What Happens at the Daddying Film Forum Doesn't Have to Stay There

By Scott Beller

Daddying Editor and D3F Director of Communications

As many of you know, I have two daughters that row, which means they're often going to bed early to get up at 4:00 am on weekdays, competing on Saturdays, and spending most evenings and Sundays, their one free day, catching up on homework. This leaves precious little time to hang with Dad, especially if that time is in front of a TV.

If we get to watch anything together as a family these days other than few painful innings of Red Sox baseball, it's usually episodes of a Hulu, Netflix, or Apple TV series. We are mostly limited to those with half-hour episodes, Only Murders in the Building is a favorite. Like many families with conflicting school/work/sleep schedules, hour-long series can take us months to complete a single season. And that I just cannot abide.

I've been a night owl since I was a kid. Like "morning people" who get up long before anyone else in their house, I enjoy the quiet. The alone time. My wife and kids are in bed by 9:30 pm, but I'm still up for the next four hours. Sometimes reading, sometimes getting in a long walk listening to the Lonely Island Podcast or They're Coming to Get You, sometimes still working...or keeping the cats off the kitchen counter. But always taking in a new TV series or movie I'd probably never get to if I waited for the rest of my family.

The biggest drawback to watching a lot of good TV series and movies alone, of course, is that it's hard for me to find someone to discuss them with. Though still entertaining and thought-provoking, the experience is less nourishing in isolation than it used to be when our schedules were easier to manage and I could share it with one or more of my girls. I'm in a few social media fan groups but recommending great films or shows for strangers to watch isn't nearly as satisfying. At times it feels like being in COVID lockdown and everyone else's Wi-Fi is out.

So, social media aside, the blog has been my most effective – though sporadic – outlet for "discussing" the deeper meaning of film. The irony is not lost on me that much of my work the past four years has been promoting a festival with a main premise being that film/video is an ideal vehicle for encouraging reflection, prompting discussion, and expressing feelings about the fundamental and often unexplored impacts of father-child relationships. This fundamental aspect of the Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) mission is what sets it apart from the 12,000+ other film festivals held worldwide each year.

Occasionally, I've had the opportunity to share my thoughts on the blog about a film and how its themes have touched me, personally, as I did after seeing The Whale and As They Made Us. Both are films that would fit right in with D3F and ripe for examining family communication, strained relationships, and emotional struggles. We've also offered the blog as a platform for filmmakers to share their own thoughts about, inspirations for, and potential greater impact of their award-winning (and nominated) films exploring dad-child relationships of all kinds, including those that could crush your heart, as Angela Patton (Daughters, 2024 Judges' Prize Winner), Daniel DeFabio (Menkes Disease: Finding Help and Hope, 2024 Official Selection), Adam Fried (Everything's Kosher, 2025 Best Feature Winner), Jen Senko (The Brainwashing of My Dad, 2025 Best Feature Finalist), Justin Schein (Death & Taxes, 2025 Judges' Prize Winner), and Tyler Pawlak (That's OK. With You., 2025 Best Dad-Created Film Finalist) all have done so graciously.

While the blog and our virtual festival have showcased a wide variety of daddying stories by Dads, dad figures, moms, students, and indie filmmakers, our live Daddying Film Forum, the latest of which takes place TOMORROW, Saturday, April 26, 9:30 am – 4:30 pm, on campus at Bryn Mawr College, PA, gives our audience a chance to express their own feelings about the D3F films presented during the full-day event. Breakout discussion groups touch on a variety of topics and enable participants to consider what having/not having or being/not being an involved Dad/parent means to them. This intentionality is something that sticks with you long after the event. With any luck, it will last forever.

More than just a festival, the Daddying Film Forum is, essentially, a collection of "impact screenings" that offers filmmakers and audience members alike a unique and interactive stage for sharing their daddying stories. Though not all daddying stories can be positive or have a happy ending, the Q&A and discussion the Forum generates always manages to provide attendees with insightful, uplifting, hopeful, and cathartic storytelling and discussion.

I expect this weekend's 3rd annual Daddying Film Forum to provide similar nourishment along with the usual snacks. So, if you're in the Philly area on Saturday, we'd love to have you join us for one, some, or all our short and feature film screenings, award presentations, and group discussion. The morning session features a more kid-friendly program of shorts, music, and animated fun, including an award presentation to student Dulcinea Harrison, who's traveling all the way from Colorado to accept the Best High School Film Atticus Award for her short, I Choose You, and a Q&A with 2024 Best College Student Film Atticus winner Julietta Beutler-Lam that will follow a screening of her animated short, A Trace. Julietta, now D3F's assistant producer, is flying in from Los Angeles, CA!

The afternoon will feature the premiere of the upcoming PBS docuseries Grown Up Dad and Q&A with its creator Joe Gidjunis, and screenings of our 2025 Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Film RUN NIÑO RUN by Lance Revoir and Best Feature winner Everything's Kosher by Adam Fried.

D3F passes, as always, are FREE. Just RSVP on our Eventive page.

Congratulations, once again, to our

D3F 2025 Atticus Award Winners & Finalists!

Stay tuned for a 2026 Call for Entries Announcement later this spring!

Scott Beller is the proud, imperfect crew dad of two mighty girl rowers, imperfect husband of a rock-star mom/regatta chaperone, truth teller, former soccer coach, part-time driving instructor, late-night filmgoer, photobomber, purveyor of banned books, Editor of the Daddying blog, and Director of Communications for DCG and D3F. He's a seasoned writer and PR agency veteran with more than 30 years of experience helping organizations of all sizes reach audiences and tell their stories. Prior to launching his own creative communications consultancy in 2003, he led PR teams with some of the world’s most respected agencies, including Fleishman-Hillard and The Weber Group. As a consultant, he’s helped launch two other parenting advocacy nonprofits with DCG founder Allan Shedlin. His first book, Beggars or Angels, appears in the gift guide above and was a ghostwritten memoir for the nonprofit Devotion to Children's founder Rosemary Tran Lauer, with whom he will again collaborate on a book in 2025. He was formerly known as "Imperfect Dad" and Head Writer/Editor for the Raising Nerd blog, which supported parents in inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, and creative problem solvers. He earned his BA in Communications from VA Tech so many years ago. Follow him on Instagram and BlueSky!