5TH ANNUAL DADDYING FILM FESTIVAL & FORUM (D3F)

ANNOUNCES 2026 CALL FOR ENTRIES

 

International Festival Celebrating Importance of Involved Dads Seeks

Student, Dad/Granddad/Dad Figure & Indie Filmmaker Submissions on FilmFreeway

 

June 15, 2025 – Chevy Chase, MD – The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), the world’s first and only film fest focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive dad/father figure involvement for kids and families, announced on Fathers' Day its 2026 Call for Entries on FilmFreeway. D3F welcomes film and video submissions from 3rd-grade through undergraduate students, Dads/Granddads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers and studios worldwide. Since 2022, D3F has attracted film and video submissions from 28 countries, including the 2024 Sundance Award-winning documentary, Daughters, now on Netflix, and the 2025 PBS docuseries, Grown UP Dad.

 

Celebrating its 5th year, D3F’s virtual film festival will take place Friday, January 9 - Thursday, January 15, 2026, on Eventive. The live Daddying Film Forum will be Friday, January 30, and Saturday, January 31, in Washington, DC (site/s TBD). Dads and students can submit their films and videos (including TikToks, Instagram reels, music and dance videos) for FREE on D3F's FilmFreeway page before the NEW "Mockingbird" deadline on Friday, Oct 3. The early-bird, discount deadline is Friday, October 24, and the regular deadline is Monday, December 8.

 

To boost outreach in 2026, D3F is again collaborating with its Circle of Friends members that include a broad diversity of new and returning family-friendly organizations and festivals, including Equimundo, ParentCamp, Postpartum Support International, National Parents Union, Center for Mens' Excellence, Youth Documentary Academy, National Fatherhood Initiative, 21st Century Dads/Special Fathers Network, Fathers and Families Coalition of America, ZERO TO THREE, Women in Film and Video, National Alliance for Father Friendly Schools, Association for Family, School, and Community Engagement, 16Days 16Films, Teeniors, Applause NY Film, REEL Fathers, National Healthy Start Association, All-American High School Film Festival, Fathers Incorporated, KIDS FIRST! Film Festival, and Art of Fatherhood podcast.

 

WHO MAY SUBMIT?

Student filmmakers (3rd graders – undergrads) and Dads/Granddads/Dad figures may submit 1- to 40-minute films/videos (MP4 or MOV format), including music videos, animation, and comedies that relate to one or more D3F/daddying themes:

 

1. A letter to my Dad/father figure or my child(ren)

2. The most joyful/fun thing I ever did or wish I could do/have done with my Dad/father figure or child(ren)

3. If I could make one wish come true for my Dad/father figure or child(ren) it would be...

4. My Daddy dream: the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my Dad/father figure or child(ren)

5. Men Caring: celebrate one of the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing, fatherly roles and make a positive impact. Examples include foster Dads, adoptive Dads, Granddads, uncles, teachers, mentors and “big brothers,” philanthropists/patrons, and other role models/celebrities.

6. NEW for 2026: "Returning Dads" – celebrating dads remaining connected or re-integrating with kids and family, including deployed and incarcerated dads.

 

Non-student/indie filmmakers are also encouraged to submit films of any length (short or feature). Students under 18 must have a parent's permission to register/submit.

 

WHAT’S IN IT FOR WINNERS?

Up to five finalists and one winner will be selected in the following D3F 2026 award categories:

 

1. 3rd through 5th grade (elementary school)

2. 6th through 8th (middle school)

3. 9th through 12th (high school)

4. College/university (undergrad)

5. Best Feature Film (non-student indie filmmakers)

6. Best Short Film (indie filmmakers)

7. Best Animated Film

8. Best Music Video

9. Roy R. Neuberger Award for Best Dad-created Film

10. D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Feature 

11. D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Short 

12. Best Dad-Figure Film, aka The D3F Men Caring Award for best film celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing, fatherly roles that make a positive impact in children’s lives.

13. NEW for 2026: D3F "Returning Dads" Award – Best film by/about dads remaining connected or re-integrating with kids and family, including deployed and incarcerated dads; and

14. NEW for 2026: D3F Audience Choice Award – Film/video earning most votes from online attendees during the virtual D3F streaming on Eventive, January 9-15, 2026.

 

All student FINALISTS earn $250 for use toward an activity or project to enjoy with their dad/dad figure. Student WINNERS earn an additional $250, and a custom-made Atticus Award trophy. All D3F winners, including dads/dad figures and non-student, indie filmmakers, earn an “Atticus,” a statuette symbolizing Atticus Finch from the 1962 film based on Harper Lee’s book, To Kill a Mockingbird. Finch, an iconic single Dad, represents several ideal daddying qualities. Winners of the Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-created Film/Video and the Men Caring Award for Best Dad-figure Film/Video each earn $500.

 

2026 DADDYING FILM FORUM OPENING ACTS CONTEST

To provide added incentive for students, Dads/Dad figures, and Granddads in DC, Maryland, and Virginia to submit videos for consideration, this year, D3F is hosting a music and dance video contest to choose opening acts that will perform live at the Daddying Film Forum in Washington, DC, January 30-31, 2026.

 

The D3F Opening Acts competition is open to local area students (3rd graders – undergraduates), Dads/Dad figures, and Granddads. D3F will accept video submissions across a range of musical, dance, and spoken-word performance categories, including elementary, middle, and high school choirs, bands, dance groups/drill teams, and a cappella groups; all-student rock bands, poetry slammers, rappers, Dad/Dad figure/Granddad-child musical duets and dance routines, solo Dad/Dad figure/Granddad performers, and all-Dad/Granddad bands.

Musical/poetry performances and choreography can be Dad-related songs OR poems, originals or covers, live or lip-synced. All that's required is for submissions to relate in some way to the D3F themes (Dad-child related and family-friendly) and be at least a minute long (think TikToks or Instagram reels). All contestants will have their videos automatically entered into D3F 2026 and be eligible for Atticus Award consideration. Music/dance video contest entries are FREE*, but must be submitted on FilmFreeway no later than the D3F Mockingbird deadline of Friday, October 3, 2025.

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Not From the DC Area? No Problem!

Even if you're not a student, Dad, Dad figure, or Granddad located in the Greater Washington, DC area, we'd love for you to create and submit a daddying-related, music or dance video for D3F 2026 consideration! Your submission will still be FREE before the October 3rd Mockingbird deadline and students/Dads/Dad figures will still be eligible to earn an Atticus Award and prize money in their respective student/Dad/Dad figure award categories!

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*NOTE to choir directors and other adults submitting videos for students: please submit your contest entry on FilmFreeway as a "student" submission to ensure properly categorized.​

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ABOUT D3F

The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), is not your ordinary film fest. It is the first and only festival worldwide focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive dad involvement for kids and families. D3F was created in 2022 by the DADvocacy Consulting Group’s Daddy Appleseed Fund (DAF) to offer children and youth a stage to express through film/video how they feel about the relationship they have or wish they had with their dads. D3F also encourages dads/dad figures to submit their own films for consideration and includes a live Daddying Film Forum (Washington, DC, January 30-31, 2026) to discuss themes from D3F-screened films and more directly improve the daddying experience for children and dads alike.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION or to request an interview with past Atticus Award winners or D3F Founder Allan Shedlin, contact D3F Director of Communications Scott Beller at: scott [at] daddyingfilmfest [dot] com