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The first known record of New Year’s celebrations began about 2000 B.C. in Mesopotamia. This occurred at the time of the vernal equinox, which is toward the end of March. Babylonians would have a religious festival named Akitu taken from the Sumerian term for barley. They’d perform various rituals, which would last for 11 days.
Besides celebrating the New Year, Atiku also marked the time that Marduk, Babylonian’s sky god, defeated Tiamat, the evil sea goddess. Meanwhile, the New Year for Persians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians would start in the fall equinox. Greeks used to celebrate the New Year during the winter solstice. Learn More |
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OPEN ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES
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2026 applications are now open for the Sundance Institute’s artist programs! Our artist programs provide dynamic support at every step of the creative journey for individuals with distinct voices in film and episodic storytelling. Learn more about which programs may fit your storytelling the best and apply on website.
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2026 Texas Music Office's Industry Directory
The Texas Music Office has an unparalleled set of resources available for artists and music businesses. This is the only place you'll find this data, making the job of connecting with Texas music businesses very easy. Region by region, city by city, this is where you can connect with the more than 15,000 music businesses and music industry professionals working in the state of Texas. Click Here |
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GOWER STREET; Global box office generated $2.6 billion in November 2025. That is just marginally -1% below the same month last year and clearly the 2nd highest grossing November since 2019! Compared to the average of the last three pre-pandemic years (2017-2019) the gap was just -14%. At the end of November the total Global box office in 2025 is estimated to have reached $29.7 billion.
LEARN MORE |
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NETFLIX BEING TRANSPARENT?
In 2025 Netflix released its most transparent report on its viewership to date. This Netflix Engagement Report provides quantifiable information about what Netflix subscribers are watching. Learn More |
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Zootopia 2: (Wk 3) $26.3M domestic weekend (-39%), $259M domestic total, $1.14B global, $150M budget. Reclaims the top spot and crosses the billion-dollar threshold in just 17 days. That makes it the fastest ever to hit that milestone for a Hollywood animation. China alone accounts for $502.4M of the global haul.
WORLD WIDE BOX:
- Ne Zha 2 (China) – $2.15 billion
- Zootopia 2 (Disney) – $1.4 billion, a massive hit.
- Lilo & Stitch (Disney) – $1 billion worldwide.
- A Minecraft Movie – Near $1 billion.
- Avatar: Fire & Ice- $760K 2nd Week!
LEARN MORE |
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Cherokee Film Institute trains, develops and elevates Native American and local talent to work professionally in the film and media industries, creating sustainable career opportunities within the Cherokee Nation and beyond. LEARN MORE |
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“North of North” Season 2 is searching for Inuit actors (but they will consider other Indigenous folks) of all ages with no experience necessary. Check out the post from the show's official Instagram HERE. |
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SAG-AFTRA NED & Chief Negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland is joined by Oscar-winning director James Cameron December 9, 2025 in a Two Part Series. He talks about why performance capture is the “purest form of cinema acting,” why he refuses to use generative A.I. for scripts and actors’ performances, and how safety and trust guide every set he runs. Listen Now |
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Check out the podcast from 2022 on how actor panelists have entered the market as well as what skills can set you up for success, how to create your demo and the best practices for networking, auditioning, and performing. Listen Here |
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 Creative Scotland, The development of Scotland’s screen workforce is essential to meet the industry’s growth, and to increase its diversity. The Professional Development Fund aims to contribute to this by providing support for individuals working in film and television to access training, mentoring and other professional development activity, nationally and internationally.
Priority will be given to:
- Developments in areas of skills shortages and
- Applicants under-represented in the screen industries.
Although the deadline has passed, get ready for the next round; Learn More |
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CREATIVE SCOTLAND
2026 Final Pixel Academy recently announced its ambitious Virtual Production Fellowship programme designed and developed to teach the critical skills, techniques and technologies and creative application within Virtual Production capabilities to enable participating delegates to carve new career paths in the burgeoning virtual production industry. The training is fully funded for participants and exclusively for candidates based in Scotland. Learn More |
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 Northern Ireland Screen offers various funding programs in 2026 across its economic, cultural and educational activities. Funding programs are available for development and production; skills development is encouraged through both individual and company initiatives, while education and archive, film festivals and cultural cinema receive core funding. Learn more
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Call For Proposals Now Open
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The Creative Shorts Fellowship supports Emerging Native filmmakers to produce a short film: documentary, drama, experimental, or animation piece; and supports a mentorship with a career professional film producer or director. Emerging Native filmmakers find their own mentor for their project. Film professionals, Native or non-Native, may also submit a proposal.
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The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is proud to support the nation’s arts sector with grant opportunities in 2026 so that together we can help everyone live more artful lives. Learn More
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The 2026 Media Projects program supports the development, production, and distribution of radio programs, podcasts, documentary films, and documentary film series that engage general audiences with humanities ideas in creative and appealing ways. Click Here |
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 The 2026 ITVS Incubator Fund offers early development support and a three- to six-month incubator for nonfiction features and web series crafted for public media’s streaming platforms, like YouTube and the PBS app. Selected documentarians receive funding, hands-on guidance, and a collaborative space to strengthen program materials—from concept outlines to visual samples—while growing their creative instincts and craft. Learn More
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deadCenter Film Festival
The deadCENTER film festival is Oklahoma's largest and most celebrated film festival. The fest has been named one of the "20 Coolest Film Festivals" and “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee” by MovieMaker Magazine. Founded by independent filmmakers, the festival focuses on providing engaging experiences for filmmakers, distributors, industry professionals, and film audiences. Ex-Deadline is February 06, 2026! Submit today. |
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Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival
Join the Federation at the Waco Family & Faith International Film Festival in celebrating its 7th annual festival, March 5th-7th, 2026. You don’t want to miss this fun family event that is dedicated to serving the Waco/Central Texas community and celebrating families. Final Deadline January 5th,2026.
Get Tickets Now! |
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 Denton Black Film Festival
DBFF is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Black culture with film at its heart and spotlights on other forms of storytelling, like spoken word, art, music, comedy, and dance. January 28 - February 1, 2026 Get tickets ,now. |
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Free Songwriting, Music Streaming for Veterans
The CreatiVets songwriting program pairs Veterans with a hit songwriter and a Veteran mentor to create an original song based on the Veteran's experience. Learn how to apply and access their free streaming, music and art classes. LEARN MORE |
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WORLD FILM FEDERATION is dedicated to bringing the Independent Film Market into one Global Community with members, like you taking decisive action with courage, determination and enthusiasm to achieve career success. |
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WORLD FILM FEDERATION
www.worldfilmfederation.com
(c) 2018 / (tm)2019
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