Festival of Fantastic Films Manchester

FFF MANCHESTER SHORT FILM COMPETITION: the Delta Awards incorporating the Norman J Warren Trophy

Entry is via FilmFreeway.

Submissions will be automatically disqualified from the competition if they are 1. Longer than 20 minutes in total running time, and 2. Made/released before 31st December 2024 - we are only receiving films made in 2025 and 2026.

We are seeking films in three categories: Science Fiction, Horror, and Fantasy. You should enter your film into ONE of these categories only.

We will award the best Science Fiction short film, the best Horror short film, and the best Fantasy short film. The best film overall will be presented with the Norman J Warren Trophy aka "the Norman".

Submissions MUST be made through this site. Submissions must include an on-screen viewer for selection purposes.

Films must have a total running time of no longer than 20 minutes. Any entries exceeding 20 minutes will be immediately rejected.

Fees for submission in GBP are as follows:

Earlybird before 31 March 2026 - Standard £8.50 / Student £7.00
By main deadline 15 July 2026 - Standard £11.00 / Student 7.00
Late submissons 16 July-11 August 2026 - Standard £16.50 / Student £9.50

Films accepted are required to provide for screening .mov or MP4 digital files. Any delivery costs of screening media are borne by the submitter. Screening material will not be returned.

You can submit as many entries as you wish.

Submissions will be permanently paused once we reach the maximum number permitted for 2026 of 400 submissions, and this will supersede any deadlines previously published or proposed by the festival.

Press packs are not essential at this stage but can be sent as digital versions via email.

Selected films will be screened at the 2026 Festival of Fantastic Films and will be judged by a panel.

If selected, the screening copy should be with the festival organisers at least 3 weeks before the start of the festival.

N.B. any packages from outside Europe must bear the declaration “for temporary importation only and for cultural use at a film festival - of no commercial value”. Any documentation/proforma invoices for films from outside the EU must not state a value that exceeds £10 as this can attract importation taxes. Any film attracting freight charges/ importation taxes at our end will not be accepted, and will be returned at the sender’s own cost or may be retained by UK customs, where its retrieval will be the sender’s responsibility.

Selection procedure:
On receipt of a submission, the entrant will receive an email confirmation and reference number from FilmFreeway that should be quoted on all future correspondence. Selection notification to all applicants will be as early as possible but at the latest one month before the festival.

Applicants must confirm acceptance within seven days of receiving notification quoting their reference number and can supply any stills/images etc. to be used by the festival if not supplied previously. Screening material should be supplied at least 3 weeks prior to the festival, to allow time to check the technical quality.

FESTIVAL OF FANTASTIC FILMS MANCHESTER RESERVES THE RIGHT AT ANY TIME TO WITHDRAW, POSTPONE, CANCEL OR MAKE ANY ALTERATION TO (OR PART OF) THE FESTIVAL SCHEDULE OR FESTIVAL PROGRAMME WITHOUT PRIOR CONSULTATION.

Postal address for 2026 festival short film competition enquiries: Flat 3, 219 Upper Chorlton Road, Manchester, M16 0DE.

ALL ENTRANTS/SUBMITTERS AGREE TO THESE RULES & TERMS