5th Annual Daddying Film Fest & Forum (D3F) 

Virtual Festival on Eventive - COMING JANUARY 9-15, 2026
LIVE Daddying Film Forum - Washington, DC area - JANUARY 30-31, 2026
 
 

 
2026 Call for Entries COMING June 15, 2025

Check D3F website and Instagram for Festival updates and D3F 2026 news!
 

What is the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F)?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daddying Film Festival and Forum (D3F), is not your ordinary film festival. D3F is the world’s first and only film festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive dad/dad figure involvement for kids and families. D3F was created by the DADvocacy Consulting Group and its Daddy Appleseed Fund (DAF) to offer children and youth a stage to express through film/video how they feel about the relationship they have or wish they had with their dads.

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The inaugural virtual Daddying Film Festival in 2022 provided students and other non-student, independent filmmakers from 17 countries a worldwide stage to convey the importance of involved dads in their lives. In 2023, D3F expanded its outreach to encourage dads and dad figures to submit their own films for consideration. (Note: when we use the words "father" or "dad," we also refer to all who play fatherly roles.)​ 

 

Since 2022, D3F has received submissions from filmmakers in 28 countries!

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The D3F celebrates creativity, authenticity, and communication skills and, more specifically, helps prepare students to think critically as they view films and videos. Because a child’s relationship with their father is not always a positive one, the D3F acknowledges that submissions may also express the sorrow – or "daddy yearning" – filmmakers may feel when a positive father figure either has been absent from their lives or may not be present in the way he or she wants/needs them to be.

 

Students, Dads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers create short films/videos, including comedies and music videos, for the D3F that adhere to one of the following themes:

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1. A letter to my father/father figure or A letter to my child(ren)

2. Most joyful/fun thing I ever did with my dad/granddad and/or child(ren)/grandchild(ren)

3. If I could make one wish come true for my dad/grandad and/or child(ren)/grandchild(ren) it would be...

4. My Daddy dream – the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my dad/granddad/child/grandchild

5. Men Caring – celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing fatherly roles, inspire, and positively impact the lives of children and youth. Examples include foster dads, adoptive dads, granddads, older siblings, coaches, mentors, inspirational philanthropists/celebrities, "big brothers," and other daddying role models

6. NEW for 2026: "Returning Dads" – films by/about dads remaining connected or re-integrating with kids and family, including deployed and incarcerated Dads.

 

CLICK HERE to Follow DCG and #D3F on Instagram!

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The D3F Concept

The word “daddying” is what happens when fatherhood and nurturing converge in service to a father’s child. A daddying role can be played by just about anyone else in a young person’s life, including a granddad, uncle, older sibling, coach, or teacher.

 

Our relationship with our father – in its presence or absence – is one of the most important relationships in our lives. It is foundational in our youth and can echo through generations.

 

Because kids are most directly impacted by a dad’s involvement – or absence – it was a no-brainer for D3F to provide them with an opportunity to express how they feel about the relationship they have or wish they had with their dads.

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Who Can Submit a Film/Video?

All students (3rd grade through college undergrads) and Dad/dad figure filmmakers are eligible to submit short films/videos (1 to 40 minutes long) via FilmFreeway for D3F consideration. Please note that FilmFreeway, the platform vendor we use to accept online entries, requires kids under 18 to get parental permission when registering to submit a film/video.

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Other independent (adult, non-student) filmmakers and studios may submit short or feature-length films to D3F. Indie filmmaker entries will be considered for Festival screening and Atticus Award trophies only and are not eligible for Daddy Appleseed Fund cash awards (details below). ​ALL films submitted to the D3F for consideration must somehow relate to one of the D3F themes above.​​​​​​​​​​​

 

How to Submit Your Film

Students and Dads may submit a short film/video (in MP4 or MOV format) for consideration by registering and uploading their film to the D3F FilmFreeway page. Indie filmmakers may submit films of any length.

 

Call for Entries for D3F 2025 is now closed. Please visit the D3F website for more information about registration/submissions for 2026, deadlines, submission guidance, current and past officially selected films/videos, and more details about or live and virtual events.

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When/Where Will the 2026 Daddying Film Festival & Forum Be Held?

