3rd Annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F) Begins,

Announces 2024 Student, Dad & Indie Finalists

 

CHEVY CHASE, MD – May 2, 2024 – The 3rd annual Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), the first and only festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive Dad/Dad figure involvement for kids and families, kicked off today on Eventive and announced its 2024 Atticus Award Finalists. The virtual D3F runs through Thursday, May 9.  

 

D3F 2024 presents more than 40 short and feature films focused on the importance of positive father-child relationships created by students (elementary through college undergrad), Dads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers worldwide. Passes for the virtual festival are FREE, provide unlimited film screenings during festival week, and are now available on Eventive.

 

Since its inaugural year in 2022, D3F has received submissions from filmmakers in 26 countries. Here is the complete list and descriptions for our D3F 2024 Official Selections. Virtual D3F attendees will help determine Atticus Award Winners by voting for their favorite films from among nominees in the following categories:

 

Best Elementary Student Film 

1. The Sockening by Sophia Linzie McDonald (USA – Salt Lake City/Ogden, UT)

2. 100 Subs by Eka Shukla (Singapore)

3. My Wonderful Dad by Alejandro Pereira (USA – Arlington, VA)

4. My Loving Dad by Emmylou Skye Simkin (USA – Arlington, VA)

5. Our Dads by Zachary Walker Voyles and Simon Joseph Loughner (USA – Washington, DC)

 

Best High School Student Film 

1. Thank You, Moddy by Allison Rachel White (USA – Arlington, VA)

2. Dad’s Kitchen by Jack Chasen (USA – New York, NY)

 

Best College Undergraduate Film

1. My Dog’s Leg by Ashton Polak (Animated Film, USA – Pittsburgh/Cranberry Township, PA)

2. A Trace by Julietta Zamora Lam (Animated Film, USA – Los Angeles/Van Nuys, CA)

3. You Are Me by Damon Anthony (USA – Philadelphia, PA)

 

Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Film 

1. How to Make a Film About My Son, Jack by Michael Plewa (USA – Los Angeles/Encino, CA)

2. From Now On by Aaron Scully (Australia)

3. Dear Black Dad by Tristan Barrocks (Canada)

4. Tess Is Not Alone by Bo Bigelow (USA – Falmouth, ME)

5. Baked With Love by Brenden Guy (USA – Philadelphia/Havertown, PA)

 

D3F Men Caring Award for Best Dad-Figure Film

1. Hope for the Holidays by Nathan Cribari and Yuri Omar Shariff Williams (Short Film, USA – Los Angeles/Long Beach, CA)

2. Fits Just Right by Randy Sauer (Short Film, USA – Wichita/Hays, KS)

3. Nothing to Do by Mike Kravinsky (Feature Film, USA – Arlington, VA)

4. DadTalks by David Affholter (Short Film, USA – Huntington/Ft. Wayne, IN)

5. Loud in the Library by Jeff Klemm aka “Mr. Jeff” (Music Video, USA – Cleveland/Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

 

Best Indie Feature Film

1. Daughters by Natalie Rae and Angela Patton (USA – Richmond, VA/Washington, DC)The 2024 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner for best U.S. documentary and Festival Favorite, Daughters is an honorary D3F Finalist chosen by our VIP judging panel and D3F staff. Due to contractual obligations with Netflix, Daughters is unavailable to screen online during the virtual D3F and will screen ONLY at the LIVE Daddying Film Forum, May 17, at the Parkway Central Library in Philadelphia.

2. Forget Me Not by Olivier Bernier (USA – Brooklyn, NY)

3. Two Lives in Pittsburgh by Brian Silverman (USA – Los Angeles/Sherman Oaks, CA)

4. Papi Ramirez vs. Giant Scorpions by Les Rivera (USA – Philadelphia, PA)

5. What We Find on the Road by Chaysen Beacham (USA – Los Angeles, CA)

6. Burst the Silence by Eric Schaeffer and Robbie Schaefer (USA – Los Angeles/Burbank, CA)

7. One Second at a Time: Battling the Monster of Addiction by Tim Searfoss (USA – Tampa, FL)

 

Best Indie Short Film

1. Dad Bod by Daniel Flahiff (USA – Seattle/Bellvue, WA)

2. DADICATION by Sheldon Candis (USA – Atlanta/Dunwoody, GA)

3. Dalgona by Jang Ha won (Republic of South Korea)

4. DaddyHood Adventure - Island of Krk by Fran Karabaić and Matija Djanješić (Croatia)

5. Black Fatherhood: Trials & Tribulations, Testimony & Triumph by Dr. Khalid White and Maia Porter (USA – San Francisco/Union City, CA)

 

