Call for Submissions: MESA’s 41st Annual Film Festival 

Dear Filmmakers and Film Distributors,

We are seeking submissions for the 41st Annual MESA Film Festival. The MESA FilmFest is a wonderful part of the MESA Annual Meeting, and we are excited to be offering a virtual FilmFest for the fourth year now. The call for submissions is now open, and we hope that you will be interested in submitting your films by the June deadline! Accepted films will be streamed only to MESA Annual Meeting registered attendees.

All films submitted will be reviewed and vetted by the FilmFest Committee or by selected regional/topical experts. The films will only be available to registered conference attendees for a limited window of time in the fall. The FilmFest screens narrative and nonnarrative feature and short films as well as documentaries.

The 2023 annual meeting in Montreal, Quebec, Canada attracted nearly 2,000 attendees. All attendees had access to the FilmFest throughout the duration of the conference, as well as the week before and after for additional viewing opportunities.

Submission Deadline: June 15, 2024

Call for Entries
Please complete the form located on the Film Festival page on our website. You will be asked to provide links to share the full screener. If necessary, please include the password for access. (Trailers will not be considered.)

We ask that you allow us to screen your films with the express intent of exposing your work to an academic community that focuses on their subject matter. MESA attendees are professors, students, and librarians who might be interested in including films in their courses or acquiring copies for institutional use at colleges and universities around the globe. Due to the potential benefit of exposing and promoting your work to our specialized audience, and the nature of the event as a nonprofit academic meeting,

MESA does not pay screening fees. Any potential fees must be mentioned before submitting to the fest. Importantly, we must also have certification that you have the rights, or otherwise can ensure clearance, for streaming the submitted films to MESA attendees. We can offer one complimentary register for the Annual Meeting for free, which is a $300 value, allowing access to view all of the films and to the rest of the program events.

All distributors and filmmakers are encouraged to take advantage of MESA’s advertising options in the digital conference program and/or newsletter IMES or you can rent mailing labels for a direct mailing. Pricing for these advertising options are listed here on our website. The audience is composed mainly of university professors, graduate students, and librarians among other Middle East studies professionals who may be interested in acquiring the film for their institution or for course adoption. Please let me know if you need any further information, and we welcome your submissions here.

Sincerely,
Emily
MESA Programs Assistant
Middle East Studies Association
meeting@mesana.org (regarding the MESA Annual Meeting)
secretariat@mesana.org (regarding MESA membership and registration)