NCA 2026 ANNUAL CONVENTION, NEW ORLEANS | FESTIVAL EVENTS | NOVEMBER 18–20, 2026
A new showcase of visual storytelling by communication scholars and filmmakers from around the world.
About the Festival
The NCA Film Festival makes its debut at the 2026 Annual Convention in New Orleans. The festival celebrates short films and documentaries by communication scholars and filmmakers from around the world, with a special focus on voices from outside the United States. Across three days, you can watch two film screening sessions, join a panel discussion that connects the films to communication scholarship, and meet the filmmakers at the International Scholars Reception.
The festival is made possible by our Founding Partner, the Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society at Villanova University, in collaboration with the School of Television, Communication University of China.
This year’s selections were curated by invitation. NCA expects to open a Call for Submissions for the 2027 Festival in February/March 2027.
Schedule
| Day | Time | Session | Location |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wed, Nov 18 | 5:00 – 8:30 PM |
Film Session
|
Grand Ballroom C, Sheraton Fl. 5 |
| Thu, Nov 19 | 4:00 – 6:45 PM |
Film Session
|
Grand Ballroom C, Sheraton Fl. 5 |
| Fri, Nov 20 | 1:00 – 2:15 PM |
Beyond and Within the Homeland
NCA Global Film Festival Makers Discussion Panel
Host: Li Zhi, Communication University of China Panelists:
|
Mardi Gras Salon C, Marriott Fl. 3 |
Also, join us at the International Scholars Reception to meet the scholars and critics in person.
Presenting Filmmakers
| Film | Filmmaker(s) | About the Film |
|---|---|---|
A World in Bloom繁花满途 |
Co-Host Presentation |
5-episode documentary series, 50 min/episode In this world, no civilization is superior or inferior to another. Fairness is never about pursuing sameness, it is about honoring and cherishing every difference, letting countless blossoms each bloom in their own color and fragrance. |
The Eternal Starlight
|
Nanjing University Communication University of China |
AI-generated audiovisual short-video series The Eternal Starlight is a series of short videos co-produced by Nanjing University and the Communication University of China. Based on the monumental book series Critical Biographies of Chinese Thinkers, the project employs fully AI-generated audiovisual technology to tell the life stories and intellectual legacies of 203 Chinese thinkers, from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen. As the first large-scale AIGC short-video series on Chinese culture, the work has been produced in all five official languages of the United Nations, using the universally accessible language of sight and sound to transcend barriers of text and culture, bringing classic scholarly achievements out of the library and into the public sphere. |
JAIMITNA
|
Asria Mohamed Written and directed by Asria Mohamed Edited by Abidin Mohamed Hamudi |
2025 | 16 min Asria grew up resenting the traditional roles her mother embodied—sewing tents, tightening ropes, and caring for the family in the harsh Saharawi refugee camps. But years later, as an activist and journalist, she comes to realize that her mother’s work was not just survival—it was resistance. Jaimitna is a personal and political journey that honors Saharawi women like Asria’s mother, whose quiet strength preserved a culture under threat. |
Journey to the Dream轮世间 |
Li Chang Wei Yuyang Cheng Zixuan Zhang Honghe Wuhan University |
A 30-year-old hydropower worker known as “Monkey King” fuses roller skating and cosplay into daily life, building a fragile identity between virtual performance and real-world struggle, until reality’s pressures pierce the illusion. Recognition: 1st Prize, Documentary, 12th International University Student Micro Film Festival |
My Second Home
|
Xie Zhimin Liu Shuhan Wang Yating Joof Fatoumata Tang Jiayi Jia Xinyang |
Short Documentary My Second Home follows Fatoumata, a young woman from The Gambia, as she leaves a five-year government position to pursue further study in China. Through her education, friendships, and daily experiences, the film explores her evolving sense of home and the role education can play in creating opportunity for women. The documentary also highlights connections between China and Africa, cooperation among developing nations, and Fatoumata’s hope to use what she learns to contribute to her community in The Gambia. Recognition: Award-winning entry of the 2026 Documentary Competition hosted by the China University Film and Television Association. |
One Life, One Edition: Life 1.0一生一版 |
Sun Xuetao |
Observational/Participatory A day in the life of Wang Huaiying, a 90-year-old woman in a nursing home. Quiet tensions surface across generations, affirming older adults’ right to visibility, dignity, and social participation. Recognition: Finalist of 2025 WE Documentary Competition; selected for joint touring exhibition at Shenzhen Library and Guangzhou Library. |
Rope Hope跳望 |
Deng Feiling Zhang Chengyi Communication University of China |
Follows the “Dream Fulfilling Rope Skipping Team,” rural left-behind children training for a spot in the Asian Championships, framing sports as a pathway to educational equity beyond geography. |
