call for entries | DADvocacy Consulting

Scott Beller, Editor and Contributing Writer

Since February 2020, the DADDYING blog has provided weekly commentary, personal narratives, reviews, research, poetry, and other creative expressions from a diverse group of colleagues, guest writers, and experts to promote the benefits of lifelong Dad involvement for kids, families, and communities.

More than Your Ordinary Film Festival Metrics of Success

Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin explains why the six-year-old festival's metrics of success are necessarily different from thousands of other annual festivals worldwide. D3F favors the qualitative over the quantitative, and he believes those are the metrics that best reflect the festival's success in achieving its daddying mission.

Allan Shedlin

May 20

Daddying Film Fest 2025 Offers Families Calm and Connection During the Storm

With rough seas ahead, the 2025 Daddying Film Festival marquee is filled with great stories offering families a respite from the storm.

Allan Shedlin

Mar 13, 2025

The Other Big Day for Families to Remember this November: the 4th Annual Daddying Film Fest Call For Entries

The 4th Annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) 2025 Call for Entries will kick off officially on Monday, November 18, 2024!

Allan Shedlin

Sep 12, 2024

A Perfectly-Timed Antidote to Despair

As world events push him toward despair, D3F's Allan Shedlin turns to what always brings him hope: children & youth, specifically at AAHSFF.

Allan Shedlin

Nov 1, 2023

"As They Made Us" Shows The Painful and Often Complex Flip Side of A Dad's Influence

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller recommends the film "As They Made Us" for anyone who has ever had a strained relationship with a parent.

Allan Shedlin

Feb 24, 2023

Daddying Film Fest and Forum Pulls Back Curtain to Spotlight VIP Judges and Judging Process

Now that the Daddying Film Festival has opened its call for entries, editor Scott Beller highlights D3F's expert judges and judging process.

Allan Shedlin

Jan 19, 2023

'Tis the (Awards) Season and D3F Is Calling for Short Films from Kids and Involved Dads

Daddying Film Festival & Forum director Allan Shedlin announces 2023 call for entries will open to student and dad filmmakers on January 16.

Allan Shedlin

Jan 11, 2023

She Impresses Dad Most with the Way She Carries Herself

Daddying blog Editor Scott Beller celebrates his oldest daughter from afar on her 19th birthday.

Allan Shedlin

10 hours ago

The Day My Soul Crashed: A Father's Journey from Shattered to Serving

Alfred Niwagaba tells his story of being inspired by and caring for his son with special needs in Uganda.

Allan Shedlin

Sep 9

Distant Water Cannot Quench A Thirst

Nicholas Banura Aine writes about his struggles with long-distance parenting, which created deep emotional gaps with his children, one with autism, who needed his presence.

Allan Shedlin

Sep 2

Glad You're Here: A Love Note to My Youngest Daughter on Her 17th Birthday

Daddying blog editor Scott Beller writes a special note to his youngest daughter for her birthday, which coincides with back-to-school and the beginning of her high school senior year.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 28

Modern Childhood: Is The Next Generation of Kids Really The Loneliest One?

Guest writer Tessa Dodson highlights the complexity of modern childhood and offers parents practical guidance for supporting kids in building social connections through open communication, managed screentime, and unstructured play.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 19

The Dads and Sons of Summer

Poet and literary activist E. Ethelbert Miller debuts an original poem about baseball, Dads, and sons in this week's Daddying blog.

Allan Shedlin

Aug 12

I Left San Francisco for Colorado Springs. It Changed How I See Democracy

Youth Documentary Academy founder Tom Shepard writes about how he's been inspired by the diverse stories of his filmmaking students and other young people and what our country's leaders could and should learn from them.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 30

Savoring the Privilege of Lifelong Daddying

Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin shares the joy of being a lifelong Dad, Granddad, and soon, a Great Granddad.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 30

With Our World in Metamorphosis, Those End-Of-Summer Butterflies Remain the Same

Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) founder Allan Shedlin welcomes back-to-school season and those end-of-summer butterflies with an open mind and open arms.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 23

What Happened to Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness?

Daddying editor Scott Beller laments the continued human rights abuses by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), including murders this past week of Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo.

Allan Shedlin

Jul 16