The Chicago Film Society is proud to announce dates for the third edition of Celluloid Now. From October 9th and through the 12th, CFS will present Celluloid Now 2025, a series of screenings, workshops, and other events showcasing working analog filmmakers and artists alongside archival rediscoveries and restorations.

Opportunities to see and to show new work in analog film formats are rare. This is especially true for short films made outside of mainstream funding and distribution channels. Nonetheless, artists and filmmakers across the world remain dedicated to making and exhibiting film prints of their work in every gauge, from 8mm, super 8, 16mm, 35mm, all the way up to 70mm, pushing analog filmmaking in bold and exciting new directions.

Celluloid Now is a screening program for work that makes use of the unique properties of analog film, and an opportunity for the general public to see this work projected live. The first two editions of Celluloid Now collectively showcased over 100 films and spawned a year-round series of “Celluloid Now Presents…” screenings, as well as a forthcoming touring 16mm program featuring films drawn from past Celluloid Now line-ups. 2025 marks the first multi-day Celluloid Now showcase since 2023’s edition.

SUBMISSIONS are now open for Celluloid Now 2025! Are you an analog filmmaker? Do you know and like any analog filmmakers? Send them our way! There is no fee to submit to Celluloid Now and all work that meets the criteria outlined in our submission rules will be considered. Celluloid Now accepts every kind of film: narrative, documentary, experimental, home movies, commercials, music videos, multi-projector films, kinescopes, class projects, anything! It just has to be on film. Celluloid Now will pay inbound and outbound shipping for every film in our program. All participating Celluloid Now filmmakers will receive a screening fee based on the length of their work.

Submissions form and further info about Celluloid Now can be found at celluloidnow.org

SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS SUNDAY, JULY 13, 2025

About Chicago Film Society -
Chicago Film Society makes rare and classic films available to local audiences in their original forms--on 35mm and 16mm motion picture film. Our screenings spotlight the restoration efforts of archives, studios, and private collectors, as well as the experience of seeing films projected in a theater with an audience. Through an array of program notes, extended blog entries, and introductory remarks before each screening, the Chicago Film Society endeavors to bring new notions of the cultural and material history of cinema to the public. The Chicago Film Society is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established by Chicago projectionists in 2011.

More information about our regular screenings and other initiatives can be found at www.chicagofilmsociety.org