Submissions:

Deadline: Feb. 6, 2026

Notification: Feb. 15, 2026

Festival Dates: Mar. 4 - 8, 2026

To Submit:

Entries may be submitted through our Film Freeway page or by filling out the Online Entry Form.

Submitted works must have been completed after the 1st of January, 2024.

Entry Fee:

• Regular Entry: $15
  

• College Student: $5
  College students must be currently enrolled at a university or college and must upload a current student ID (photocopy is fine) along with their submission or send via email to: wvmsff@gmail.com. wvmsff@gmail.com (sender should clearly identify the name of the student artist).
  

• West Virginia Students: Free
  Must be currently enrolled in a West Virginia based college or university. Must upload a current WV student ID (photo or copy is fine) along with submission or send to: wvmsff@gmail.com. ID should match the name of the student artist.
  

• High School Students (anywhere): FREE
  Must be currently enrolled in a secondary or high school program anywhere in the world. Must upload a current student ID (photo or copy) along with your filmfreeway submission or send via email to: wvmsff@gmail.com. Sender should clearly identify the name of the student artist.

Entry fee payment can be made through Film Freeway or by clicking the Payment link at the bottom of the Submission Form.

Artists agree to allow festival organizers use of accepted works for any current or future festival promotional materials and events.

Submission Categories:

We welcome works in a broad range of styles and categories as outlined below. These include standard forms (narrative, documentary, animation etc.) a thematic category “Time”, and several options for VR and video installation work at this year's event. If you're not sure where your work fits in, just submit and choose the category that most closely matches your work. We value quality and creativity over dogmatism of form. If your work is selected, we may change its categorization for purely programming purposes.

• Experimental

• Short Narrative

• Documentary

• Animation

• Student Work

• Works centered on “Time” theme

• Two-Channel Video Installation

• VR

• Outdoor Video Projection

Time Theme:

This year, the West Virginia Mountaineer Short Film Festival coincides with the weekend when we turn clocks forward in observance of Daylight Saving Time. We would like to take this opportunity to issue a call for film and video works that ruminate on light and darkness, the malleability of time, the geological, social, and philosophical meanings of time, as well as the fleeting or expansive experience of time. How does the experience of time change in a world marked by instantaneous communication across long distances? How can time slow when we step outside the constraints of the industrial workday? How can the technological manipulation of light in film augment our experience of time? As AI and machine learning move us ever closer to realtime simulations reality, how does our sense of time speed up or collapse in on itself? What changes when realtime video technologies intersect with the meticulous sculpting of the editing timeline of film? How do our technologies warp or reify natural and artificial notions of time? How can the mind distort or dissolve the experience of time? The WVMSFF seeks short film, video, media installation, and performance works that deal with these varied meanings and experiences of time.

Special Categories:

In addition to single-channel videos for screening, there are 3 other opportunities to consider as part of the festival. These include a 2-channel video installation space, a VR experience option, and outdoor video projection. Details:

Two-channel video installation:

We are seeking proposals for 2 channel video installations in a white cube gallery space. There are two 1080p projectors that can by synchronized with up to 2 channels of audio. The dimensions are 2122 square feet and a ceiling height of 10 feet.

VR:

We seek submissions that are designed to be experienced in virtual reality and that engage with the festival theme. Submitted works can take the form of VR films, interactive experiences, etc. Please reach out to Jason Zeh at Jason.zeh@mail.wvu.edu for technical inquiries.

Outdoor Video Projection:

The festival will identify several public video projection sites in the city of Morgantown to coincide with this year's festival. Please contact the festival organizers for specific site descriptions.