Submit Your Film to DocuClub

For many, DocuClub is the first opportunity for a filmmaker to share their work-in-progress in an intimate setting with a general audience at a critical moment in their process. In 2023, DocuClub will be holding in-person screenings. Due to the ongoing limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic, however, we will continue to monitor public health and safety guidelines and adjust if necessary. Screening dates will be set in advance by IDA and our partner organizations, and filmmakers must indicate which screening dates they prefer. Unless otherwise stated, all screenings will be held on a Monday at 7pm local time.

Our partner organizations for 2023 are:

• DCTV (New York) - June 5
• Film Independent (Los Angeles) - May 15, July 10
• More to be announced soon!

Submissions will be accepted on a rolling basis, but we will make selections up until 6 weeks before each screening date.

Applications for the 2023 season are now open. We are currently only accepting submissions from Los Angeles and New York based filmmakers.

Applicant Eligibility

• The applicant must be 18 years of age or older.

• The applicant must be an independent producer and/or director of the original project. For the purposes of this program, an independent filmmaker is a content creator who both owns the copyright of their work and has full artistic, budgetary, and editorial control of the documentary project. Documentaries being produced for or under the direction of a third party, such as a broadcast entity, university, foundation or nonprofit organization (excluding a fiscal sponsor) are ineligible.

Project Eligibility

• The project must be in post-production at the late rough or early fine cut stage at the time of the screening with room for changes based on feedback. The project cannot be picture locked.

• Accepted documentary formats:

  • Short: any length up to 40 minutes. Depending on the run time, the project may be presented with another short or series.

  • Feature: only up to 90 minutes of the project will be screened.

  • Series: at least one episode must be screened, with a maximum total run time of 90 minutes. Depending on the run time, the project may be presented with another short or series.

• The project must have a direct connection to the region you apply for - either a key creative team member (Director, Producer, Editor) must reside in that region OR the film takes place in that region. Selected Director/Producer/Editor must attend the screening. 

• Student films are ineligible.

To Apply

1. Click on the application portal. You will be asked to register with Submittable if you do not already have an account, which involves entering contact information and choosing a username and password.

2. Fill out our brief online application. You can save it and return to it as often as needed until you are ready to submit.

3. Applicants must submit a link to a streaming version of the most recent cut of the current project you are applying with. A Short can be any length up to 40 minutes. A Feature must range between 40 and 90 minutes (even if the full length of the project is longer than 90 minutes). A Series can include one or more episodes, with a total length of up to 90 minutes. Submit the sample that you feel best represents your project at its current in-progress phase. We cannot accept previous work samples or trailers.

APPLY NOW!