4th Annual NYC Public School Film Festival

Exciting news! Adobe has generously partnered with the NYC Department of Education and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment to support the 4th Annual NYC Public School Film Festival! All NYC public school students and teachers have FREE access to Adobe Creative Cloud Express (through their DOE credentials) to support students’ creative filmmaking. In addition, Adobe’s education team has gathered a number of exciting resources that will help your students and teachers create innovative and inspiring films on this Adobe Resources for the NYC Public School Film Festival page.

The Festival is open to NYC Department of Education middle and high school students. 20+ short films will be selected for the Festival by a panel of media professionals and educators. All films submissions must be five minutes or less, in .mp4 or .mov format. The films must use only original or public domain music.

Submissions are open online until March 25, 2022, and the NYC DOE will notify students of final selections by May 6. 

The Youth filmmakers must play the major creative roles — as directors, writers, and editors. Teacher-directed, produced, or generated works will not be considered. No nudity, profanity, or violent acts are permitted.

Filmmakers and students on camera must complete consent forms to submit to the New York City Public School Film Festival. A parent/guardian must give consent for persons under 18.

Categories for submission are:

  • Animation
  • Short feature/narrative
  • Documentary
  • Experimental
  • P.S.A./Advocacy

For music, copyright, and shooting tips, please go to NYC DOE Office Of the Arts and Special Projects' Film Festival Resources.

To see the 2021 Festival films, visit the Mayor’s Office on Media and Entertainment’s NYPS Film Festival 2021 page.

For Professional Learning Courses offered by Adobe visit the Ed Tech Portal