Better Cities Film Festival

Better Cities Film Festival The world's most inspiring stories about making better cities, towns & neighborhoods. We honor the top films and filmmakers with awards.

Better Cities Film Festival collects, curates and presents the very best films on the theme of making better cities, towns, and neighborhoods. (And applause!) And we screen those films to a vast audience around the world through our flagship event (a four-day film festival), and through locally hosted "one night only" screening events in a growing number of ciites and towns. Better Cities Film Fe

stival is produced and presented by First+Main Films. It was originally founded by Joshua Paget in 2013 as the New Urbanism Film Festival. Discussions and decisions about urban planning and design which impact communities are too often limited to the university classroom or city council chambers. The festival was launched with a vision to move that conversation onto the silver screen and into the streets, engaging the broader community in the vital work of placemaking and neighborhood revitalization. During its five-year run in Los Angeles, the festival received over 700 submissions from all over the world, and screened over 200 films, pairing them with experts who helped lead post-film discussions about the local built environment. The New Urbanism Film Festival relaunched as Better Cities Film Festival in 2019, and ran as a virtual event in 2020 during the pandemic. Beginning in 2021, the flagship festival is held each October in Detroit, Michigan. In 2023, Better Cities Film Festival celebrated it's 10th anniversary.

The Graduate School of Black Cinematic Arts is the latest project from our of our earliest sponsors and supporters. Che...
12/02/2025

The Graduate School of Black Cinematic Arts is the latest project from our of our earliest sponsors and supporters. Check out the amazing people coming together to launch this great initiative. https://www.blackcinematicarts-edu.org/donate

10/06/2025

We are heading to Chicago! See you there! 3 nights 8 screenings! Check the link for details!

Detroit showed up — and these films showed what’s possible when stories spark action.We’re thrilled to announce the 2025...
10/06/2025

Detroit showed up — and these films showed what’s possible when stories spark action.
We’re thrilled to announce the 2025 Better Cities Film Festival Award Winners!

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Detroit — filmmakers, partners, and audiences who prove every year that storytelling can shape the future of our cities.


Explore the full list of award-winning films, filmmakers, and jury selections here: https://mailchi.mp/4557786b835f/winners-of-bcff2025-bcff-chicago

We love Detroit Hives! Their work really is an inspiring intersection between design and honey.
09/29/2025

We love Detroit Hives! Their work really is an inspiring intersection between design and honey.

Did you know September is a double celebration—National Honey Month and National Design Month? At Detroit Hives, these worlds don’t just overlap—they thrive together. Our work shows how design and pollinator conservation can transform lives: from reimagining vacant land into vibrant green spaces, to shaping stories through signage, infographics, and community art. Design isn’t decoration for us—it’s a catalyst for social, environmental, and financial change.

After all, nature is the original designer. Bees, with their perfect hexagonal honeycombs, remind us that design can be efficient, sustainable, and breathtakingly beautiful all at once. Their architecture inspires innovators, artists, and builders worldwide. At Detroit Hives, we carry that same spirit forward—infusing natural design principles into every garden, mural, and pathway. Each project becomes more than a space; it’s a lesson from nature, showing communities how beauty and function can coexist in harmony.

DETROIT IS THE PLACE TO BEE! 🐝🍯❤️🎨✊🏾

The ABCs of cities are all about people. From Adaptation to Zoning Reform.
09/29/2025

The ABCs of cities are all about people. From Adaptation to Zoning Reform.

Cities aren’t just bricks and drains. They’re living organisms—tested daily by heatwaves, floods, droughts, and disruption.

The question isn’t just how do we survive? But how do we thrive differently after each shock?

This A–Z guide explores the principles, practices, and provocations that make cities not just bounce back—but bounce forward.

🧭 Resilience, in 4 Moves

🔁 Anticipation & Adaptation – Don’t wait for disaster. Plan for it.
⚖️ Inclusion & Justice – Protect those most at risk first.
🌱 Nature & Systems Thinking – Cities flourish when they work with nature, not against it.
🏛️ Institutional Muscle – Local governments need authority, not just advice.

📖 A–Z Highlights
🅰️ Adaptation – Designing flexible cities that can absorb shocks.
🅱️ Blue-Green Infrastructure – Flood protection with forests, wetlands, and parks.
🅲 Climate Risk – Seeing hazards not in isolation, but in how they overlap with inequality.
🅳 Data-Driven Planning – Evidence beats hunches, especially in informal settlements.
🅴 Equity – Resilience without justice is just survival for the lucky few.
🅵 Finance – Funding resilience isn’t optional. It’s the price of staying in the game...all the way to...
🆉 Zoning Reform – Rewiring land-use laws for sustainability and fairness.

🚀 Why it matters
Resilient cities create futures worth living in - more just, more inclusive, and more imaginative.

📣 Share this with a planner, policymaker, or climate optimist.
💬 Which letter feels most urgent in your city today?

Happy to be working with these great orgs!
09/26/2025

Happy to be working with these great orgs!

Thanks to all the filmmakers and advocates who attended the festival events. (If we missed you please send us your pics!...
09/25/2025

Thanks to all the filmmakers and advocates who attended the festival events. (If we missed you please send us your pics!)

When people ask why we do this fest in Detroit:
09/21/2025

When people ask why we do this fest in Detroit:

Thanks for joining us! We love your film and love having you here!
09/21/2025

Thanks for joining us! We love your film and love having you here!

Quick stop on our urbanism tour at thanks for bringing biodiversity to our city! See more about the work of Satur...
09/20/2025

Quick stop on our urbanism tour at thanks for bringing biodiversity to our city! See more about the work of Saturday at 5pm

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