SpiritualCine is a home for cinema that treats the camera as an instrument of presence. The Festival is how we find the filmmakers who are making that cinema now — and give their work the audience, the context and the care it deserves.
Selected films premiere on SpiritualCine with an Editor's Note, and the jury's choices screen at the Festival.
What we are looking for
Films that do not merely depict the sacred, but participate in it. Contemplative documentaries, visionary fiction, ethnographic and Indigenous cinema, experimental work, and video essays on film and consciousness. We value sincerity of inquiry over budget, and presence over spectacle.
Categories
- Short Film — fiction or hybrid, up to 40 minutes
- Documentary — short or feature length
- Feature Film — fiction, over 40 minutes
- Video Essay — on cinema, consciousness and the sacred, up to 30 minutes
- Indigenous & Ancestral Voices — films made by or in genuine collaboration with Indigenous communities
Key dates
- Call opens: 1 November 2026
- Early bird deadline: 15 December 2026
- Regular deadline: 15 February 2027
- Final deadline: 31 March 2027
- Official Selection announced: 1 May 2027
- Festival premiere: 21 June 2027 — the summer solstice, online on SpiritualCine, with an in-person screening to be announced
Entry fees
- Early bird: $15 · Regular: $25 · Final: $35
- Fee waivers are available for Indigenous filmmakers and filmmakers from Latin America. Write to us before submitting.
Jury
To be announced.
Awards
- Best Film — SpiritualCine Prize
- Best Documentary
- Best Short
- Indigenous & Ancestral Voices Award
- Laurels for every film in the Official Selection
Rules
- Films must have been completed after 1 January 2024.
- Non-English films must include English subtitles.
- Submitters must own or control all rights in the film, including music and footage.
- Works in progress are accepted if a near-final cut is submitted.
- Entry fees are non-refundable, except if the Festival is cancelled.
- Selected filmmakers will be notified by email and listed on this page.
Streaming on SpiritualCine (optional)
When you submit, you may choose to make your film available to SpiritualCine members if it is selected. This license is non-exclusive, lasts 12 months, and pays the filmmaker 50% of net revenue attributed to the film, as described in a separate agreement we sign with each selected filmmaker. You keep all rights. Choosing this option does not affect selection.
Submit
All submissions are handled through FilmFreeway. Use the button at the top of this page.
Questions: spiritcine33@gmail.com