Best Music Video/Musical Film

1. Fits Just Right by Randy Sauer (USA – Wichita/Hays, KS)

2. Loud in the Library by Jeff Klemm aka “Mr. Jeff” (USA – Cleveland/Akron/Cuyahoga Falls, OH)

3. Juni Sings “Hello, Goodbye” by Jeff Klemm

4. Burst the Silence by Eric Schaeffer and Robbie Schaefer (USA – Los Angeles/Burbank, CA)

 

Best Animated Film/Video

1. My Dog’s Leg by Ashton Polak (USA – Pittsburgh/Cranberry Township, PA)

2. A Trace by Julietta Zamora Lam (USA – Los Angeles/Van Nuys, CA)

3. My Wonderful Dad by Alejandro Pereira (USA – Arlington, VA)

 

2024 D3F Atticus Award winners will be announced on May 11, during a virtual awards ceremony hosted on Zoom.

 

WHAT’S D3F ALL ABOUT?

Our relationship with our father – in its presence or absence – is one of the most important relationships in our lives. Because a father's presence or absence most directly impacts kids, D3F offers them a creative outlet to freely express feelings about their relationships with their Dads or Dad figures and, likewise, we provide a complementary opportunity for dads. Student filmmakers (elementary – college undergrads), Dads/Dad figures, and indie filmmakers may submit films/videos, including music videos, documentaries, and animated films, that relate to one or more D3F themes:

 

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

2. The most joyful/fun thing I ever did or wish I could do/have done with my dad/father figure or child(ren)

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

4. My Daddy dream: the most positive relationship I could imagine having with my dad/father figure or child(ren)

5. Men Caring: celebrating the many other faces of daddying, including men who play nurturing fatherly roles, inspire, and make a positive impact in 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.

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WHAT’S IN IT FOR FINALISTS/WINNERS?

All student FINALISTS earn $250 for use toward an activity or project to enjoy with their Dad/Dad figure. Student WINNERS earn an additional $250, and a custom-made Atticus Award trophy. All D3F winners, including Dads/Dad figures and non-student, indie filmmakers, earn an “Atticus,” a statuette symbolizing Atticus Finch from the 1962 film based on Harper Lee’s book To Kill a Mockingbird. Finch, an iconic single Dad, represents several ideal daddying qualities. Two awards, the Roy R. Neuberger Prize for Best Dad-Created Film (sponsored by his daughter) and the D3F Men Caring Award for Best Dad Figure Film (sponsored by Equimundo), provide winners with $500 to use for an activity or project with their child(ren).

 

D3F submissions are reviewed by student (elementary school - undergraduate) and adult preliminary jurors from around the U.S., trained in evaluating films by D3F staff. Atticus Award finalists are then selected with the help of a panel of VIP judges, who are experts in film production, the arts and entertainment industry, and academia. 

 

2nd ANNUAL LIVE DADDYING FILM FORUM

The in-person Daddying Film Forum will be in Philadelphia, PA, at the Parkway Central Library on Friday, May 17, from 4-8pm EDT, and at the iconic Mummers Museum on Saturday, May 18, from 10am - 3pm EDT. Passes to both D3F live events are FREE and available now on Eventive.

 

Highlighting this year’s live Daddying Film Forum Day 1 event on May 17 will be a special screening of Daughters, the 2024 Sundance Film Festival’s Audience Award winner for best U.S. documentary, winner for Sundance Festival Favorite, and an honorary D3F Best Feature Film Finalist. Directed by Natalie Rae and Girls For A Change founder Angela Patton, Daughters follows the lives of four young girls preparing for the first-ever father/daughter dance in a Washington, DC, correctional facility. Patton will attend the May 17 Forum, participate in a live Q&A, and be introduced to attendees by her father, Harry Walker.

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On Day 2 of the Forum, the Mummers Museum will be open to Forum attendees and host screenings of selected D3F finalist features and short films.

 

ABOUT D3F

The Daddying Film Festival & Forum (D3F), is not your ordinary film fest. It is the world's first and only film festival focused exclusively on promoting the importance of positive Dad involvement for kids and families. D3F was created in 2022 by the DADvocacy Consulting Group’s 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 or Dad figures. D3F also encourages Dads/Dad figures to submit their own films for consideration. D3F includes a live Daddying Film Forum (Philadelphia, PA, in 2024) to discuss themes from D3F-screened films and more directly improve the daddying experience for children and Dads alike. For more information about the D3F and how to get involved as a filmmaker, potential juror, sponsor/Circle of Friends member, or other collaborator, please contact D3F.

 

MEDIA CONTACT: To request an interview with D3F Founder Allan Shedlin or one of D3F’s Finalist nominees, please contact D3F Director of Comms Scott Beller at scott [at] daddyingfilmfest [dot] com