About the Festival

The Gaia Zine is an organization that provides publication, education, and connection opportunities to young creatives around the world. Supported by organizations like Taco Bell, Ashoka Changemakers, and Prudential Insurance, some of these opportunities include our upcoming poetry anthology, our in-person workshop and networking event Passion in Action (co-sponsored by the Queens World Film Festival, NYC’s Mayors Office, New York Women in Film and Television, and more), and our Uniquely Youth Film Festival.

The Gaia Zine’s Uniquely Youth Film Festival was created to amplify the voice of filmmakers 25 years old and under internationally. Now in its second season, the Uniquely Youth Film Festival has received submissions from 19 different countries!

The festival is comprised of a total of 52 short films selected by a panel of 10 student jurors across the country. These films range from middle school projects from Spain to grad school thesis projects from India. 

The Uniquely Youth Film Festival opens in person at 6 pm this Friday, May 10th in Rye Country Day’s Black Box Theater. There, we will be screening all 12 of our Award Winning Films in categories like Best Editing, Best Performances, Impact Award, and Best Production Design.

For week following the in-person screening, the festival will run virtually with themed premiere nights. 

Voting for the Audience Award will open on Monday, May 20 and close on Saturday, May 25. The winner of the Audience Award will be announced on Monday, May 27.

Rules and Terms of Entry

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF ENTRY

By submitting material to The Gaia Zine’s Uniquely Youth Film Festival you and all others associated with the submission attest to the possession of all the rights to all images, sound, music, interviews, promotional materials, third party images, and all other materials involved in the film and the promotion of the film. If your film is accepted, then you attest to the right for the The Gaia Zine to use any portion of the film in promotion of the The Gaia Zine and the Festival in all media in perpetuity.

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

All submissions must be no longer than 15 minutes long. Filmmakers must be under 25 years old at the time of submission. Please submit an accessible link. All genres are welcome and encouraged. Fees are non-refundable.

SELECTION

All filmmakers will be notified via FilmFreeway of our decision by April 26th. Not all accepted films will be selected for the live screening. Films that are not selected for the live screening will be given the opportunity to be featured on The Gaia Zine’s website and social media pages.