And we're back! The submission window for our 2022 festival is now open and we can't wait to see your films.

Last year exceeded all expectations. After 2020, when we were entirely online because of the pandemic, we were determined to have a 'real' event in 2021 if circumstances permitted.

Our wonderful team of volunteers turned a bare church hall in Ealing into a big-screen cinema worthy of the films you sent us. Over two days, we pretty much filled the place. To our delight, many of our filmmakers showed up in person. It was great to see them together under one roof, talking about their films and sharing their ideas.

Once again, we offer heartfelt thanks to all our filmmakers. You sent us an amazing 269 films from thirty-six countries on six continents. That's nearly twice as many entries as we received in 2021. Truly, we have become an international festival.

The award for the best film of 2021 went to Finding Tyler, a documentary from the United States being given its UK premiere. It tells the true story of a young man who becomes a fugitive and disappears, and the struggle by his family to find out what really happened to him.

In the narrative category, we could not separate the two outstanding entries, so the award was shared.

The Secret Life of Tom Lightfoot is a piece of magical realism made by a group of actors from Shropshire who have learning difficulties and express their creativity through film.

Ido is a film from Iraq that shows the struggle of one young refugee to overcome the prejudice of local people. They are two very different films, but each demonstrates the power of cinema.

Once again, the People's Choice award was decided by your votes. The winner was Mia El Chaar for her film Breach, which she wrote and directed. Mia is a 19-year-old student at MetFilm School in Ealing.

Details of all the winners can be found here: www.ealingfilmfestival.com

Ealing Film Festival was set up to showcase the talents of a diverse range of filmmakers looking for a platform for their work. We think we've come a long way in the past two years, thanks to your fantastic support. Now we are looking forward to an even better festival in 2022.

Our town has a long association with the film and television industry. The famous Ealing Studios are the oldest in the world still in regular use. Ealing Film Festival is now shining a spotlight on new talent.

We hope people of all ages, and every social and cultural background, will join our growing community of filmmakers in 2022.

Above all, keep making films!

Awards & Prizes

We accept entries from all over the world, exclusively via FilmFreeway. You may submit more than one film, and each film can be entered in more than one category. Please read the rules below for further important details.

Every film submitted will be viewed by at least three members of our team as part of the process to determine which entries become official selections. These films will then be considered for awards in their categories.

Laurels will be awarded for all official selections and for all category winners, including special commendations which may be made at the discretion of the judges. The category winners will then be reviewed by our jury, and one film will be named the overall winner of the festival.

We will screen as many official selections as circumstances permit, either as part of an in-person event, or using our online platform. We cannot guarantee to show every film because of the large number of entries we receive. However, we hope to invite the makers of some of our winning films to take part in a Q&A session, in person or online, depending on the kind of festival we are able to run.

These are the categories for our 2022 festival...

Narrative Short
Documentary
Comedy
Horror / Suspense
Sci-Fi / Fantasy
Animation
Green Planet
Experimental
Music Video
Homegrown (Residents of Ealing)
Smartphone
Student

The winners of each category will be considered by the judges for the overall award of ‘Best Film’ in the festival.

In addition there will be a People's Choice Award, decided by audience votes.

Timetable for the 2022 Festival...

Open for entries: January 24
Final deadline for submissions: October 3
Notification date: October 31
Festival dates: November 28 - December 4 (tbc)

