Our winners have been chosen and are highlighted below
(click on the thumbnail images to view larger versions of the supplied photographs & posters)
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Entered in Young Film-maker categoryAfter being captured in the forest by a strange and enigmatic man, a young man breaks free, only to be swept into a dreamlike voyage through his past, present, and future. Memories blur with possibility as his life unfolds before him in ways he never expected.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Filip Rembikowski
Writer: Filip Rembikowski
Producer: Ted Dracott
Cast: Dominic Reed, Adrian Mozzi
Duration: 13 minutes 23 seconds
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Fantasy, Surreal
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £2,000 View website Watch Trailer
A Wigan Kebab
Entered in Documentary categoryA micro-doc filmed in leigh about the Wigan Kebab. We explore the making, the heritage and the thoughts and feelings of locals on the Wigan Kebab
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Sam Donlan, Jasmine
Producer: James Aspden
Duration: 1 minutes 49 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
All Change
Winner of the Best Young Filmmaker category
What starts as innocent conversation on the train exposes the regrets two men have over their friendship, which years ago nearly became something more.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Joe Molander
Writer: Joe Molander
Producer: Joe Molander
Cast: Shaun Dingwall, Alexi Kaye Campbell
Duration: 3 minutes 12 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 9th April 2025
Production budget: £2,900
Brain Space
Entered in Animation categoryPropelled into her own mind, Rhi explores the thoughts, fears and impulses that shape our internal world. When her inner child is threatened by the shadows of her own trauma her fear turns to anger & she must fight back to regain control. From desperation to acceptance, she learns to choose life.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Laura Tofarides
Writer: Laura Tofarides
Producer: Nia Alavezos, Helen Brunsdon
Cast: Annaliese Broughton
Duration: 8 minutes 21 seconds
Genre: Drama, Fantasy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £23,000 View website Watch Trailer Open Twitter Open Facebook
Capall
Winner of the Audience Choice Award category
A game of 'horse' gets out of control for two criminals as they drive to their next deadly job.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Glenn Gannon
Writer: Glenn Gannon
Producer: James Dennison
Cast: Ruairi Heading, Olga Wehrly, John Colleary
Duration: 9 minutes 49 seconds
Country of filming: Ireland
Completion date: 4th October 2026
Production budget: €30,000
Comrade
Entered in Animation category'Comrade' is an animated documentary short film exploring the lives and hardships of women during the 770 Decree in Communist Romania. Based on the testimony of the filmmaker's grandmother, the film reflects on a past where thousands of women were left with no choice.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Ligia Prejbeanu
Writer: Ligia Prejbeanu
Cast: Marga Grigorescu
Duration: 3 minutes 39 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 6th July 2026
View website
Decorum
Entered in Horror categoryA perfect first date turns sour when Miles brings Angie back to his flat and she realises it's totally blank. But is zero decoration just laziness... or something darker?
