Bedford Film Festival is back for its fifth festival!

The festival was set up as a not for profit organisation designed to increase film variety in Bedford and the surrounding area, giving local film lovers a chance to see films that might not be available in other local public venues. Parallel to this we actively seek to inspire local film makers with access to workshops led by leading industry experts, and a chance to see work by independent film makers from across the globe.

We support variety and so our film choices will never follow a set genre. This will allow audiences to sample cinema that they have either never considered or perhaps haven’t had the chance to experience before.

Some of the films chosen may be from main stream cinema, others may be from fledgling film makers or from foreign shores. Our aim, whatever the popularity, style, or language of the films we choose, is for our audience to enjoy them all.

Further to our own festival, we support already established community groups and festivals to promote and support their film related activities, we do this by hosting individual screenings throughout the year at multiple venues. We also work closely with Bedford College to deliver film making workshops that are led by leading industry experts and cover all facets of the industry.

Bedford Film Festival is an annual cultural highlight in our town that helps to encourage and inspire everyone to consider how they might support film variety across Bedford.

Our 'Shorts Session' is just one of many screenings sessions we host during our opening weekend, giving fledgling film makers a chance to screen their work to a new audience. We have limited space for the shorts screening and so programming time is limited.

Awards & Prizes

At present we offer three awards for film submissions, however these may be added to, and a prize fund may also be included in the coming months. We will keep you updated!

Judges' Choice - Bedfordshire: An award to the film that judges felt was the best entry from film makers within Bedfordshire.

Judges Choice - National: An award to the film that judges felt was the best entry from film makers outside of Bedfordshire but sill within the UK.

Judges' Choice - International: An award to the film that judges felt was the best entry from film makers outside of the UK.

(Please note: The 'National' and 'International' award' may be merged into one award depending on the number of entries received and those selected by the judges for the festival.)

Rules & Terms

Bedford Film Festival defines a short film as longer than 5 minutes and no longer than 15 minutes.

All films must be provided on DVD/BluRay. It is up to the filmmakers to ensure the film is ready to play on whatever format they supply.

All film genres are accepted and there is no age limit on the production date of films you may submit. Priority may however be given to films produced more recently.

Please select the correct entry category and fee for your location. Any films entered into the wrong category will be automatically disqualified without refund.

Please enter all the required information in the entry form and only submit films that are of the appropriate length. Any film not correctly entered will be disqualified without refund.

Film makers who have their film chosen will be invited to attend the film festival at their own expense but will have access passes to all films across the main festival weekend.
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  • Matt Brownsett

    What a fantastic festival, I wish I could have attended more events. The shorts session showed a great selection of short films all of which had me captivated from start to finish, and to have been selected for a Judges Choice Award was overwhelming considering the other entries.

    September 2016
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