Purgatory Pictures Ltd has been up and running for a couple of years now and, having travelled the world - taking our products to film festivals, we launched our own festival.  This has been running for a couple of years now with a team of six judges watching, reading and rating all of the submissions received! 

It might seem strange; filmmakers launching their own festival but, for us, we believe it is the most natural thing to do given our passion for films of all genres.

There are two stages to our festival! Read on for further details.


THE ONLINE FESTIVAL:

Originally the Festival ran on a yearly basis during the second to last weekend of October. Close enough to Halloween that people are craving their horror but not on Halloween, ruining people's parties. However, recognising the need for "urgent" laurels and awards for independent film-makers, the decision was made to make it a monthly online event from late 2023 onwards, with awards being issued every month. Not only does this keep the cost down for people looking to submit but it also ensures entrants are not waiting months on end to find out if their film has been selected.

THE IN-PERSON FESTIVAL:

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

Once a year, the festival will have a full, in-person day event. On this day, we will be showcasing the winning short films from throughout the year. There is no need to resubmit your work. If you're one of our monthly winners from that year, your film will automatically be shown to our audience (up to 300 people). The top three feature films from the year (chosen by a judging panel of 6 people) will also be shown. The audience will be asked to write the name of their favourite short and feature film. Once the cards have been counted (within the following week) the audience's choice award will be presented and the winner of each category will win yet another award.

What to expect at our in-person events:
3 feature films
12 short films
Q&As with attending film-makers
Fully stocked and licensed bar
Networking opportunities
Red Carpet picture opportunities

Where and when?

The next live in-person event will be held at:
The Holiday Inn
Eastleigh, Southampton, UK
October 26th, 2024.

2 x tickets will be given to the winning films. Additional tickets can be purchased from the tickets tab here on FilmFreeWay!

THE FEES:

The entry fees will always be kept modest to ensure costs are covered. There will be an option for winners to purchase their physical trophies, should they wish one be added to their collection. Otherwise, all winners (and selected films) will receive a laurel.

There is no need to enter your film twice to be in with a chance of winning the online or in-person festival. All entries which win the monthly festival will automatically be shown at the in-person festival and be in with another chance of winning.

For transparency, the Film Festival will be run through filmfreeway.

RULES & TERMS:

Judges' decisions are final
Due to the amount of submissions we receive, we do not give out waiver codes
Filmmakers agree that their film is okay to be shown at the festival
Multiple entries are welcome
Only submissions via FilmFreeway are accepted
Winners will be uploaded to the Purgatory Pictures website
For winners wishing to come to the in-person festival, we can only offer two free tickets but further tickets are available to purchase. We do not cover travelling or accommodation expenses
In the unlikely event of the film festival being cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances, tickets will be transferred to an alternative date and the film line-up will remain the same

WHAT TO EXPECT AT THE IN-PERSON FESTIVAL:
Films, networking and laughs!
The in-person festival is being put together for film fans and creatives. A day to come by and have fun watching films and getting to know one another. Who knows, perhaps you may find the next director for your film there? Or maybe you'll find your next leading actor?!


 

All those selected will receive a laurel for their posters.
All winners will have the option to purchase a trophy.

November 2023:
Winners announcement video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ktv87Tm4uis
(live from December 1st, 2023, 1am UK TIME)

2022 winners:

BEST DOCUMENTARY 
The Voice of Thaïs
David Casals Roma

BEST SHORT FILM 
Doghouse
Anabel kutay

BEST MUSIC VIDEO 
Belphegor
Thomas Keplinger
 
BEST WEB-SERIES or WEBISODE 
Good Morning RIP
Luke Jacunski

BEST FEATURE 
The Ugly Truth
Krishna Ashu Bhati

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Fragments
Lucas Vossoughi, Artur Golczewski

BEST ACTOR
MOVE
Alexander De Rita


BEST ACTRESS
MOVE
Rebecca Tarabocchia

BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY
Old Friends
Sian Walker

BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY
Terror London
Terry Clark

2021 winners:

BEST DOCUMENTARY
Social Media Monster
Dir: Peter John Ross

BEST SHORT FILM
Faces
Dir: Iván Sainz-Pardo

BEST MUSIC VIDEO
KLAÜD
Dir: Aurélia Mengin

BEST WEB-SERIES or WEBISODE
Halos, Horns, & Tacos  
Dir: Christopher Sheffield

BEST FEATURE
Tales of the creeping death
Dir: John Williams

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Perturbado (Disturbed)
Dir: Fernando A. Fisher

BEST ACTOR
Perturbado (Disturbed)
Dir: Fernando A. Fisher

BEST ACTRESS
I am the new Adjani
Dir: Khady N'Diaye

BEST SHORT SCREENPLAY
Room Service
Written by Nieves Garcia Perchin

BEST FEATURE SCREENPLAY
The Minefield
Written by Quinn Redeker, Jason Skorski

Judges' decisions are final.
Filmmakers agree that their film is okay to be shown at the festival if marked as being a "finalist".
Multiple entries are welcome.
Only submissions via FilmFreeway are accepted.
Winners will be uploaded to the Purgatory Pictures website.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Xavi Bou AKA MonkeyBou

    Thank you very much to the Purgatory Film Festival for recognizing our music video "Bathory" with an award! We are thrilled and grateful for this honor! 🎥🏆

    March 2024
  • Winning Best Short Screenplay at Purgatory Film Festival was an honor. Seamless submission, prompt feedback, and unforgettable virtual experience. Grateful for recognition and support. Highly recommend to aspiring filmmakers.

    March 2024
  • PERIKLIS TSINTZAS

    Thank you for selected my film 40 days at your nice festival.I do apreciate it a lot!

    March 2024
  • The Purgatory film festival apparently selected my film but never sent me a confirmation email with the list of winners for my selection after 2 weeks when they said I would receive this up to 5 working days. No communication or transparency whatsoever.

    March 2024
    Logo
    Response from festival:

    Hello,

    We are sorry you are dissatisfied with our services but I believe there may be some confusion.

    1. We received an email from you less than 24 hours ago asking for a list of the winners. We work on the festival on the weekend evenings (such as "now") so hadn't yet had the chance to answer before we saw this review.

    2. We have not given timeframes to individuals as to when they would hear from us so I am not sure where this information is coming from. The only timeframes we have our when notifications go out to those selected and when the event was to take place (March 4th). It has not been two weeks since the event.

    3. Winners are notified through FilmFreeway via an automated system. We then reach out to the winners to ask permission to use their films for the "in person" event at the end of the year, as per the terms. We do not give feedback as to why people didn't win and nor does FFW appear to give the option to do a mass mail out stating who did win. But again, your timeframes stating 2 weeks and 5 working days are a mystery to us.

    4. The list of winners has been available on Twitter since 10th March so we believe we've been fairly transparent as to who won.

    Once again, we're very sorry you are dissatisfied with our festival. We wish we would have been given a chance to answer your email though. Apologies we were unable to award your film on this occasion but we wish you the best for your future endeavours.

    Kind Regards,

    Team Purgatory.

  • Venkat Sai Gunda

    Very Happy to be part of the Festival

    February 2024