Cintima — the SAG-AFTRA-accredited intimacy coordinator training organization — is mounting an inaugural short film festival featuring works that explore “the complexity and artistry surrounding intimacy on film” in three minutes or less.

The one-night event, dubbed Flicker Festival, will unspool inside Culver City’s Culver Theater on Oct. 16. Submissions are now open for the projects, which can take any form from narrative and nonfiction to animation. Per the organization, the time constraints of finished works under three minutes are in place to “showcase that even the smallest ‘flicker’ of time can uncover depths of emotion and depictions of intimacy.” Deadline for submissions is Sept. 15, and works will be selected by Sept. 22.

Cintima has corralled a group of creatives to serve on Flicker Festival’s first annual jury, including Oscar nominated star Danielle Deadwyler, producer and director Miranda Bailey, filmmaker Amanda Kramer, producer Seth Caplan, actor Clark Moore, intimacy coordinator Alicia Rodis, filmmaker Almog Avidan Antonir, actor Chris Chalk, producer Jiarui Guo, filmmaker Roxy Sorkin and filmmaker Leila Djansi. 

In addition to screening selections, Flicker Festival will screen scenes from John Cameron Mitchell’s explicit film Shortbus as well as other notable films with intimate scenes. The jury will be charged with presenting awards for best short, best actor, best intimacy, best use of digital/artificial intelligence and other awards.

Cintima has worked with such companies as HBO, Netflix, AppleTV+, Showtime, Paramount+, CBS, Amazon, Sony and others on such titles as The Righteous Gemstones, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Westworld, The Afterparty, I Want Your Sex, Spider-Man: Noir, American Gigolo and Rebel Moon.