The 2026 virtual Daddying Film Festival will run online (via Eventive) January 9-15, 2026 (dates subject to change). The 4th Annual Daddying Film Forum will take place LIVE in the Washington, DC area, January 30-31, 2026. Tickets/registration for all D3F events will be available in December 2025.

 

All D3F event tickets are FREE.

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Awards

D3F Awards will be presented at a virtual ceremony to one winner in each of the following D3F judging categories (additional categories TBA):

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1. 3rd through 5th grade (elementary)

2. 6th through 8th grade (middle school)

3. 9th through 12th grade (high school)

4. College/university (undergraduate)

5. Best Feature Film (non-student/indie filmmakers)

6. Best Short Film (non-student/indie filmmakers)

7. Best Animated Film

8. Best Music Video

9. D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Feature

10. D3F Judges' Prize for Best Documentary Short

11. Best Dad-created Film, aka, the Roy R. Neuberger Prize

12. Best Dad-Figure Film, aka The D3F Men's Caring Award for best film celebrating the many faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing, fatherly roles and make a positive impact in the lives of children and youth.

13. NEW for 2026: D3F "Returning Dads" Award for Best film by/about dads remaining connected or re-integrating with kids and family, including deployed and incarcerated dads; and

14. NEW for 2026: D3F Audience Choice Award - film/video receiving most votes by virtual Festival attendees.

 

Winners in each grade-level category earn an “Atticus,” a statuette to symbolize Atticus Finch from the 1962 film based on Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The book was recently voted the best book of the last 125 years by more than 200,000 NY Times Book Review readers.

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Atticus Finch, an iconic single dad, represents several ideal daddying qualities. Specifically, he is attuned to his children’s feelings and ideas and takes the children as seriously as they take themselves. To many, his character symbolizes morality and justice. The fact that the story is narrated by his young daughter, Scout, adds to the importance of the symbolism of this award as it represents the simplicity of childhood observation together with the openness and honesty of "telling it like it is." The American Film Institute (AFI) hailed Gregory Peck's film performance as Finch as "the greatest movie hero of all time."

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All student finalists earn a $250 Daddy Appleseed Fund award for use toward an activity or project to enjoy with their father/father figure together with a formal certificate. Up to five (5) finalists can be named in each grade level and other voting category. Winners in each student category earn an additional $250 to advance their studies or to create a program or project to encourage positive father involvement. The winner of the Roy R. Neuberger Prize for best dad-created film/video and D3F Men's Caring Award both earn a $500 award to use toward an activity or project with their child(ren).

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Judging Criteria

D3F Official Selections are determined by festival staff and passed on to preliminary student and adult jurors, who evaluate and narrow the pool of D3F entries to send on to a panel of academic and entertainment industry professional judges. The judging panel and D3F staff then select up to five (5) finalists in each of the Festival voting categories listed above, not including two Judges' Prizes (Best Documentary Feature/Short). Winners are announced at the end of the virtual festival.

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The criteria initial student and adult jurors use to evaluate each D3F-themed film submission are a direct reflection of the Daddying Film Festival & Forum’s mission:

 

• To shine a spotlight on the importance and impact of fathers/father figures in their presence and in their absence.

• To provide an opportunity for sons and daughters to reflect upon and express their feelings and wishes about what daddying qualities are most important to them.

• To provide opportunities for emotional authenticity, creativity, and originality.

• To portray a variety of family dynamics in order to explore and encourage constructive relationships.

• To demonstrate film- and/or video-making skills and production values.​​

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Student Resources For Short Filmmaking

Do your student filmmakers need a little inspiration or guidance to help them plan their visual "love letters" to their dads, father figures...or the dads they wish they had? Have them check out this D3F "5 Steps to a 5-Minute Film" infographic to get them started! Here are a few more how-to resources they may find helpful:

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• Filmmaking for Kids - A quick, 1-minute lesson for younger kids)

• Filmmaking Tips and Advice for Aspiring Filmmakers - Maybe better for kids, 4th grade+

• How To Make A Video: Film and Editing Tips for Kids - A video by kids for kids, especially younger students

• Eyecandy: Visual Technique Library - Great resource for filmmakers of all ages to get lost in!

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