404: Format Not Found

A Film Festival by The Lighthouse

Brooklyn · 12.10.26

Watch. Make. Meet.
Break the format.

Submit your film →

Submissions close November 24

The length

Five minutes or less

The deal

Free to submit, always

The deadline

November 24

01The Idea

The future of storytelling won't fit the old format.

404: Format Not Found is The Lighthouse's film festival and creative platform challenging Creators to rethink the familiar. Built around a simple premise: take a recognizable format, question its conventions, and make something entirely your own. From interviews to food films to music videos, it's an invitation to push past what's expected and explore what happens when the rules become a starting point, not a limitation.

~/404_FORMAT_NOT_FOUND/archive

Give Creators
a constraint.
then get out of the way.

How format changed

2005
YouTube launches
The upload replaces the reel
2013
Vine
Six-second stories
2018
TikTok goes global
The feed becomes the format
2021
YouTube Shorts
Vertical goes mainstream
2025
YouTube leads TV
2026
404: FORMAT NOT FOUND
Your turn.

02How It Works

Three steps · Key dates

01
Submit
Send us an original short, five minutes maximum.
Submissions close
November 24
02
Select
The Lighthouse selects five films.
Finalists notified
December 2
03
Premiere
Finalists premiere their work on Festival Day, where one Creator gets year-long access to The Lighthouse Campuses.
Festival Day
December 10, 2026
The Lighthouse Brooklyn

The limitation is the point.

Five minutes or less. Any subject or approach.

What finalists get

One Creator gets year-long access to The Lighthouse, our community, and studio production credits.

Four Other Creators will earn the chance to screen their work and share their process with a curated audience of industry shakers and fellow makers/Creators on Festival Day.

Submit your film →

03Festival Day · 12.10.26

Watch. Make. Meet.
Break the format.

Not a traditional film festival, but a Creator gathering in motion. Across The Lighthouse campus, programmed moments meet choose-your-own-adventure discovery, building toward the premiere of the finalist films.

Guests gathering beside the Live from The Lighthouse sign

A Creator seated between studio lights at The Lighthouse

A guest photographing a printed photograph at The Lighthouse

WHAT TO EXPECT ON FESTIVAL DAY

Arrive + Discover

Food, music, campus tours, storytelling vignettes and Creator artifacts throughout the building.

Debate

(IN) Focus conversations on format, access, audience and the economics of a creative career.

Create

(IN) Practice: F the Brief — Live. Same constraint. Limited time. Completely different answers. The room helps decide what lands.

Access

Office Hours on IP, representation, licensing, distribution and development.

Watch + Unpack

Finalists premiere their films, then share the decisions behind them. No traditional Q&A.

Awards + Celebration

The 404: Format Not Found Awards, flowing straight into Lights Down.

Full festival itinerary coming soon.

Request an RSVP to the Festival

04Creative Constraints + Guidelines

Original short film, one minute minimum, five minutes maximum (including credits)
Any subject, style or format
Open to Creators 21 or older
Submissions from the U.S. and Washington, D.C. only
Films must be fully completed by November 24, 2026 at 6 PM ET
AI-augmented films welcome, with AI use limited to planning and pre-production. Disclose any AI use in your submission.
All music used in your film must be original or licensed for commercial use
Films not primarily in English must include accurate English subtitles
Multiple films welcome — each needs its own submission
Ideally, finalists attend Festival Day in Brooklyn on December 10

05FAQs

06Submit