Festival Updates
The latest from the kNOwBOX dance Film Festival.
Film Festival
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Submissions for the 2026 festival are now open!
Visit FilmFreeway for details
and join us in redefining dance on screen.
Early Bird Deadline: February 28, 2026
Entries Close: March 31, 2026
If you are unable to pay the fee but would like to submit
please fill out this form with your request for consideration.
Open Call for Submissions
Say NO to the BOX and yes to the future of DANCE!
The kNOwBOX dance Film Festival (NBFF) is an international platform for dance filmmakers who challenge convention and expand what dance on film can be. Produced by kNOwBOX dance, NBFF operates as a global dance think tank—centering innovation, experimentation, and cultural exchange.
We believe dance on film is a living archive and a catalyst for dialogue and change. NBFF amplifies diverse voices, embraces new technologies, and curates films that blend movement, art, and cinematic language in unexpected ways.
At NBFF, we say NO to the BOX—breaking barriers, rejecting rigid formats, and reimagining how dance is created, presented, and experienced.
Categories & Fees
Movement on Film — Short Form (3–15 minutes)
Short movement-driven films created for the cinematic space that explore how the body interacts with camera, space, rhythm, and visual storytelling. Includes dance film, narrative, experimental, fiction, animation, multicultural, and multi-genre works that treat movement as cinematic language.
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Earlybird Deadline: $20
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Regular Deadline: $25
Movement on Film — Long Form (16–90 minutes)
Movement-driven films that use the body as a central storytelling element across extended runtimes. Works may include dance film, narrative, experimental, hybrid, or multi-genre approaches and emphasize the relationship between movement, cinematography, space, and time.
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Earlybird Deadline: $30
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Regular Deadline: $35
Documentary Films (5–30 minutes)
Documentary films that consider dance and movement not only as a subject, but as a method for observing and understanding the world. Submissions are not limited to artist portraits or biography-driven narratives; works may explore spaces, environments, histories, creative processes, systems, or social contexts, as long as movement shapes the film’s perspective and structure.
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Earlybird Deadline: $20
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Regular Deadline: $25
Documentary Films (31-90 minutes)
Movement-driven films that use the body as a central storytelling element across extended runtimes. Works may include dance film, narrative, experimental, hybrid, or multi-genre approaches and emphasize the relationship between movement, cinematography, space, and time.
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Earlybird Deadline: $30
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Regular Deadline: $35
360° / VR Films (3–15 minutes)
Immersive movement-based films created specifically for virtual reality or 360° platforms. These works use spatial storytelling and interactive perspectives to expand how movement is experienced, spanning narrative, experimental, animation, and documentary forms.
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Earlybird Deadline: $30
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Regular Deadline: $35
Awards & Prizes
💰 NBFF First Prize receive a minimum $500 USD artist stipend. All NBFF Official Selections receive a minimum $100 USD artist stipend. Award recipients receive a minimum $200 USD artist stipend in addition to the Official Selection stipend.
Awards & Prizes
Official Selection
All selected films receive NBFF Official Selection status and are presented at live festival events in Texas (USA), South Korea, and Mexico, with distinct lineups curated for each location. Not all films screen at every venue.
Awards
🏆 NBFF First Prize *(Juried)*
Awarded to an outstanding film demonstrating artistic excellence, innovation, and a strong cinematic voice.
🏆 NBFF Outstanding Performance Award *(Juried)*
Honors exceptional embodied performance captured on screen.
🏆 NBFF Outstanding Choreographic Vision *(Juried)*
Recognizes originality and clarity of choreographic concept expressed through film.
🌍 NBFF Digital Audience Award
Selected through online voting by the NBFF global digital community during the festival’s on-demand exhibition period.
Prizes
NBFF First Prize Includes:
* Cash artist stipend (amount varies by year and funding; minimum of $500 USD in addition to the Official Selection stipend)
* Featured Dance Behind the Screen Podcast interview
* Expanded marketing spotlight across NBFF platforms
* Priority consideration for future NBFF touring programs, commissions, or partnerships
Other Awards Include:
* Artist stipend of at least $200 USD, in addition to the Official Selection stipend (as funding allows)
* Recognition and promotion across NBFF website and social media channels
What All Official Selections Receive
* Official NBFF laurel
* Minimum $100 USD artist stipend
* Social media and website feature with filmmaker links
* Complimentary festival passes (2 per selected filmmaker)
* Inclusion in the NBFF Digital Archive & Distribution Catalog, distributed to independent organizations, schools/universities, cinemas, and museums
* Consideration for future NBFF programming and collaborations
Notes
* Award categories and stipend amounts may vary by year and funding.
* Audience voting is conducted exclusively online and is separate from juried awards.
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Guidelines
Eligibility & Submission
Films must meet the length guidelines outlined in their selected submission category.
All submitted films will be reviewed by the NBFF 2026 Jury.
Films submitted in previous years may be resubmitted, provided they meet all current eligibility requirements.
Works must have been completed between 1950 and 2026.
A submission fee is required for all entries.
Materials Required at Submission
Each submission must include high-resolution film stills/photos (with proper photo credits).
Submissions must include the filmmaker’s or artist’s current location.
Filmmakers are responsible for securing all copyright permissions for music, imagery, text, and any other copyrighted material used in the film.
Exhibition & Technical Requirements
Selected films must be delivered in one of the following formats:
MP4 or MOV
Resolution: 1280×720 or 1920×1080
Selected filmmakers must provide additional marketing or press materials upon request.
Distribution & Rights
All Official Selection films will be included in the NBFF digital archive and distribution catalog following the festival.
This catalog is shared with independent organizations, schools and universities, cinemas, and museums for educational and exhibition purposes.
By submitting a film, filmmakers grant kNOwBOX dance and the kNOwBOX dance Film Festival (NBFF) the non-exclusive right to use submitted materials (including video clips and still images) for festival presentation, promotion, educational use, touring programs, and future kNOwBOX dance marketing or events.
Official Selection films may be included in NBFF 2026, NBFF On Tour, future kNOwBOX dance programs, and the permanent kNOwBOX dance digital archive and catalog.
Prior Distribution
If a submitted film has been widely distributed prior to the festival, or is available online in its entirety for free, it may be excluded from competition categories, though it may still be considered for exhibition or archival inclusion at the discretion of NBFF.