Season 6 Call for Entries

We announce our Season 6 call for films (Spring 2021) amidst tremendous national turmoil. The deaths of our fellow Southerners Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, Rayshard Brooks, and David McAtee are unacceptable. The other Black lives threatened and in-peril in the South and elsewhere around the world, reside in our eyes and weigh equal with anger and sadness. Déjà vu is supposed to be an anomaly.

Reel South has always believed in giving space and voice to Black storytellers and culture that has long defined, explicitly and undeniably, what the South's identity is and should stand for. For Season 6, we are committed to recruiting and broadcasting Black stories and voices, by those in front of and behind the camera, from our region. The South is the nation's fastest-growing and diversifying region, and Reel South as a showcase of films and storytelling will represent this as we have for five seasons prior. We assert that public media, and Reel South films specifically, are the place to bear witness to our country's pain and seek communion with the stories of those fallen and those fighting to stay up and alive. And we assert that now is the time to reclaim the microphone and refuse to shy away from the hateful realities that permeate our society. Pain is not for profit. Today's pain is the call to action for the media, our industry, and our region. Pain is generational and reckoning is perpetual.

Reel South's Season 6 call for entries is now open for filmmakers with films that are based in the South or cover a Southern topic or history beyond our "borders." We are looking for films that focus on the people, issues, and culture of our region. The series showcases films that cover a broad range of topics and filmmaking styles: from public affairs or social issues to more personal or experimental works. Particular topics of interest include social justice and civil rights, the economy, the environment, as well as arts and culture. In terms of style and format, narrated and non-narrated films are considered along with first person or point of view projects, observational films, and news documentaries.

The deadline for submissions is slated for August 20 with potential offers coming before the deadline. We look forward to seeing your film. Submit your film here.