This year we're celebrating the 20th edition of Native Spirit Festival, presenting the largest programme of Indigenous-led films across the UK, followed by online worldwide view.
🎬 All cinematic forms and storytelling styles welcome — Premiere films of theatrical quality by Indigenous Directors (films that have not participated in a UK festival prior to screening at NSF) — especially themes around 'Sea & Sky', Supernatural and Sci-Fi, Experimental, found footage & archival Documentary, Music, Dance, Comedy, Horror, Animation, Stop-Motion, #microIndigenous (under 5min); films in Indigenous Languages (with encoded English subtitles), and by young filmmakers.
*non-Native filmmakers please see Rules & Terms of entry prioritising Narrative Sovereignty — scroll down for links to Pathways & Protocols
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Native Spirit Taiwan was founded in 2019 and runs November/December (Paiwan calender permitting) at Cheng Kung National University, Tainan, Paiwan territory.
6th Edition 2026 dates tba. Contact: nativespirittaiwan@gmail.com
Native Spirit Festival is the UK's first and only annual Independent festival to promote international Native Filmmakers, Media and Artists, celebrating Indigenous Languages and Narrative Sovereignty. The festival is part of Native Spirit Foundation, founded in 2005 by Mapuche leader Freddy Trequil to promote knowledge and awareness of Indigenous cultures and longer term projects supporting Community-run education in Native Schools. Freddy stated "All the [activists] have come to the conclusion that one objective of making video, radio and television is for the other culture to know us. It is necessary to create a bridge to share our culture in an educational form, without losing our identity."
2026 reviewers:
Beatrice Pagan (Italian. Venice)
Iris Zhao (China)
Genesio De Rosa (Italy)
Jenny Leighton (Manchu, UK)
Native Spirit Festival is non-competitive.
