2027 SPE Media Festival

Overview

The SPE (Society for Photographic Education) Media Festival (originally the SPE Women's Film Festival) has featured innovative and provocative short documentaries, animation, fiction, video art, and experimental moving image projects by, for and about women, BIPOC, and members of the LGBTQIA community since 1995. The 2027 Media Festival will be held during the 2027 SPE Annual Conference from March 11 - 14, 2027, in Minneapolis, Minnesota in the Hyatt Regency hotel. The two-hour screening is expected to be held on Friday, March 12, or Saturday, March 13, 2027, with the final schedule to be determined as the conference program is finalized. Artists whose work is selected will be notified of the confirmed screening date and time as soon as it becomes available. Categories include: Women: works 30 minutes or under by, for, or about women. Multi-Cultural: works 30 minutes or under on cultural issues by, for, or about people of diverse cultural backgrounds. Pride: works 30 minutes or under by, for or about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people. Festival Format & Attendance: The SPE Media Festival is presented as part of the annual Society for Photographic Education Conference and differs from a traditional stand-alone film festival. Rather than being a separate event with scheduled screenings, introductions, filmmaker Q&As, or awards presentations, the Media Festival is programmed as one of the conference's sessions. Conference sessions, including the Media Festival, take place in hotel meeting rooms and typically run between 30 and 120 minutes. Throughout the conference, attendees move freely between concurrent sessions on topics related to photography, film and video art, including theory, history, studio practice, pedagogy, artist talks, demonstrations, and creative research. Audience members may enter or leave the Media Festival screening at any time, just as they would any other conference session. Artists selected for the Media Festival are warmly encouraged to attend, but attendance is not required. Please note that SPE is unable to provide screening fees, artist honoraria, travel assistance, or lodging support. Selection for the Media Festival does not include complimentary conference registration. Artists who wish to attend the full SPE Annual Conference must register separately. Those interested only in viewing the Media Festival screening may purchase a Media Festival Session Pass for $10, which provides access to the screening session only. We are unable to pay any screening fees.

Last updated Sep 17, 2026

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Festival Details

FilmFreeway community

• Filmmaker

  It was a wonderful opportunity to share my work with this community and there were some wonderful films by talented story tellers. However, it felt as if the festival was a filler event-running through the conference during all of the other goings on with people dropping in and out of the room where the films were screened. I wish there was an opportunity to discuss the work or network with any of the other film makers.

• Filmmaker

  I have been a fan of SPE for a long time, and it was truly an honor to have my experimental video art "Digital Moments, Liquid Experiences" selected for their 2025 conference. The communication from the selection to the event was always on time, and it truly gave me a rewarding feeling to know my work has been reviewed and carefully considered by amazing educators in the field of photography and visual media. Thank you once again for giving me this opportunity!

• Filmmaker

  Great festival! Wasn’t able to attend but I’m very thankful to have won an award.

• Filmmaker

  Great communication and attention! I couldn't attend so I can't speak to Hospitality/Networking.

• Filmmaker

  It was a great honor for us to have several films from our collection Selected in your festival, and we are especially delighted that one of our films (Rose) received an award. We truly appreciate being part of such a remarkable and inspiring festival. We hope to have the opportunity to participate again in the coming years with our future projects.

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