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Quentin Beroud
Writer: Quentin Beroud
Producer: Liam George
Cast: Jonny Labey, Margherita Barbieri
Duration: 9 minutes 11 seconds
Genre: Horror, Psychological Horror, Dark Comedy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 12th January 2025
Production budget: £13,000 Watch Trailer
Fitting
Winner of the Best Comedy category
Fitting is a coming-of-age comedy about Toni, a self-conscious young woman experiencing her first-ever bra fitting, which unexpectedly evolves into a unique bond with her bra-fitter.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Kasra Firouzyar
Writer: Jane Ryan
Producer: Jane Ryan, Kasra Firouzyar
Cast: Sophie Duval, Nikola McMurtrie
Duration: 6 minutes 22 seconds
Genre: Comedy, Drama, Female, Coming-of-age, LGBTQ+
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 2nd August 2026
Production budget: £5,000 Watch Trailer
Good Choice, Joseph
Entered in Young Film-maker categoryJoseph's indecision has brought his life to a standstill, until he finds a mysterious tape player that can tell the future. It seems like the answer to all of his problems, but as the device begins to dictate his every move, Joseph is forced to confront the reality of a life without free will.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: James Farrell
Writer: James Farrell
Producer: Riaz Gomez
Cast: Olliver Dickens, John Rose
Duration: 6 minutes 03 seconds
Genre: Offbeat Comedy, Thriller
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £300 Watch Trailer
Ivanko's Childhood
Winner of the Best Drama category
An 8-year old Ukrainian refugee boy called Ivanko, makes his solitary way through the English countryside with a determined purpose. Armed with crumpled sheets of paper and broken but endearing English, he approaches locals with what he calls a 'big chance.' As he encounters various villagers,from a kind waitress to a suspicious pub owner, Ivanko's innocent yet resourceful attempts reveal both the vulnerability and remarkable resilience of displaced children. His journey ultimately leads to a deeply moving revelation about family, loss, and the lengths a child will go to protect those he loves.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Vera Graziadei
Writer: Vera Graziadei
Producer: Vera Graziadei, Tamara Orlova
Cast: Tom Goodman-Hill, Sinead Matthews, Sandra Dickinson, Tom Meeten, Sasha Syzonenko, Luka Vorobei
Duration: 14 minutes 56 seconds
Genre: Family, Drama, Comedy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Watch Trailer
King of the Iron Will
Entered in Drama category"OFFICIAL SELECTION: HOLLYSHORTS FILM FESTIVAL 2026 Set in a brutal medieval kingdom, King of the Iron Will follows King Baron as he confronts the defeated tyrant King Draven, the man responsible for the slaughter that shaped his life. Written in Shakespearean language and driven by a tense battle of words, the film explores revenge, power, legacy, and the terrifying possibility that the oppressed can become the very monster they swore to destroy."""
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Scott Vickers
Writer: Liam James Collins, Scott Vickers
Producer: Liam James Collins, Claudia Collins, Scott Vickers
Cast: Charlie Creed-Miles, Liam James Collins
Duration: 13 minutes 47 seconds
Genre: Drama, Historical, Period, Thriller, Psychological Drama, Tragedy
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: $45,000 USD Watch Trailer
Lapis Lazuli
Entered in North West Filmmaker categoryA group of toxic old friends reunite for a tantric healing retreat in rural France but as historic tensions rise, supernatural forces take control in a comedy of egos, secrets, and absurdity.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Lewis Coleman
Writer: Clementine Bogg-Hargroves
Producer: Clementine Bogg-Hargroves
Cast: Clementine Bogg-Hargroves, Lewis Coleman, Zoey Barnes, Daniel Hird, Sam Allen, Harry Stachini
Duration: 14 minutes 57 seconds
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Country of filming: France
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £500
Melatonin
Entered in International categoryAli a 14-year-old boy from southern Tehran, works in a repair shop to support his family. After a period of detention, he discovers that his 9-year-old brother, Milad has taken his place a place that reminds Ali of hidden trauma. When he realizes Milad has also become a victim, Ali is forced to find a way forward between silence, the collapse of his family, and standing up against injustice
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Hannaneh Daliri
Writer: Hannaneh Daliri
Producer: Roozbeh Sajadi hosseini
Cast: Nazanin Keyvani, Mohammad Asgari, Abolfazl Khanpour, Ayan Yarbeygi
Duration: 13 minutes 52 seconds
Country of filming: Iran
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: $5,000 USD Watch Trailer
Now That's What I Call Dock Pudding
Winner of the Audience Choice Award category
