New Lanark Film Festival celebrates the best of Scotland on the screen. With community at the heart of the festival, NLFF aims to promote the art of filmmaking in Scotland by exhibiting the very best of local talent.

Nestled next to the Falls of Clyde, New Lanark is the perfect place to appreciate both the historical and natural beauty of Scotland.

Our film festival will be held in our very own New Lanark Film Theatre - a 123 capacity venue based within our World Heritage Site, making it one of Scotland's most unique cinemas.

In its first edition, we aim to screen a selection of independently made films with a focus on Scotland. This can be any film made by Scottish residents, films in the Scots or Gaelic language, or just anything that shows a love for our beloved home.

We encourage both professionals and amateurs alike, and promise a night of good film and good company. All filmmakers who have a selected film with be offered a complimentary ticket to our screening night on March 25th 2025. Additional tickets can be purchased here: https://bit.ly/NLFF_2025

Awards & Prizes

The NLFT Audience Award
Jury Prize

Rules & Terms

The filmmaker must submit a work that is wholly made by them and any third parties that they have involved. It must be an original work, in which the correct copyright for all images and sounds that appear on screen have been obtained as well as all permissions required for the making of the film. Any submission found to be in breach of any laws will be disqualified. It is the filmmaker's responsibility to ensure all copyrights and permissions have been secured.

The filmmaker must be 18+ years of age.

Submissions must follow the following criteria:

A narrative short film that is no longer than 25 minutes.

All submissions must have been completed in the past 5 years.

Submissions must be submitted in a digital video file and be of a high picture-quality standard.

Recommended MP4 video compression and, as a minimum, in a H.264 codec, 1280 x 720 resolution - however higher resolutions are encouraged.

All submissions must have a link to Scotland - Scots speaking films are encouraged.

All submissions must be sent in with a completed submission form via FilmFreeway.

Submissions of a pornographic nature are strictly prohibited.

By submitting your film, you give New Lanark Film Festival and its partners permission to promote your film on our marketing channels, including using stills, video clips, and promotional artwork.

All submissions are eligible for the awarded categories, and the filmmaker(s) will be notified of official selection.

The New Lanark Film Festival and its partners reserve the right to disqualify any submission it deems inappropriate. We also reserve the right to disqualify any submissions at any point of the submission process, including on the day of screening.

The New Lanark Film Festival and its partners are not responsible for any of the technical aspects of a submission. Submissions will be taken as they are, and the film should meet all of the mentioned criteria before submitting.

The filmmaker may submit more than one entry, however only one of their submissions will be selected if chosen.

Individual feedback on submissions may not be available.

1 Review
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  • Neilly Boyle

    We attended the New Lanark Film Festival on Tuesday evening and had a terrific evening. The venue is perfectly suited to intimate screenings, the presenters were amazing and so passionate about the work they were doing and overall organisation was seamless. I wish I could have attended more than just the one evening. I'll definitely be back next year as this is certainly one to watch is the festival grows!

    March 2025
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