Volunteer with CFF as a Screener!
And don't forget you can submit your film in the next 10 days for an early-bird discount
February chills keeping you inside? Sign up for the coziest volunteer role at CFF. We’re looking for screeners to volunteer for our 2026 festival. You’ll be one of the first people to see these films, and will help us narrow down to our finalists. Find out more below!
And don’t forget: if you have a film (or a filmmaker friend), you can submit on FilmFreeway by Feb. 19th for an early-bird submission discount.
In this newsletter:
🙋♀️ Volunteer as a CFF Screener
🐦 Early Bird Film Submission Deadline
🌱 Opportunities & Events
🙋♀️ Volunteer to Screen Film Submissions
Calling all filmmakers, environmentalists, and NY film enthusiasts! Want to watch amazing climate films and help shape the festival lineup? Apply to be a volunteer screener!
What You’ll Do:
🍿 Watch movies before anyone else. Every movie submitted to the fest is watched and evaluated by multiple screeners.
📝 Evaluate films using a rubric provided by CFF. Films are evaluated with a shared rubric and guide. After the initial screening period, top-rated films go to our senior programming team, who make the final selections for the 2026 festival.
🦸 Be an essential part of the Climate Film Fest! Your efforts are crucial in helping shape our final program!
Key Dates:
📝 February 18: Screener Application Deadline
✍️ February 20: Screener Evaluations Begin
⚖️ April 17: Screener Halfway Deadline
🛑 June 1: Screener Final Evaluations Conclude
🍿 September 18-21: Climate Film Festival in NYC
Screeners will dedicate ~25 hours of total screening and evaluation time. Film assignments will be rolled out over the duration of the February to June screening period, as films continue to be submitted. Learn more about the Screening Team here and apply below by Wednesday, February 18!
🐦 Early Bird Submissions Due February 19
The open call for CFF ’26 films is underway! We’re looking for bold and boundary-pushing works, from narrative and documentary features to experimental shorts and music videos. If it’s climate related, we want to see it!
Submissions are open until May 15, but the early bird deadline is right around the corner: Thursday, February 19.
Submit by our early bird deadline to enjoy reduced rates for filmmakers:
📺 Shorts & Episodics:
$30$15 until Feb. 19⭐️ Features:
$40$25 until Feb. 19👨🎓 Young Filmmakers:
$15$10 until Feb. 19
Questions about our Open Call process? Check out our FAQ!
Why do we charge? CFF is a nonprofit organization, and submission fees directly support the festival. We strive to keep the fees affordable, and we do offer a limited number of submission fee waivers to anyone for whom the entry fee presents a barrier to submission.
Opportunities & Events 🌱
2/25: Submissions due for Submerse NY: Public Art to Promote Flood Resilience in Jamaica Bay
3/1: Suggestions due for NYC’s first-ever Environmental Justice Place
3/8: Jamma Conservation & Communities Human-Centred Conservation Storytelling Grant
3/23: TRIGGER — FOMU, Museum of Photography Antwerp Open Call: OCEAN OTHERWISE