Doc Films Student Engagement & Screenings

Doc Films is the long-running student film society at the University of Chicago, widely regarded as the oldest continually operating student film society in the United States. It hosts curated film series, nightly screenings during the academic year, and guest events with filmmakers and scholars. The organization is run primarily by university students and community volunteers, and its core activities are cinephile programming and exhibition rather than formal competitions. As of the latest available information, Doc Films does **not** operate a defined, recurring high school competition in filmmaking or film criticism. High school students can typically engage with Doc Films as audience members at public screenings and, in some cases, as volunteers or participants in occasional outreach or special events, depending on current policies and programming. Those interested in a competition-style experience would likely need to look at other dedicated high school film festivals or contests, while using Doc Films primarily as an educational and cultural resource to study cinema, discover classic and independent films, and learn informally from its programming.