the films are artsy and independent in all the best ways, but also usually depressing.

There are good ones. To date, my favorite Sundance film is Palm Springs and the runner up is Captain Fantastic and both share a sense of optimism about humanity. But these are definitely the exception, not the rule.

I think too many of our visions for the future are dystopian and I want to offer an alternative. So this year, during the Sundance film festival, I would like to premier five utopian short films right here. We’ll call it The Elysian Film Festival!

Every day during the week of January 22nd-26th will feature a new film and a Q&A with the filmmaker in the comments section. Films can be between one minute to 30 minutes in length and can be animated or live-action or documentary. The only real stipulation is that your film must share a utopian vision for the future.

Preference will be given to films that have not yet debuted elsewhere but published submissions will be accepted as well. Submissions are due by September 30th. If there are a lot of submissions I will have my paid subscribers help out with the vetting in October and final decisions will be made by October 31st!

I hope you’ll apply!

Apply Here!

If you have any questions I would be more than happy to answer them in the comments! Excited to watch your videos!