Now Accepting Submissions for CFF 2025!
Our Open Call is LIVE! Submit your film to the 2025 festival.
We’re thrilled to announce that CFF is back for 2025, and our call for film submissions is now open!
We invite you to join CFF from September 19th - 22nd for our second multi-day festival, including screenings, panels, Q&As, filmmaker parties, climate and culture sector mixers, workshops, networking opportunities, nonprofit tabling, industry showcases, and more.
Submissions are open until May 16th, but the early bird deadline is February 17th, so don’t hesitate! You can submit on FilmFreeway here.
In this Newsletter:
🎉 Open Call Launch Party (Jan 30)
💡 Open Call FAQ
💔 LA Wildfire Resources
🎉 Open Call Launch Party (Jan 30)
​To kick off the open call, we're throwing a launch party at Bronx Brewery in the East Village. This is a casual gathering with a cash bar, so come as you are, meet the team, and chat about climate cinema and storytelling.
💡Open Call FAQ
Is my film the right fit?
If you’re asking, yes! CFF promotes climate storytelling across genres and from a broad range of perspectives. We welcome features, shorts, and TV & Internet episodes across formats, including documentaries, scripted/narrative films, animations, children’s programs, experimental works, and music videos. We look for films that approach climate themes and expand on climate-related narratives, whether explicitly or implicitly.
When and where is the Climate Film Festival?
CFF will take place Friday, September 19th through Monday, September 22nd in venues across New York City. CFF occurs during the opening weekend of Climate Week NYC, the largest gathering of its kind, attracting policymakers and change makers from around the world.
What is the deadline for submitting to CFF?
February 17, 2025: Early bird Deadline (Discounted submission fees)
March 28, 2025: Regular Deadline
May 16, 2025: Extended Deadline
July 3, 2025: Notification Date
What is the evaluation process?
Every film is seen by at least two screeners who evaluate it based on a standardized rubric. We look for films that are well made, compelling, and include engaging takes on climate and related issues. The top-scoring films are then curated by our programming team, who make the official festival selections. All selected films will be shown in-person in NYC as part of the festival and are awards-eligible.
Award winners are selected by a jury of industry leaders from film and climate. Check out the 2024 award winners and jury here.
Who attends CFF?
In 2024, we had nearly 2,000 attendees with 93% of tickets sold. Attendees were a mix of film industry, climate professionals, and general audience. We expect an even larger, more diverse group in 2025.
💔 LA Wildfire Resources
The recent LA wildfires have been devastating, and our hearts are with everyone affected. While climate change has intensified these fires beyond historical precedent, destroying homes and disrupting lives, we're witnessing both an environmental and deeply human crisis.
In these overwhelming times, we find hope in how communities come together – sharing resources, telling stories, and creating art that helps us process our collective experience and imagine a path forward.
For anyone looking to help, our friends at LA Climate Tech compiled a list of resources:
LA County Emergency Alerts: Sign up to receive phone, email, or text notifications in the event of further evacuations or future local emergencies through Alert LA County here.
211 LA’s Wildfire Response Information: Learn about local support and assistance programs here.
LA Volunteer Opportunities: Find ways to contribute your time and skills here.
Ways to help people who have been directly impacted: Explore opportunities to assist individuals and families impacted by the fires here.
Mutual Aid Resources: Access a detailed list of community-driven aid initiatives here. Note: refer to column B to see when the entry was last updated; entries are updated at varying frequencies by community members.