short film showcase

The Culture Exchange Series

This May, we are hosting and curating a small, in-person, short film showcase for new and emerging filmmakers in the Northern Virginia region. Partnering with the Culture Cup in Gainesville, VA, our goal is to bring a diverse group of storytellers together to share meaningful stories that inspire, reflect, and celebrate the community around us.

The Showcase Theme

The theme for the short film showcase is: “We are each other’s harvest, magnitude, and bond

These words are directly lifted from Gwendolyn Brooks, the first Black woman appointed Poet Laureate of the United States, poem Paul Robeson.

That time
we all heard it,
cool and clear,
cutting across the hot grit of the day.
The major Voice.
The adult Voice
forgoing Rolling River,
forgoing tearful tale of bale and barge
and other symptoms of an old despond.
Warning, in music-words
devout and large,
that we are each other’s
harvest:
we are each other’s
business:
we are each other’s
magnitude and bond.

Submission Details

  • Short films 10 minutes or less

  • All genres welcome (including short documentary)

  • Films must be complete at the time of submission

  • Films that have premiered elsewhere are welcome

  • Filmmakers must be 18 or older

  • Films must contain no nudity or explicit sexual content

Submission Deadline: April 30, 2026

In-Person Showcase: May 2026 (Date to be announced)

submit your short film