Fighting Spirit is a UK based group that organises martial arts and action themed Film Festivals throughout the country. Now in our 9th year, we have hosted events in London and Birmingham, and have built connections internationally with other film festivals in the UK, Spain, USA, South Korea, and Italy, with more in the pipeline.

Our aims are to support, inspire, recognise, promote, and connect people who have a love of martial arts, action, and film. We support the martial arts and action film community, which includes but is not exclusive to practitioners, teachers, film makers, stunt men and women, and of course, the fans. To do this, we screen short films, feature films, and also have live martial arts demonstrations as part of the events.

In addition to screening films, we also host a variety of short film awards to help support and promote and inspire those who are part of the film making process. Our previous award winners have gone on to win multiple awards in festivals all over the world, and we want to keep this momentum up in the future, and keep supporting the next generation of talent.

The next festival will take place in London in September 2023, and we would like to invite any submissions which would fit our theme.

For more information, and to see footage from our previous events, please go to our website www.fightingspiritfilmfestival.com

Awards & Prizes

Best Short Film
Best Action Choreography
Audience Choice
Best Short Documentary
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Director
Best Short Film - 10 mins and under.
Best British Short Film in Association with New Day Pictures*
Best British Short Film Cinematography in Association with British Cinematographer
Best International Short Film Cinematography in Association with British Cinematographer
Best International Short Film

*The winner of Best British Short will receive a £500 hire voucher for New Day Pictures
https://www.newdaypictures.com/

Rules & Terms

By submitting your film, you agree that Fighting Spirit can use parts of your film (including trailer/teaser/film poster) for promotional purpose.

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. IF SELECTED, ALL FILMS MUST HAVE AN ENGLISH SUBTITLE TRACK PREPARED - OTHERWISE THE FILM WILL BE DESELECTED.

Fighting Spirit does not pay a revenue share or a fee to screen your film.

Due to budget constraints, filmmakers travelling from oversees are not paid for attending.

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

1. We do not accept any films completed before 1st Jan 2023.

2. Documentaries, non-fiction, animation, arthouse, short films and feature films of the action or martial arts genre are open for unsolicited submission to the festival.

3. Documentaries, non-fiction, animation, arthouse, short films and feature films of the action and martial arts genre are also selected by invitation from Fighting Spirit Film Festival.

4. All films must include English subtitles if selected (this is so we are fully inclusive for people who may not speak English as a first language, or people with hearing needs). Adding subtitles is the responsibility of the film maker. This also applies to films which are not in English language.

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

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

7. To be eligible for awards, short films must not be available for public viewing on any video hosting sites such as Facebook, Youtube, Vimeo, etc.

8. Short films should ideally be under 20 minutes, but anything up to 30 minutes may be considered subject to our panel.

9. Fighting Spirit Film Festival is a competitive event and unless notified otherwise, all shorts (except those that are publicly online) officially selected are eligible for competition. Not all submissions received are selected for the Fighting Spirit Film Festival.

10. All films are nominated and voted upon by a jury of film professionals, from an independent point of view. The full jury list can be viewed on our website. https://www.fightingspiritfilmfestival.com/awards

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

12. Fighting Spirit Film Festival reserve the right to refuse to accept any submission deemed by the Festival to be inappropriate, or not fitting in with our values (see event description). Should you wish to question FSFF about their decision, you can contact us by email on info@fightingspiritfilmfestival.com
41 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Norbert Miśkiewicz

    We had the great pleasure of participating in the action film festival in London, and it turned out to be an exceptional experience in every way. The atmosphere was incredible – full of passion, enthusiasm, and love for action cinema. The festival attracted people from all over the world, which not only allowed us to showcase our film but also to build many inspiring connections with filmmakers and film enthusiasts.

    An additional highlight was having our film nominated in as many as four categories – an immense honor and a testament to the fact that our work was noticed and appreciated. London, with its energy and diversity, was the perfect place for such an event. The memories from this festival will stay with us for a long time, and the connections and experiences we gained will surely bear fruit in the future. We highly recommend this event to any filmmaker who wants to feel the magic of cinema and the energy of the people who create it!

    December 2024
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  • Natasja Schaafsma

    Absolutely loved going to this festival, and will be going again regardless of if I have a film screening. The team is absolutely brilliant being super welcoming, and it is very well organised. Got to meet loads of other filmmakers and people working in film/action as well as action fanatics. Great experience overall! Thanks for screening 'Office Offence'! I left this festival fueled with more enthusiasm and drive to make films and continue in film fighting.

    September 2024
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  • Simon Schärmeli

    The FSFF24 was a fantastic experience.

    The organisers kept us informed as soon as there was more information about the upcoming festival. The communication was excellent.

    When we arrived on site, we immediately felt welcome. The atmosphere was relaxed and the organisers were very welcoming.

    Last but not least, of course, the super line-up with fantastic short films.

    I hope to be able to take part again soon :)

    September 2024
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  • 진 원

    The Fighting Spirit All Action and Martival Arts Film fastival was the best
    They gave me a very friendly explannation about the fastival.
    I'm so honored and happy to receive the Best Actor award. Thank you so much again

    September 2024
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  • Hymnson Chan

    Great communication, highly supportive of filmmakers, really wish we could've made it in person. Thanks so much for selecting and nominating RISE OF CHOW at Fighting Spirit! Can't wait to submit again in the future.

    September 2024
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