A RAIN OF COUNTER-NARRATIVES

The Day it Rains Jellyfish is a body of research, applied into an exhibition trilogy that explores the generative potential of conspiracy as a way to challenge dominant narratives and the notion of a singular, objective truth. Rather than treating truth as fixed or binary, the project investigates the power structures that shape what is accepted as ‘truth’ and questions the comfort of conforming to unified perspectives. Across the trilogy, truth is reimagined as multiple, overlapping, and coexisting, an evolving field where contradictions are not resolved but held in tension, allowing for a more expansive and inclusive understanding.

Rejecting the dominance of Western, scientific frameworks as the sole arbiters of knowledge, the exhibitions foreground alternative perspectives and marginalized voices. Truth emerges here as a collective collage formed through storytelling, speculation, and shared imagination, while critically examining the systems that validate some narratives and exclude others. By embracing multivocality and imagining new social possibilities, The Day it Rains Jellyfish positions collective dreaming and alternative world-building as acts of resistance, solidarity, and defiance against entrenched hierarchies of knowledge and power.

In the frame of The Day it Rains Jellyfish and its Chapter III exhibition (On Re-evaluating Value), we invite film artists to submit short films and videos for the outdoor screening event: A RAIN OF COUNTER-NARRATIVES.

The films that will be selected through the open call will be shown alongside already programmed works. Through this open call we seek to expand beyond existing networks, and rethink value as something collectively shaped through multiplicity, exchange, and solidarity.

We specifically invite films that are rooted in solidarity and use counter-narratives to (re-)tell stories about themes such as immigration, settler colonialism, class & labour and gender representation. We are equally interested in films that engage speculative, poetic, or imagined worlds, revealing how value systems are constructed, internalized, and resisted across both real and fictional contexts.

By contesting monopolies over storytelling, this program aims to amplify voices and knowledges that have been historically excluded or overlooked. It calls for a rethinking of value, not as something imposed through hierarchy, but as something collectively redefined through solidarity, multiplicity, and exchange.

Submission Guidelines

• Open to short films of all genres (fiction, documentary, experimental, hybrid)
• Maximum duration: 5-35 minutes
• Submission deadline: May 15, 2026

You can apply by filling out the form with the following:

• Film link (and password if applicable)
• Short synopsis (50–100 words)
• 3–5 still images
• Technical details (runtime, year, language, country)
• Artist CV

Screening & Artist Fee
The selected films will be presented as part of the exhibition program and screened at Van Abbehuis in Eindhoven at the end of June 2026.
A fee between 40€ and 125€ (including VAT) is reserved per artist, distributed according to the length of the work.

This open call is part of The Day it Rains Jellyfish exhibition exchange series. You can read more about the broader themes of the programme here.
For updates on the open call and selection process, follow @textmysister_.