THIS FESTIVAL IS ONLY OPEN TO PQA STUDENTS! PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR FILM IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE PQA ORGANISATION AS IT WILL BE DISQUALIFIED!

**SOUTH REGIONAL**
Abingdon, Amersham, Ashford, Aylesbury, Bath, Bedford, Bethnal Green, Bicester, Bishops Stortford, Bradley Stoke, Brentwood, Brighton, Brighton West, Bristol, Bromley, Bury St Edmunds, Cambridge, Canterbury, Cardiff, Chelmsford, Cheltenham, Chichester, Chislehurst & Sidcup, Cirencester, Colchester, Conway, Crawley, Croydon, Dartford
Dulwich, Ealing, Earlsfield, Eastbourne, Eastleigh, Enfield, Evesham, Exeter, Finchley, Greenwich, Guildford, Harlow, Hemel Hempstead, Hertford, High Wycombe, Ipswich, Islington, Maidenhead, Maidstone, Milton Keynes, Newport, Northampton, Norwich, Peterborough, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Reading, Richmond, Rochester, Salisbury, Southend-on-sea, St Albans, Stroud, Sutton, Swansea, Swindon, Taunton, Thanet, Torbay, Tunbridge Wells, Upminster, Uxbridge, Watford, Welwyn Garden City, Weston-super-Mare, Wickford, Windsor, Woodford Green, Worcester

If you academy is not listed above, please submit to the North Regional here
https://filmfreeway.com/PQAFilmFestivalNorthRegional

All films submitted for the South Regional will be considered for the National Awards in London.

THE ORGANISATION:

The Pauline Quirke Academy (PQA) is a UK organisation running weekend performing arts schools catering for children from 6 - 18. Started in 2007 by well known UK actress Pauline Quirke (Broadchurch, Birds of a Feather, North & South, Emmerdale) PQA has since grown to encompass 210 academies across the UK. One of the key features of the PQA experience is the Film & TV module which gives students the opportunity to learn about filmmaking both in front of and behind the camera and to make their own short films. PQA is the largest provider of film and television education for young people in the UK.

THE FESTIVAL:

Students from across the PQA academies are encouraged to make and submit films. Through an impartial and rigorous judging process, we will whittle the entries down to the very best work from PQA students across the country. Final selections for the festival will be made by a jury of film industry professionals.

Submission Criteria:

*Academies should NOT enter films that have already been judged during PQA film challenges throughout the year.
*Academies can now submit film and television module project specific films under festival categories
* Academies may submit their best NINE short films only (AM and PM Academies are treated as separate)
*For all other short films, we simply request that the films duration be between 1 and 10 Minutes.
*Films can be any genre: drama (and all its sub-genres), documentary and factual formats, music promos and animation.
*All films need to be of the highest creative and technical standards possible. All music and imagery must be copyright free. Films will be judged in colour group categories, with Green, Blue, and Red group films and whole Academy productions in competition.
*If you wish to enter a film that falls outside of this entry criteria for any reason, please email: nick.pilton@pqacademy.com to discuss a special entry waiver.

'Official Selection' films receive bespoke PQA awards that are presented at the festival event.

By entering your film you agree to the following terms and conditions:

THIS FESTIVAL IS ONLY OPEN TO PQA STUDENTS! PLEASE DO NOT SUBMIT YOUR FILM IF YOU ARE NOT PART OF THE PQA ORGANISATION!!!

You cannot submit films that have been entered into previous PQA Film Festival events or are already publicly online.

Films MUST meet the required technical specifications below:

Technical requirements:

All films should be shot in 1080p/25 frames per second.
Full screen 16:9 or widescreen 1:2.39 (letterboxed).
Films should be delivered as 1920x1080p ‘Best Quality’ H264 .mov or .mp4 files (approx.
10mbits) with AAC or uncompressed stereo sound.
Sound should PEAK at -6db (including all music and FX).
All music / imagery should be copyright free.

All films should adhere to the new PQA film classifications with regard to subject, language and behaviour. View the classification leaflet here: https://pqatv.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/PQA-Film-Classifications.pdf

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Beth Greenlaw

    We thoroughly enjoyed the festival at the BFI. A great experience for all and some excellent films screened. Looking forward to the next one!

    November 2022
  • Maureen Wardill

    This was a brilliantly organised event by the PQA HQ team, which was designed to give our students the best possible experience. The films were excellent and the venue gave the event a real feeling of being something special - which it was!

    December 2019
  • Teri Levett

    Lovely event that all our students enjoyed. Can’t wait for the next one! Xx

    December 2019
  • Mikey Kowalczyk

    This was an outstanding event to be a part of - great festival, wonderful venue, excellent films and presentation!

    December 2018
  • Whilst an in house festival this was amazing. Giving the students an idea of what the very best festivals are like.
    Thank you.

    December 2018