Rules & Terms

1. Entrants must be 16 years old or over at the time of submission.
2. We are looking for short films, with a maximum duration of 20 minutes. Remember, less is more!
3. Films must be the original work of the entrants and must have been produced since 1 January 2017.
4. Ealing Film Festival does not accept films promoting a product or company.
5. Entrants must have obtained clearance for all copyrighted music and any other copyrighted material used in their films.
6. Written permission must have been obtained from all the people actively appearing in the film. This is usually done by way of a release form.
7. Any entry not in the English language must have English subtitles embedded in the film.
8. Entries should be submitted electronically only via FilmFreeway.
9. To be considered for the 2022 competition entries must be received by the final deadline of October 3. Filmmakers can submit more than one film, and each film can be entered in more than one category. At the discretion of the judges, a film may be considered for an additional category or award at no extra cost to the entrant.
10. Your status on FilmFreeway will acknowledge the receipt of your submission.
11. Filmmakers whose work is 'Officially Selected' will be notified by October 31.
12. Details of the Official Selections will be posted on the Ealing Film Festival website. Please note that selected films should be made available for festival screening and streaming online.
13. Ealing Film Festival reserves the right to refuse entry for any reason at its absolute discretion.
14. The decision of the judges is final. We will not enter into correspondence or discussion concerning any decision.
15. As well as awarding laurels for Official Selections and the winners of the categories, there will be an overall prize for the Best Film of the festival.
16. The entry is made at the entrant’s own expense and Ealing Film Festival shall not be liable for reimbursing any expenses incurred in making an entry.
17. Ealing Film Festival and associated parties accept no responsibility for any misuse of intellectual property rights.
18. Ealing Film Festival has the right to use images and a maximum of 45 seconds from selected films for promotional or festival screenings or on the Ealing Film Festival websites or for press or media purposes. Occasionally EFF may wish to screen a selected film outside of the festival, in all instances permission will be sought from the filmmaker in advance.
19. Ealing Film Festival has the right to use the film for its archive film library for viewing by other film festivals and organisations.

24 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Oakmead Productions

    This was an incredible experience! Ealing Film Festival is run by a group of dedicated, brilliant, passionate people who didn't just create a great weekend of film but set about creating a community and that's exactly what they did. We cannot express our gratitude to the Ealing Film Festival team enough for the opportunity to be a part of this incredible event. The attention to detail in regards to atmosphere, production, venue, guests etc was amazing. It was a real honour to have our work screen and to be a part of this. We cannot recommend enough to people. This festival will go from strength to strength over the next few years and we urge everyone out there to become a part of this wonderful community. Thank you again so much.

    January 2022
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    Response from festival:

    Oh my gosh. You are too kind. We are speechless.
    Having said this, we did create this from our hearts and for people like yourselves.
    With much love,
    EFF

  • Alan Hamwan

    very blessed to be part of this amazing and great festival that is very informative With excellent creativity, communication and organisation, I will be submitting future projects. Thank you, EFF.

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thanks! It is a pleasure working with such talented filmmakers such as yourself.
    The honour is all ours.

    Annemarie, Peter & Alan

  • Ray Jacobs

    Ealing film festival was a great festival to submit to and be part of. Communication from the festival were clear and friendly. The festival team worked hard to prepare for the festival and I felt included. The festival included a great jury and the films selected were diverse, high quality and full of incredible stories. Many thanks for awarding our Film 'The Secret Life of Tom Lightfoot , I was sad not to be able to attend what looked like a fantastic event. Hopefully I will be able to visit the festival in the future. I thoroughly recommend this festival to fellow filmmakers.

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thankyou so much for your kind words Ray. A very well deserved win for a film with a huge heart that went down so well at the Festival. We really hope to see more of you and your fab team's work next year and beyond. Well done!

  • Keith Allott

    A really well run and passionate festival with good communication. Definitely recommend to other filmmakers.

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Thank you Keith!

  • Christopher Brannan

    A wonderful festival run by passionate, friendly, and organized staff. Great communication throughout. Films judged by reputable names in the industry. Everything you could want in a festival. Happy to have had our doc, Finding Tyler, play there - my only wish is that we could have made the trip to attend in person!

    December 2021
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    Response from festival:

    Well done on your double win Christopher and Diana! It was great to screen so many high calibre films including yours and we were very lucky indeed to be the UK premiere for Finding Tyler. Best of luck with your future work and we sincerely hope to meet you at one of our future Festivals.