Northampton Film Festival started as a pilot project in 2019 because we were sick of all the undeserved negativity around Northampton. We wanted to use Film to showcase all that is brilliant about Northampton and the wider county, and to provide a ‘shop window’ to the world of Film and its booming UK industry.

The pilot festival had 739 admissions with the festival theme of Coming of Age. We’ve now passed that difficult stage, we’re all grown up, and even if we say so ourselves, we’re Kind of a Big Deal after 2020/2021’s online festival! For 2022 we’re challenging people to Know Their Place.

In 2022 we think, by now, you should Know Your Place…. That means knowing there could be a place for you in the film industry if you want it and knowing there’s plenty going on for you in Northampton.

More will be announced about 2022’s festival soon but we’ve had some amazing judges for our main short film competition over the previous years: Actor Julie Hesmondhalgh (Broadchurch), Comedian Hugh Dennis (Mock the Week) and Actor Colin Salmon (Bond), Writer Alan Moore (League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Watchmen), Director and Photographer Mitch Jenkins (Showpieces, The Show), Editor Colin Goudie (Monsters, Rogue One) and the Film Festival Doctor Rebekah Louisa Smith. And we’ve also had some amazing masterclasses and talks from Emmy-winning local film professionals, the maker’s of Duncan Jones’ ‘Moon’ and Director Gareth Edwards (Monsters, Rogue One) virtually jetting in from LA….

Supported by Midlands Film Hub, Grosvenor Centre, Northampton BID, Northampton Borough Council and Northamptonshire Community Foundation with partners Northampton Filmhouse.

Awards & Prizes

Our judges are Actress Callie Cooke (The Stranger, Cheaters), Producer Jim Mooney of EMU Films (Small Axe, The Show) and BBC Radio Northampton presenter Kerrie Cosh. Read more about the judges at http://www.northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk/judges/ Prizes are glory plus our amazing clapper board trophies and a filmmaker goodie bag. All shortlisted films will be screened at Northampton Filmhouse for which you'll receive free tickets plus tickets to our awards ceremony.

Rules & Terms

Films must have a connection to Northampton or Northamptonshire - see individual categories for more details. But remember, even if it's a very random connection to the county, you can still put it into our Sketchy Link to Northants category, so read on!

If you put your film into the wrong category by accident we will move it into the most appropriate one so no panic there. We do not mind how old a film is. You can enter as many films as you like. We also don't mind if the film is already on the internet. You can still enter it! Please don't hesitate to get in touch with queries or if you need help - we want to get as many films in as possible and make it as easy as possible so we're here to help.

We will ask you to provide details of your connection after you've submitted. If you have a film which doesn't fit into any of the categories but think we might be interested in seeing it, we encourage you to get in touch!