Overview
The Science New Wave Festival (formerly Imagine Science Films Festival) is New York's dedicated festival for science cinema, now in its 19th edition. Founded in 2008 by geneticist and filmmaker Alexis Gambis at Rockefeller University, the festival presents 64 films each October that push the boundaries of scientific storytelling across documentary, fiction, animation, video art, installation, VR/AR, and hybrid formats. The 19th edition (SNW XIX) will stream on the Labocine platform from October 16 to 23, 2026, with in-person screenings at New York venues.
The festival has evolved from a purely in-person event to a hybrid model centered on the Labocine streaming platform. The 18th edition took place October 17 to 19, 2025, at DCTV's Firehouse Cinema in New York. The 19th edition shifts to a curated viewing season on Labocine, making selected works accessible to an international audience of filmmakers, scientists, scholars, artists, curators, educators, festivals, museums, and galleries. In-person screenings remain part of the ecosystem through the festival's network of partner venues and curators.
The Symbiosis program, supported by the Simons Foundation, pairs scientists and filmmakers to produce a film within one week, screened on the final day of the festival. This initiative reflects the festival's commitment to genuine science-film collaboration rather than superficial science-adjacent storytelling. The 64 selected films compete for the Science New Wave Luminary Awards, voted on by Luminary members, with cash prizes including a $500 Theme-Sensitive Award.
Submission Details
Submissions are made via FilmFreeway. Submissions for SNW XIX open January 1, 2026.
2026 Submission Deadlines and Fees (all fees in USD):
| Category | Earlybird (Apr 15, 2026) | Regular (Jun 15, 2026) | Late (Aug 15, 2026) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Features (40 to 120 min) | $30 | $45 | $60 |
| Shorts (max 40 min) | $30 | $40 | $60 |
- Notifications sent on or before October 1, 2026
- No completion date requirement
- Submissions must adhere to the underlying requirement that science and/or scientists are presented in a narrative framework in a compelling yet credible manner
Fee waivers:
- Science New Wave Luminary Members (yearly membership on Labocine) receive a waiver to submit one or more films
- Organizations in the LABOCINE PRO Network (production companies, distributors, collectives) receive waivers for submissions
- Each submitter receives a one-year subscription to Labocine, providing access to curated programs, exclusive open calls, and a waiver for submitting additional films
All film entries are automatically granted a film page on the Labocine platform, ensuring future consideration in year-round programming regardless of selection outcome.
Key Sections
- Feature Film Competition - science-themed narrative and documentary features (40 to 120 min)
- Short Film Competition - science-themed short films (max 40 min)
- Symbiosis - films produced through scientist-filmmaker collaborations, supported by the Simons Foundation
- Spotlights - highlighted science cinema selections
- Shorts Programs - curated thematic short film groupings
- Panel Discussions - conversations between scientists and filmmakers
- Labocine Monthly Issues - year-round curated programming on the Labocine platform
What Filmmakers Should Know
The Science New Wave Festival occupies a distinctive niche in the New York festival landscape. Unlike conventional festivals where science appears as one subject among many, this festival is organized entirely around the relationship between cinema and scientific knowledge. Films range from narrative features that use scientific scenarios as dramatic settings to documentaries following researchers, to experimental works that explore scientific concepts through film form.
The festival's core requirement is that science and/or scientists must be presented in a narrative framework in a compelling yet credible manner. Films that use science merely as backdrop without engaging seriously with scientific content are not competitive. The festival is particularly receptive to works that experiment with form and style in how science is communicated on screen.
New York's concentration of research universities, scientific institutions, and the scientific publishing and media industries creates an unusually engaged audience for this programming. Scientists attend alongside film enthusiasts, generating cross-disciplinary discussions. The festival's partnership with the Simons Foundation for the Symbiosis program provides a structured pathway for scientists and filmmakers to collaborate on new work.
The shift to a Labocine-centered model in 2026 changes the distribution calculus for filmmakers. Selected films are accessible to an international audience on the platform, and all entries receive a film page on Labocine for future programming consideration. After the Science New Wave premiere, the festival helps facilitate circulation of selected works through its network of curators, programmers, museums, galleries, universities, and cultural spaces.
Major Awards
- Science New Wave Luminary Awards - voted on by Luminary members, with cash prizes
- Theme-Sensitive Award - $500 cash prize for the work that most vividly embodies the year's festival theme
- Scientific Merit Award - $2,500 cash prize
- Audience Award
Festival History
Imagine Science Films was founded in 2008 by Alexis Gambis, a geneticist and filmmaker based at Rockefeller University. The festival was originally called the Imagine Science Film Festival and has operated continuously since its founding, building a community around the intersection of science and cinema. The organization rebranded the festival as the Science New Wave Festival, reflecting its evolution toward experimental and hybrid forms of science storytelling.
The festival has expanded from a single-venue New York event to a multi-platform ecosystem that includes the annual festival, the Labocine streaming platform for year-round science cinema programming, the Symbiosis collaboration initiative, and partnerships with museums, schools, and art-science organizations in New York and beyond. The 19th edition in 2026 represents the festival's most significant format shift, moving from an in-person-first model to a Labocine-centered curated viewing season with in-person components.
The organization is based at 19 Morris Avenue in Brooklyn, New York, with the Labocine platform serving as its primary digital home. The festival's growth has paralleled increasing interest in science communication and the intersection of scientific research with cinematic storytelling, positioning the Science New Wave as the leading festival in this niche.
See Also
To calculate the return on your festival submission spending, use the Festival ROI Calculator. For documentary filmmaking, see Documentary Filmmaking Guide. For festival strategy, see Film Festival Strategy. To estimate your probability of acceptance, use the Festival Acceptance Odds Estimator.
Festival Submission Resources
The Ultimate Film Festival Survival Guide
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Film Festival Secrets
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DCP Media Drives
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