**Become a part of one of the most popular ๐ˆ๐Œ๐ƒ๐› ๐๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ข๐Ÿ๐ฒ๐ข๐ง๐  annual Festivals!**

Welcome to the Bristol Independent Film Festival. We are one of the UKโ€™s fastest-growing independent film festivals! We are proud to announce that we are sponsored by FilmFreeway.

Since we started in 2017 we have had submissions from over 160 countries. We pride ourselves on being an international film festival. We aspire to promote, recognize and support independent filmmakers throughout the world by hosting a variety of awards to provide the best opportunities for filmmakers and help them receive their deserved recognition. We welcome submissions from a range of genres including short films, documentaries, features, animations, and screenplays.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ˆ๐…๐…? ๐ŸŽฌ

โ€ขWe aim to create a community of independent film-makers and an environment where we can celebrate independent film and our submittersโ€™ creations.
โ€ขFor each event, we provide networking booklets that include information about each winner and ways to contact them. We also provide trophies and winners packs.
โ€ขEach season we offer cash prizes to our favorite submissions to help fund their future projects.
โ€ขFinally, we aim to establish personal relationships with our submitters. We always enjoy finally meeting with our filmmakers/ scriptwriters and being able to celebrate their accomplishments in person.

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฅ?

Bristol was recently recognized by UNESCO as a โ€œCity of Filmโ€ alongside the likes of Sydney, Rome, and Galway. We pride ourselves on being the largest celebration of independent film in Bristol and we aim to create a hub for independent film-makers.

๐‰๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐œ๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ? ๐Ÿ†

Our submissions are judged by a jury of international industry professionals. They rate each submission on 10 different categories including cinematography, writing, pacing, and creativity. This helps them decide which submissions make it to the final stage where there will be jury group viewings to make sure we only pick the best quality submissions.

We look forward to viewing your creations and hope to meet you at our 7th annual celebration of independent film!

We only award the best independent filmmakers after a comprehensive evaluation process. Our judges evaluate the quality of filmmaking, creativity, and storytelling ability.

All selected nominees will be invited to our live screening in Bristol for the opportunity to meet people from the same industry.

All winners will receive the โ€œwinnerโ€ laurel with a hard copy certificate and a special engraved โ€œBristol Independent Film Festivalโ€ trophy presented at our live screening on Event Date. Winners and selected nominees that cannot attend the event will be contacted by the BIFF team to send the awards to the provided address.

All selected and winning nominees will be contacted by the BIFF team a month prior to the notification date for further information.

To submit a film, you must have created the project yourself, own the rights or have permission from the owner of the content to submit the film to us.

Rules and Terms:
Please read all the rules and requirements before submitting your project:

1. We do not accept any films made before 2019.

2. Any foreign films must include English subtitles.

3. All fees are non-refundable.

4. Student filmmakers are encouraged to apply but must present their valid Student ID in order to benefit from our student discount.

5. BIFF is not responsible for broken or non-functioning films.

6. Films do not have to be screened publicly to be eligible for our festival, prizes, or awards.

7. BIFF is a competitive event and unless notified otherwise, all films officially selected are eligible for competition. Not all submissions received are selected for BIFF.

8. All films are nominated and voted upon by a jury of film professionals, from an independent point of view.

9. All genres and formats are considered eligible for nomination into one or more competitive categories.

10. BIFF reserve the right to refuse to accept any submission deemed by the Festival to be inappropriate. Should you wish to question BIFF about their decision, you can contact us by email on Bristolfilmfest@hotmail.com.

11. A fee is required upon submission. For payment structures, visit the FilmFreeway website.

12. One entry fee per category. The same film can be entered into one or more categories, but each category requires an entry fee.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Lukas Steinmaier

    Thanks a lot for awarding my short film SUNDAY ROAST with Best Student Director! It was an honour to be among many amazing competing films in a truly remarkable selection for this festival.
    Unfortunately I was unable to attend the event in person so can't really give a feedback on networking but will definately submit my next film again and attend in person!

    December 2023
  • Jac Lockwood

    I honestly had an amazing experience showing my film at BIFF, the staff were lovely, communications were clear and the night that they put on was super impressive. Would have been lovely to have some sort of after-screening networking, but will definitely attend again again as a punter and looking forward to seeing what they do next.

    Would definitely recommended to other filmmakers!

    December 2023
  • Ellen Weisberg

    Thank you for including our film in your festival!

    December 2023
  • Jean-michel Tari

    Wonderful experience. Thanks to the whole team

    December 2023
  • For me, Bristol is one of the best independent festivals in Europe. I was delighted to win here, to give interviews, to be at the festival and to have brought home a wonderful trophy for the film music to "La Lรญnea Imaginaria". You are a great team! Sincerly Marcel Barsotti

    December 2023