The 2026 Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) is hosting a special music and dance video contest to choose opening acts that will perform live at the 2026 Daddying Film Forum in Washington, DC (venue TBD), January 30-31.​​

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Students/Dads Click to submit FREE on FilmFreeway by Oct 3, 2025​

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​WHO CAN ENTER?

The D3F Opening Acts competition is open to local area students (3rd graders – undergraduates), Dads, Dad figures, and Granddads who love to perform. D3F will accept videos across a range of musical, spoken-word, and dance performance categories, including student and/or Dad:

 

• Individual singers/musicians/dancers (TikToks, Insta reels, YouTube, etc.)

• Choirs and a cappella groups

• Bands (school or independent, originals or covers)

• Dance groups/teams (school or independent)

• All-Dad/Granddad/Dad figure bands and dancers

• Student-Dad duos and groups; and

• Rappers and poetry slammers!

 

Musical/poetry performances and choreography should be dad-related songs OR poems, originals or covers, live or lip-synced. All that's required is for submissions to be family-friendly, be at least a minute long (e.g., TikToks and Instagram reels or longer), and relate in some way to the D3F's Dad-child related themes:

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

2. Most joyful/fun thing I ever did with my dad/granddad and/or child(ren)/grandchild(ren)

3. If I could make one wish come true for my dad/grandad and/or child(ren)/grandchild(ren) it would be...

4. My Daddy dream – the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my dad/granddad/child/grandchild

5. Men Caring – celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing fatherly roles, inspire, and positively impact the lives of children and youth. Examples include foster dads, adoptive dads, granddads, older siblings, coaches, mentors, inspirational philanthropists/celebrities, "big brothers," and other daddying role models.

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

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In addition to contest consideration, all videos submitted will be entered automatically into the 2026 Daddying Film Festival and 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.

 

NOT FROM 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/dance directors, teachers, and other adults submitting videos for students: please submit your contest entry on FilmFreeway as a "student" submission to ensure properly categorized.

 

Stay tuned to our website, social media pages, and MailChimp for the latest D3F news. We'll start sharing Opening Act contest submission previews later this fall so, be sure to follow us now on TikTok!

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Lights! Cameras! Daddy on!