Deadlines
JAN 13, 2026Opens
FEB 28, 2026Deadline
About festival
Do It Your Damn Self Film Festival
Do It Your Damn Self (DIYDS!!) National Youth Film Festival is the longest-running youth-produced film festival in the country. Founded in 1996 by six Cambridge teens responding to media misrepresentation, the festival elevates youth voices and social justice–focused filmmaking. DIYDS!! is a program of the Community Art Center’s Teen Media Program and is rooted in the belief that young people create change by doing it themselves.
Festival Amenities
Hotel HostingAirport TransportSwag BagsWelcome DinnerQ&A SessionsFestival CatalogSocial Media Spotlight
Accepted Content
Genres:
ActionAdventureAnimationBiographyComedyCrime
DocumentaryDramaFamilyFantasyHistoryHorrorMusicMysteryRomanceScience FictionThriller
Sub-Genres:
Social IssuesSocial ImpactstudentPoliticalMockumentaryHuman Rights
Coming of AgeDanceRomantic ComedyPsychological ThrillerSilentFeministFantasy-DramaBio PicBlack ComedyFantasy-ComedyBuddy ComedyChildren'sMartial ArtsSportsCyber PunkDarkDetectiveEnvironmentalPoetryPeriod PieceSuspenseFaith
Film Types:
NarrativeDocumentaryNon-FictionExperimentalAnimation
Categories:
Short FilmMusic Video
Festival Focus:
BIPOCYouthFirst-Time FilmmakerStudentSocial ChangeEmerging Filmmakers
Family
Submission Categories
Short Narrative
Short Documentary
Exprerimental
Music Video
Animation
Festival Rules
Filmmaker Must be between the ages of 13-20:
This film festival is strictly for youth between the ages of 13 and 20.
Looking for, but not limited to, entries in the following categories::
• Youth Perspectives (leadership, teen violence, relationships, family, education, etc.)
• Social Justice (politics, diversity, activism, LGBTQ+, gender and race equity, etc.)
• Youth Perspectives (leadership, teen violence, relationships, family, education, etc.)
• Experimental Films that are abstract in nature but feature a perspective or voice not commonly heard from
