Are you a college/university student or recent grad with a documentary film?
Submit your entry for Salem Film Fest 2026, taking place March 26-29, 2026 in Salem, MA. Mass Reality Check is a showcase for Massachusetts college students to present their short documentary and experimental documentary films. Open to current or 2025 college graduates who live in Massachusetts OR attended(ed) a Massachusetts college or university. Entries must be 20 minutes or less in duration.
The Mass Reality Check is a college doc shorts showcase for college and university students and recent graduates working in short documentary and experimental documentary film.
The first place winner will be awarded "Mass Reality Check Best Short." Prizes will be awarded by our industry sponsors, Boris FX, Women in Film and Video New England (WIFVNE) and Mass Production Coalition (MPC). The first place winner will also meet individually after the festival with programming staff from Salem Film Fest to get advice about filmmaking as a career and receive insights into funding and distribution, as well as other professional considerations.
Please note the following rules and guidelines for entry:
Submissions are FREE! There is no entry fee.
Films must have been completed in 2025 or 2026.
All forms of documentary are welcome.
No unauthorized use of copyrighted images or music is allowed.
Films that have been previously considered will not be reviewed again.
Entries will be judged by a panel of filmmakers and industry professionals.
Festival tickets and prizes will be provided by Salem Film Fest and our sponsors.
Submission deadline is February 26, 2025.
Congratulations to all of our 2025 Mass Reality Check film participants!
BUZZ
Directed by Nina Ruggero
Harvard Extension School
5 minutes
A retired 70-year-old, affectionately known as “Buzz,” finds ways to distract himself from the persistent noise in his ears.
THE CLIMB
Directed by Madalyn Carr
Bridgewater State University
7 minutes
From the first steps in preschool to the triumph of a college graduation, this inspiring journey captures a filmmaker's unwavering determination to overcome every obstacle, proving that with resilience and perseverance, no mountain is too high to climb.
DANCING ON THE COUCH
Directed by Robin Chen
Emerson College
15.5 minutes
Lyme disease patient Tessa uses "couch choreography" as a powerful means to both resist and coexist with the illness that now defines part of her life.
PÓPO
Directed by Jingyi Li
Boston University
14.5 minutes
Set in Boston, the film follows a family of Hong Kong immigrants during the final stage of a loved one’s life, offering an intimate, unembellished portrait of their time together within the context of hospice care.
MIAMI BOY
Directed by Alice Estrada
Tufts University
8 minutes
A Nicaraguan father recounts his journey of immigrating to the United States to his child, weaving together memories of struggle, resilience, and belonging in Miami—a city that shaped his American dream.
YOUR HARVEST MAY BE DELAYED
Directed by Ahmad Al-Zu'bi
Tufts University
15 minutes
An uncovered archive recounts my childhood through sketches, scribbles, and a forgotten love poem.
EMOTIONAL LANDSCAPE
Directed by Tiago Serpa
Montserrat College of Art
6 minutes
A brief interview with Rockport artist Morgan Dyer, this documentary explores her unique view of "the landscape," linking the physicality of nature to a deeper, inner world. It incorporates personal experiences and history, blending them into the essence of self.
KEYTAR BEAR
Kely Maloney
Suffolk University
11.5 minutes
A street busker dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the evils that plague his home. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - Keytar Bear.
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