This November, cinéSPEAK will host a short film contest.

Philadelphia-based BIPOC, queer, women, and non-binary-identifying filmmakers are particularly encouraged to enter.

The short film contest, “Towards the Other Side,” will be held on a currently undisclosed date, but will take place in mid-November at Cherry Street Pier. 

Cherry Street Pier — the year-round, mixed use public space — is located at 121 N Christopher Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19106.

“Towards the Other Side” will be a showcase of local filmmakers and  cinéSPEAK is seeking films that are experimental, speculative, weird or strange. Horror and fantasy genres are particularly welcome.

“We’re looking for works that spook, bump in the night, bloody and majestic, travel in time and play with form and expectation. We are looking for work that considers the futurity and magical in the mundane as well as the fantastic… works that tell of times either passed, times present, or times future — but with a funky twist,” cinéSPEAK explained on its website.

Qualifications include being Philly-based, films being under 20 minutes in length, and sensitivity in content.

The films can be mature, but cannot contain “excessive explicit language, nudity, sex, violence, or gore.”

Submissions should also include captions, which cinéSPEAK can assist with if a film without them is selected.

cinéSPEAK is a nonprofit that has been in operation since 2013, holding a mission committed to increasing access to resources and community togetherness. 

The nonprofit “engages diverse audiences through [their] globally-minded contemporary and repertory independent film programming; creating space and centering the stories of individuals and communities that are often underrepresented in mainstream cinema.”

Filmmakers have until Friday, Oct. 22 at 11:59 PM to submit their work for the short film contest.

If selected, awardees will be granted $250 for two nights of screening. Additional information is available here.