We are delighted to introduce Just Film Festival 2022. The Festival launched in 2021 as a hybrid event with virtual and in-person screenings of features and short films on themes of social justice.

This year’s short film competition will be on the theme of Working Together. We welcome short films of any length up to 15 minutes, either drama or documentary, on this topic.

Just Film Festival 2022 runs from 24th June to 3rd July. We will be showing a range of feature films, and also short films selected from the competition entries. The opening night will be at The Warehouse, Digbeth, Birmingham at 7pm on 24th June 2022. The culmination of the festival will be an in-person awards ceremony and film screening on the afternoon of Sunday 3rd of July.

The Festival is being run by Birmingham Co-operative Film Society, with support from Central England Co-operative. Birmingham Co-operative Film Society (aka Birmingham Film Co-op) has been screening monthly social justice films under the slogan "Just Film: for a fairer world" since 2010.

See www.justfilm.coop for more details of the Film Society.

You can read more about last year’s festival here https://www.membershipmatters.coop/birmingham-film-co-op-organise-a-just-film-festival-for-co-op-fortnight/

This year we are excited to be working with Woodcraft Folk, the co-operative movement for children and young people, giving film makers further potential opportunities for selected films to be screened at their festival.

Woodcraft Folk is a UK charity committed to co-operative education and social action.
Woodcraft Folk would like to offer all competition entrants the opportunity to showcase their work at its next international festival - Common Ground.

Common Ground, originally planned for 2020, will bring together children and young people from across the globe to celebrate international solidarity and friendship. The event will be taking place 29th July - 8th August involving 3,000 children from all world regions. The event space will be divided by theme, including:
Climate change and sustainable development
Co-operation
Peace and conflict
Science & technology
Migration
Feminism

The event will give your work an international reach. Woodcraft Folk would really love to share your work during the event and if possible host a discussion or workshop on the issues it raises.

For more information contact debs@woodcraft.org.uk or visit www.woodcraft.org.uk & www.commonground.camp

Awards & Prizes

Short Films are invited in two categories. These are – Working Together (Documentary) and Working Together (Drama). A panel of judges will select the top films from each category, these will then be promoted and screened as part of the festival. An overall winner in each category will be selected and awarded a £150 cash prize. Further category details can be found in the descriptions for each category.

All categories will be judged on the following criteria: originality, content, narrative, creativity, cinematography, pacing, performance and collaboration.

There will be additional prizes - selected from both categories - for the best submissions in several younger age groups, where the participants are all aged 25 and under. Please request consideration for these categories when completing your entry form.

Rules & Terms

Rules & Terms
Within the two categories we welcome short film submissions in all genres and in languages other than British English. The films should include English subtitles if in other languages. The films must have a maximum length of 15 minutes. If selected for screening, please let us know if this will be your film’s premiere.
1 - In order to submit a film, you must own all the rights, including for any audio tracks used, or have permission from the owner.
2- Entries must be submitted by someone who is 18 or older. They do not need to have been involved in making the film.
3 - The Festival accepts submissions by FilmFreeway only.
4 - The Festival will engage exclusively with the film submitter.
5 - Just Film Festival can use parts of your film (including trailer/teaser/film poster) for promotional purposes.
6- Entry fees are non-refundable.
7 - You cannot withdraw your submission after the official selection announcement.
8 - Any film that is not in English must have English subtitles.
9 - Not all the submissions are selected for the final competition. Our judges are free to make their own choices within the criteria and no answers will be given about non-selected films.
10 - Just Film Festival can consider any film to be disqualified if the Festival considers the content inappropriate.
11 - Filmmakers can submit a film in more than one category where appropriate.
12 - A fee is required for each category submission.
13 - An applicant can submit more than one film but each one must have a separate entry and fee
14 - The applicants (submitters) must accept Just Film Festival Rules and Terms.
15 - Maximum length allowed is 15 minutes.
16 - Just Film Festival will judge the films based on the quality of the film received, and will screen them via external software. Just Film Festival will not be held responsible for any technological problems that may interrupt enjoyment of the short submitted.
17 - All films selected to be screened at the Festival will be notified in advance. It is the responsibility of the person submitting to then send a digital copy of the film to the address in the 'you've been selected' email.