Dock pudding is the 'caviar of the Calder Valley', as proudly Yorkshire as brass bands. Made with dock leaves, the recipe is handed down from generation to generation, secret picking spots sacred. In Mytholmroyd, a West Yorkshire town scarred by floods, the annual World Dock Pudding Championships judge with fierce pride the year's best, frivolity frowned upon, tradition defended to the last. As flooding reshapes the landscape and younger generations drift away, devotees fear this humble dish may soon disappear. Through ritual, rivalry and humour, the film explores how food binds community, memory and place in our fast-changing world.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Sarah Mason
Producer: Alexander Craig, Agustina Figueras, Sarah Mason
Duration: 10 minutes 43 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £4,000
Occupied
Winner of the Best North West Filmmaker category
A young man is forced to confront his greatest fear while trying to support his family after his grandfather's funeral.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Mike Cochran
Writer: Mike Cochran
Producer: Agustina Figueras, Mike Cochran
Cast: Shane Walker, Ronan Holdsworth, Louise Atkins
Duration: 6 minutes 08 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
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Portrait
Entered in International categoryIn a photography studio, a woman and a photographer struggle to capture an innocent portrait of the woman. As tension rises between them, new photographs reveal ambiguous truths about the woman, blurring the line between reality and perception. In a photography studio, a woman struggles to capture an innocent portrait of herself to prove her innocence in court.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Farzam Tabibi
Writer: Farzam Tabibi
Producer: Faeze Hajhoseini
Cast: Shadab Mahdiar, Mohammad Soltani
Duration: 15 minutes
Genre: Drama
Country of filming: Iran
Completion date: 9th February 2025
Production budget: $5,000 USD Watch Trailer
Potter's Mirror
Winner of the Best Animation category
Based on the themes of loss and grief through dementia, Potter's Mirror symbolically represents the internal structures of the mind. We follow the daily activities of the Watchman as he tends to his memories and nurtures new emerging ideas. All is well until a deterioration of the environment forces him to escape through the window.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Katherine O'Connor
Writer: Katherine O'Connor
Producer: Lesley-anne Rose
Duration: 8 minutes 36 seconds
Genre: Animation, Drama, Uncanny, Surreal, Stop motion
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: £10,000 View website Watch Trailer Open Facebook
Ready for War.
Winner of the Best International film category
A group of delinquents are given an ultimatum, serve the rest of their time in the juvenile detention centre or join a 6-month army boot camp under the DRP (Delinquent Reform program). During their time in boot camp they go through trials and tribulations which question their world view and what it means to belong. Through these challenges they form bonds with one another, Unbeknownst to them the country they are representing (The Assembled) has just gone to war meaning they are set to be deployed as soon as they are finished their training.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: DeAngelo Chinedu Massah
Writer: DeAngelo Chinedu Massah
Producer: DeAngelo Chinedu Massah, Paul Barnes
Cast: DeAngelo Chinedu Massah, Lea Maas, Sodem Solana, Aaron Prendergast, Bohdan Kapon
Duration: 12 minutes 41 seconds
Country of filming: Ireland
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Production budget: €12,500 View website Watch Trailer
Stitches
Entered in North West Filmmaker categorySTITCHES is a magical realist short drama exploring love, ageing, and the quiet sacrifices of adult carers. As Neil navigates the increasing responsibility of caring for his ageing father, Tommy, the emotional weight of their changing relationship begins to blur the boundaries between reality and imagination. What unfolds is an intimate portrait of a father and son bound together by love, humour, and years of shared history, as they confront the challenges of growing older and learning how to care for one another in unexpected ways. Written by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Jill O'Halloran and directed by 2023 Sony Future Filmmaker Award winner Dan Thorburn, THE SUN RISES combines warmth, wit and magical realism to illuminate the often-unseen experiences of family carers, celebrating the resilience of human connection and the extraordinary found within the everyday.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Dan Thorburn
Writer: Jill O'Halloran
Producer: Casey Shaw
Cast: Dave Johns
Duration: 13 minutes 23 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 5th July 2026
Production budget: £5,000
THINGS BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH
