CF Awareness Film Festival Seeks Submissions

People living with cystic fibrosis (CF) are invited to participate in CF Awareness Month by submitting entries for the CF Awareness Film Festival, taking place virtually May 24–31.

Supported by the Bonnell Foundation and the I See You Awards, the festival aims to highlight issues faced by the CF community.

Those interested in participating may submit films here until May 21. Films may be submitted only digitally.

Submissions can be of any length but will be categorized as either short films — those lasting 30 minutes or less — or feature films, and judged separately.

Standard submission fees are $30 for short films and a $35 for feature films, with $10 student discounts available in each case. Applicants also must include a letter from their clinic confirming their CF diagnosis.

Judges, who are members of The Bonnell Foundation and I See You Awards, will decide which films to include in the festival as official selections.

While film topics may be chosen individually, the Bonnell Foundation offers several examples. These include life with CF during the COVID-19 pandemic, living with a sibling who does not have the disease, and the experience of regularly wearing a mask only to go unnoticed when the entire country masks up.

Audiences will be able to view official selections from May 24–31, after which judges will vote on best short and feature films, and viewers may vote in a People’s Choice category.

The organizers will announce winners no later than the evening of June 3 via Instagram live.

Both the Bonnell Foundation and the I See You Awards will feature winners in special blog posts on their websites, in addition to interviewing them on a joint podcast.

One winner each in the short and feature film category will be awarded a “beautiful, specially-designed certificate” from the festival organizers, they wrote.

Questions may be directed to either [email protected] or [email protected].

The Bonnell Foundation is devoted to providing tools and other resources to parents of children with CF. Its purpose, the foundation states, is that people living with CF might better navigate the disorder’s challenges.

Among the resources are college scholarships to those affected by CF, medical assistance, and financial support for lung transplants.