Festival Director shares an update on the upcoming festival
“We are thrilled to announce that over 40 incredible films have been selected for our inaugural festival! Our filmmakers have all now been notified! Please check your emails and FilmFreeway for updates. To accommodate as many of your fantastic works as possible, we’ve made some changes to our running schedule. While this process was incredibly challenging, given our limited one-day event, we’re proud to have curated a lineup that celebrates a diverse range of voices, visions, and stories.
From films created with budgets under £1,000 to those exceeding £100,000, our festival proudly showcases the extraordinary creativity and resourcefulness of filmmakers at every level. This range reflects the vast talent and dedication of our community, and we are honoured to bring these works to our audience.
It’s been extremely hard to make these final selections, and while we are excited about the films we’ve chosen, we want to acknowledge the incredible contributions of those who were not selected this year. With our festival being limited to just one day, we simply didn’t have the time or capacity to showcase all the remarkable work we received. Please know that every submission was valued and appreciated, and the decision-making process was far from easy.
We are also keenly aware that our festival needs to grow to accommodate even more of your incredible work. For our 2026 festival, we aim to expand significantly, and we will share more about these exciting plans in the new year. We’re thrilled to announce that our next submissions window will open on 1st January 2025 and remain open until November 2025. Mark your calendars we can’t wait to see what you create!
To all our filmmakers: thank you for sharing your art, your trust, and your stories with us. Whether your film was selected or not, your creativity and vision have inspired us, and we are deeply honoured to have received your work. We are committed to growing this festival so that more voices can be heard in the years to come.“
Daniel Smales
Festival Director