Entered in Drama categoryA writer enters an empty church intending to sever his relationship with God, but when a childhood memory of violence breaks into the space, his accusation becomes an unsettling confrontation with himself. Synopsis: Alone in a church, Eric prepares for a confrontation he appears to have rehearsed for some time. Images of a stage and an empty auditorium begin to overlap with the space, suggesting an effort to give form and language to something he has never fully resolved. The sounds of his parents fighting abruptly return, drawing him into a childhood memory that culminates in an act of violence left outside the frame. Back in the church, Eric attempts to reject the silent authority he holds responsible for what happened. Before he can complete the gesture, he notices a shadow watching him. Its movement unsettles the boundary between the presence he has come to confront and the part of the past he continues to carry. He leaves the candle burning.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Jun Noh
Writer: Jun Noh
Producer: Jun Noh
Cast: Jun Noh, Shaun Mendum, Daniel York Loh, Yasmine Meaden
Duration: 5 minutes
Genre: Drama, experimental
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
View website
The Dancing Plague
Entered in Horror category1518AD - when a pregnant woman murders her husband, she is forced to flee to the woods, where she forms an unlikely connection with a band of outcasts who draw her into a frenzied forest dance ritual.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Alex Leggatt
Writer: Freya Thomas-Taylor, Alex Leggatt, Pearl Schomberg, Abi Wood
Producer: Pearl Schomberg, Fyodor Houtheusen
Cast: Ishtar Currie-Wilson, Alan Mirren, Maddison Allard, Fern Gray, Violet Savage, Aimee Ruhinda
Duration: 9 minutes 38 seconds
Genre: Horror, Fashion, Dance
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
Watch Trailer
The Humbug
Winner of the Best Horror category
Two elderly women in a care home grapple with magical mint humbugs, setting off an absurd journey through pleasure and peril.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Cole Paviour
Writer: Cole Paviour
Producer: Geoff Stickler
Cast: Jiggy Bhore, Yvonne D'Alpra
Duration: 9 minutes 09 seconds
Genre: Horror, Comedy, Drama
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 8th November 2025
Production budget: £16,000 Watch Trailer
The Therapist
Entered in Drama categoryDr. Martin Reynolds is a man of habit and quiet precision. From his modest practice, he provides a steady hand for his patients, anchored by a strict professional composure. But when the silence of his sanctuary is breached by an unwelcome reminder of the past, the boundaries between his clinical duty and his private life begin to dissolve.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Luke Corbishley
Writer: Katie Simpson
Producer: Katie Simpson
Cast: Martyn Spendlove, Liza Raimondi, Shelly Ward, Sophie Craig
Duration: 11 minutes 32 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 1st January 1970
View website
Toro Bravo
Entered in Comedy categoryScotland, 1986. A well-meaning but wildly misguided teenager decides to become a bullfighter, despite the minor inconvenience of there being no bulls. Armed with his Celtic jersey cape, his late Grandad's farm as his arena, and unshakable confidence, he enlists his quiet sidekick Dougie to help. Toro Bravo is a delightfully offbeat mockumentary about friendship, failure, and the spectacular ways we convince ourselves we're doing just fine.
Showing on Saturday 26th September
Director: Mikey Nardone
Writer: Mikey Nardone
Producer: Paul Lambie, Kathleen Lambie
Cast: Theo Barrie-Douglas, Aiden Sloan
Duration: 10 minutes 01 seconds
Genre: Comedy, Mockumentary
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 11th June 2025
Production budget: £1,000
Where Laughter Lives
Winner of the Best Documentary category
Where Laughter Lives is an intimate short documentary exploring legacy, identity and the enduring power of bringing joy to others. For almost three decades, Louby Lou has dedicated her life to making children laugh, following in the footsteps of her father, Arnold, who spent over fifty years performing as Trumble the Clown. Through family archives, personal reflections and glimpses into the world behind the character, the film explores a changing world of clowning and the remarkable bond between a father who began the journey and a daughter who continues it. Rooted in Leigh and the community that has shaped her, Louby Lou finds herself at a pivotal moment. After 28 years, she is preparing to leave behind the costume that has become synonymous with her identity and embrace an unknown next chapter. Without revealing what comes next, Where Laughter Lives is a story about the things we inherit, the things we choose to carry forward, and the joy that remains when everything else begins to change.
Showing on Sunday 27th September
Director: Jonathan Clarke
Producer: Jonathan Clarke, Robin Andrews
Cast: Lucy Wilkinson, Arnold Cheetham, Alison Naylor
Duration: 6 minutes 12 seconds
Country of filming: United Kingdom
Completion date: 6th December 2026
Production budget: £2,000 View website