Seeds We BuryPoster art: Alex Wong |
Olivia Hansen Soledad Robins Co-Directors |
2025 | 30 min | Documentary/Short Woven from the threads of land, identity, and resistance, Seeds We Bury follows the multigenerational battle of the Ati Tribe of the Philippines and the Shinnecock Nation of the United States as their journeys, separated by oceans, yet united in the preservation of land, people and culture, become a testament to survival, a tribute to heritage, and the hope for justice. Awards and Festival Recognition:
|
Sankofa
|
Princess Garrett Director |
2018 | 27:55 | Documentary/Short | No subtitles Sankofa explores the lasting effects of colonialism on Black identity through the parallel journeys of Godsway Anderson from Ghana and Marcquis Graham from the United States. Through a poetic exploration of their experiences, the film examines how two seemingly distinct lives intersect through the power of Sankofa, the Ghanaian concept of returning to one’s roots to move forward. Awards and Festival Recognition:
|
Still Brilliant: Hunting Brightness仍然灿烂 |
Zhou Wenbo Cheng Sibo |
Xiao Yubo, displaced to an urban village after his parents’ divorce, watches friends drift into vocational schools and pool halls. Nearly leaving school himself, he ultimately chooses to return, reaching for a fairer chance. Recognition: Official Selection, China Academy Awards for Documentary Film |
The Tale of the Peony牡丹记 |
Liu Yuqing Sun Jingtao |
AI Video An AI experimental short inspired by the life of Yu Xuanji, a legendary female poet of late Tang Dynasty. Blending Chinese ghost-tale storytelling and surreal aesthetics with xuan paper as its core visual texture, the film explores women’s fate under the structural oppression of feudal society. Recognition: Official Selection, Beijing International Film Festival |
Three Wild Deer看那儿有三只野鹿 |
Chen Houyu |
Participatory Documentary A young boy from a nomadic herding family in Xinjiang’s mountains comes to terms with his parents’ divorce, watching with quiet envy as a family of three wild deer runs freely and inseparably across the mountains. |
International Selections
We’re proud to recognize three international films selected for the 2026 NCA Global Film Festival in collaboration with the School of Television, Communication University of China. These films are featured here online and will not be screened at the convention.
| Film | Filmmaker(s) | About the Film |
|---|---|---|
Habitante
|
José Alejandro González |
Documentary | Colombia | 90 min | In Spanish and English Built from more than twenty years of images and encounters filmed around the world, Habitante is a documentary essay on travel, memory, and the act of looking. Filmmaker and portrait photographer José Alejandro González turns his camera toward strangers met along the way, finding in each encounter a story worth hearing. Recognition: Official Selection, 15th China Academy Awards for Documentary Film; Cali International Film Festival (FICCALI), 2025; Bogotá International Documentary Exhibition (MIDBO), 2025 |
My Undesirable Friends: Part II — Exile
|
Julia Loktev |
Documentary When Russia invades Ukraine and shuts down all independent media, a group of young journalists branded “foreign agents” flee Moscow on a moment’s notice. Over four years and a dozen countries, Julia Loktev follows these courageous, sharply funny women (and a few men) as they keep reporting the truth to Russians, even as they face death threats, and as they figure out what family, friendship, love, and home mean when you can’t go home. Recognition: Official Selection, 83rd Venice International Film Festival (2026); Official Selection, 64th New York Film Festival (2026) |
Redlight to Limelight
|
Bipuljit Basu Written and directed by Bipuljit Basu |
Documentary feature In the Kalighat red-light district of Kolkata, children and their mothers and sisters run CAM ON, their own community video unit. As they make a new short fiction film, Nupur, drawn from the women’s memories and daily lives, storytelling becomes a source of joy, healing, and self-assertion, leading to a public premiere for the whole community. Recognition: Winner, Moral Approach Award, MakeDox 2026; Best Film, Human Rights Film Competition, 44th Uruguay International Film Festival; PerSo Student Award, Perugia Social Film Festival 2026; Official Selection, IDFA 2025, Sheffield DocFest |
Yi Wu: The City of Wonder奇迹之城 |
He Suliu Communication University of China |
5-episode documentary series, 50 min/episode Follows foreign nationals building lives in Yiwu, illustrating Chinese-style modernization through personal stories. Filmed across ten-plus countries over nearly four years; broadcast internationally on CGTN, Al Jazeera, and other major networks reaching hundreds of millions. |
Sponsor Recognition
FOUNDING PARTNER & INAUGURAL SPONSOR
The NCA Film Festival is made possible by our Founding Partner, the Waterhouse Family Institute for the Study of Communication and Society at Villanova University’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Thank you for helping bring international voices in communication scholarship to the NCA Annual Convention.
IN COLLABORATION WITH
The School of Television, Communication University of China