2025 DreamWeek San Antonio Sponsors Neighborhood Film Project Competition to Bring Attention to the Unique and Diverse Neighborhoods Throughout the 210 – Now Open for Submissions
Presented by the DreamVoice San Antonio organization, and with support from the San Antonio Film Commission, the Neighborhood Film Project (NFP) is gearing up for its annual movie competition – where filmmakers from all over the city are encouraged to apply as a way to shine a light on the thriving and lively authenticity of San Antonio’s various neighborhoods. This year’s NFP is part of the city’s 13th DreamWeek summit, which is hosted downtown every January and began as a way to nurture conversations related to civil and civic engagement. The NFP has been in operation independently for over 10 years, and has partnered with DreamWeek before (though not every year), with the goal of spotlighting San Antonio and its communities through film.
The annual DreamWeek San Antonio summit changes slightly from year to year, based on the events selected for that particular session, but it remains consistent in its mission: to cultivate a free and open dialogue of ideas related to universal issues that affect humanity. In the past, DreamWeek has hosted various platforms for this kind of engagement, ranging from symposiums and panel discussions, to open debates as well as art exhibits and -yes- film screenings. The theme for DreamWeek 2025 is “We Are Neighbor,” seeking to champion the community unity that is so prevalent across our city.
Students as well as amateur and professional filmmakers are encouraged to submit a short film of any genre to compete in the NFP. Music videos, documentaries, narrative stories and experimental films are all welcome, and the only criteria is that they must be between three and six minutes in length, and that they must be shot in San Antonio with an emphasis on a particular neighborhood and/or the people who live there.
The deadline to submit a film for the competition is December 30th at 11:59pm, and there will be cash prizes ranging from $1000 to $3000 for third, second, and first place winners. Selected films will be screened during a reception event at DreamWeek 2025, which goes from January 10th to the 26th. Details for time and location of the NFP reception have yet to be determined, but the competing films will also be available to screen online. Further information is to come, so keep an ear to the ground if you want to hear more about the hidden gems from local filmmakers during the upcoming Neighborhood Film Project.
