A new film festival will launch in South Bend, Indiana this fall with the goal of bringing together sports lovers and movie fans.
Christened the Dynasty Sports Film Festival (DSFF), the event will take place October 22 through October 25 in the heart of one of America’s most passionate sports regions — a place synonymous with Notre Dame football. Its backers say the four-day festival will celebrate “the stories that shape sports culture while creating a new gathering place for the intersection of sport and cinema.”
The Dynasty Sports Film Festival will screen films and series across six awards categories, including narrative feature films, documentary feature films, short films, brand films, student films, social, and digital creator content projects. It will also screen films and television series out of competition.
The 2026 schedule of festival activities includes gala screenings, anniversary screenings, and athlete and creator conversations. It was founded and will be presented by Shade Studios.
“The inaugural Dynasty Sports Film Festival will transform South Bend into a film and media sports capital, positioned in the heart of America’s most passionate sports region,” said DSFF founders Marissa Hill and Alfred Castaneda of Shade Studios. “We are ecstatic to bring together filmmakers, creators, and athletes for the first year of this festival and can’t wait to share what we’ve been building with the Dynasty audience.”
The festival opens on October 22, with a world premiere screening of the documentary film “Lou Holtz: 60 Minutes to Play and a Lifetime to Remember” about iconic Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz, followed by a Q&A moderated by ESPN’s Hannah Storm featuring director Ted Mandell. The evening is sponsored by B&H Creators, a division of B&H Photo, Sony, Profoto, and Lexar, and will culminate with an opening night party at the Studebaker Museum.
Upcoming Prime Video drama series, “The Greatest” about the life of Muhammad Ali, will make its festival debut with a sneak-peek screening of episode 1 on October 23. The series is executive produced and created by Ben Watkins’ Blue Monday Productions (Cross) and executive produced by Michael B. Jordan’s Outlier Society, with Authentic Studios, Roc Nation, Polygram Entertainment, a Universal Music Group partner, and Grace: A Storytelling Company. On the same day, the festival will also feature a screening of the upcoming ESPN documentary “The Brittney Griner Story” featuring WNBA star Brittney Griner.
On October 24 there will be a special 40th Anniversary Screening of a director’s cut of “Hoosiers” featuring a Q&A with David Anspaugh, who directed the film as well as “Rudy,” and screenwriter (and DSFF jury member) Angelo Pizzo. There’s also a screening of “First Five,” a look at legendary basketball coach Bob Knight’s first recruiting class at Indiana University, featuring a Q&A with NBA player and subject of the doc, John Laskowski and other members of the team. In addition, there will be a screening of ESPN documentary “Give Me the Ball!” featuring tennis legends Billie Jean King, Chris Evert, and Serena Williams, along with Elton John.
The festival will close with family-friendly focused programming on October 25 with a 20th Anniversary screening of “Cars.”
Additional programming will be announced at a later date. The festival jurors include Pizzo, Eugene Lee (NFL Agent), Deirdre Boyle (Emeritus Professor of Media, New School) Maura Shea (Head of Film Production Department, Penn State University), Fede Goldenberg (YouTube Head of TV and Film Partnerships), Wilson Morales (Critics Choice Board of Directors, Journalist at Black Film and TV), Dr. Galen Clavio (Director/Professor of Sports Media Program, Indiana University Bloomington), and Ted Mandell (Professor of Film Production, Notre Dame).
