December 1, 2025 Earlybird Deadline
January 1, 2026 Regular Deadline
January 11, 2026 Notification Date
January 25, 2026 Event Date

a curated program showcasing experimental and avant garde explorations of music, movement, and moving images. send your gnarled poems and whispered spells to join a chorus of queer chromatic seers. Video Spells will program open call film submissions alongside dance and sound performances. stemming from over 25 years of community curation as part of an experimental art venue located in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

The theme of our January instance will be "Crystal Wind," where prismatic memory shards the air in a reverberating spectrum of light and sound. Submit your experimental music videos, dance films, archival explorations scrawled in crystalized ink.

Awards & Prizes
Fee Transparency:

Season One
240 Submissions for a budget of $1,300.
36 Selected works at $25 artist fee = $900 paid to artists
Operating Costs (filmfreeway, materials, production) = $270
Donation (Free Palestine) = $130

Rules & Terms
Submission deadline: January 1st

We encourage submissions in all languages and ask that films in languages other than English contain hardcoded English subtitles. If language itself is core to your piece send an email describing the need.

While we focus on shorter pieces (2-9 minutes) we encourage submissions of any length, as long as the vessel resonates.

All submissions will receive notification no later than January 11th.

On selection to screen for the festival, the filmmaker must submit:

• Brief film synopsis
• Credits for creatives
• 1-2 high-resolution film stills
• 1920x1080 h.264 film exhibition copy
• Downloadable trailer, if applicable
• Subtitles burned in, if applicable

By submitting a film to Pollen Video Spells, you certify that:

• You are the owner of the film you have submitted or you have full authority to submit the film to the festival.

• This film is not subject to any litigation nor is threatened by any litigation.

• This film is your original work and you agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless Pollen Video Spells, its venue, and its employees, volunteers and board of directors individually and collectively, from and against all claims, complaints, causes of action, liabilities, judgments, losses, costs and expenses including reasonable attorneys fees arising out of or in connection with any and all claims and/or third party claims based on materials you are submitting to the festival.