Welcome to The 6th Colchester Independent Short Film Festival 2026 , set in the historic city steeped in tradition of the arts dating back to pre Roman times

The 6th Colchester Indi Short Film Festival will be on Saturday 23rd May 2026 at Firstsite ,Lewis Gardens ,High Street , Colchester, Essex,CO1 1JH.
It will be run for one evening concentrating on film presentations, awards and networking.

Our goal is to find talented filmmakers and help them promote their work.

We accept short films , max length 12 minutes , from all genres with one main award , The Colchester Indie Short Film Festival Best Film , in addition to an award for second place and a special mention

Colchester , the historic city that never sleeps, is a hotspot for filmmakers who want to promote their independent projects. Your film will be reviewed by our screeners team and the highest scored ones will be selected as Official Selection receiving corresponding Laurels. Then, our jury will choose the winners for either category and they will receive the Official Laurels and Certificates.

All films selected will be classified by the BBFC, the submission fees this year reflect this cost.

Awards & Prizes

One category :The Colchester Indie Short Film Festival Best film award,
, second place award with plus the special mention category.

Any genre , max length 12 mins

Rules & Terms

Films must not exceed 12 minutes

Entry fees are non refundable

In order to submit a film, you must own the rights or have permission from the owner.

All films chosen to be shown need to certified by the BBFC , please e mail direct npelas@gmail.com if your film has classification in order to qualify for a discount in submission fees.
9 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Tom Stock

    Really special independent short film festival that celebrates local Colchester and Essex talents. Well done to Nick and his team for making this year's one to remember. Looking forward to next year!

    May 2023
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  • Keith Large

    Really great Festival. Full of fantastic films and a friendly welcome in the beautiful Curzon Cinema in the beautiful city of Colchester.

    May 2023
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  • Melissa Stanton

    An amazing evening, so great to be at an actual live event. Everyone was incredibly friendly, and it was fantastic to be able to see my all of the films in such a great venue. Thank you for selecting Ghostlight as an entry!

    May 2022
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  • Steve Downey

    Excellent film festival. Well done to Nick and everyone else involved. Very well organised and superb communications. Our film "We are the Lost Girls" looked great on the big screen and we were awarded a "Special Mention" prize.

    May 2022
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  • Acacia Khonji

    I enjoyed this festival very much. It was held at the Curzon Cinema in Colchester, itself wonderful with comfy seats, great food, and the festival was packed. The films were very entertaining and high quality and presented impeccably by the organiser Nick Pelas, who kindly gave my film Letitia a special mention. Thank you for a lovely time.

    May 2022
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