With 300+ submissions from 27 countries, our unique, year-round film festival celebrates socially conscious content that inspires, illuminates, and engages audiences in the transformative power of story.
At A Show For A Change, we believe that the best films provoke us to think, feel, connect, and act. We are impatient advocates for change, brave artists for good, and fierce champions for building a better world - and our festival celebrates these values in action.
We are now accepting short & feature films, documentaries, episodic, webseries & webisodes, and virtual reality projects for consideration. In addition to being compelling visual works on their own, content must that have a socially conscious message and the potential to drive substantial social impact. Every few months, we recognize extraordinary projects that have impact themes, and partner selected filmmakers with leading nonprofit organizations making a difference in these areas.
In partnership with Epidemic Sound, Sundance Collab, Seed&Spark and more, we are also pleased to offer select entrants to our festival exciting perks and an exclusive distribution opportunity on our new impact streaming platform, Movikarma. Want to learn more? Sign up for Movikarma and apply to our festival.
In January, April, July, and October, we have a live, in-person festival to celebrate our festival filmmakers, co-hosted by our friends at Epidemic Sound in the Los Angeles area.
Through an affordable and accessible festival model designed to maximize exposure and social impact, we encourage filmmakers of all backgrounds and experience levels to apply to our festival. We look forward to reviewing your projects!
Notable Festival Award Winners
22, an inspiring documentary about the plight of special needs children in the United States. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Social Impact Award.
ALTERNATIVE FACTS, a moving documentary about the false information & political influences which led to the World War II incarceration of Japanese Americans - and parallels to the current climate of fear towards immigrants. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Storytelling Award.
BALANCE, an animated short film about soldiers sacrificing their lives and resisting oppression so that future generations can live in peace. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Creativity Award.
CAPTIVITY, an eye-opening documentary about the mistreatment of animals in zoos, circuses, and sea life parks. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Social Impact Award.
DISHONOUR, tells the story of a five year old girl caught in middle of a struggle between her recently widowed father and his elderly aunt who disagree on how best to adapt to the customs and laws of their newly adopted home in the United Kingdom. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Storytelling Award.
EDUNATION, a penchant look into the failure of the public education system in India after over seven decades of derailed and unequal nation-building. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Cinematography Award.
EVERY NINE MINUTES, an impactful documentary about how every nine minutes, the weight of a blue whale (300,000 pounds) in plastic makes its way into our oceans - and why it’s time for change. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Social Impact Award.
GREEN TALES OF THE CITY, a documentary chronicling how the sustainability movement in several cities in the Netherlands is getting louder, more powerful, and more extensive at a breakneck pace. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Social Impact Award.
HOME, a short documentary that centers on climate change in southern Greenland, told from a personal and historical perspective. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Storytelling Award.
LEGACIES, an ethnographic portrait of Jubilee School in Philadelphia where Karen Falcon teaches Black History as a model for social action. LEGACIES explores Jubilee's praxis of community-based emancipatory education and development of students’ agency.
LETTER TO MY MOTHER, a visual and literary body of work that reveals an impactful look into the lives of mothers suffering from addiction in the United States. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Cinematography Award.
NIGHT LIGHT, a creative animated short film about sea turtle conservation - and how seaside communities can help by reducing beachside lighting and changing their lighting to amber, the color that does not distract sea turtles. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Creativity Award.
ONE, a short film reflecting on loneliness and loss through the eyes of an elderly man on an empty train. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Creativity Award.
THE ABUSED, a spoken word short film that tells several stories of domestic violence and the people affected. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Creativity Award.
THE SACRED PLACE WHERE LIFE BEGINS, a documentary about two adventurers who embark on a dangerous four-month expedition documenting the world’s longest land mammal migration through the Arctic Refuge of Alaska and Canada. They soon discover an incredible ecosystem protected by the Gwich’in Nation for more than 25,000 years, yet held on the precipice of collapse by resource development corporations. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Storytelling Award.
TIMBO, a powerful documentary about energy companies’ construction of dams in the Brazilian Amazon and its threat to indigenous people. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Creativity Award.
WEAR, a short film about a young woman who comes home from work after an experience with her boss commenting on her blouse. Winner of A Show For A Change’s Social Impact Award.
Highlighted Festival Films
