The Slow Film Festival presents a peculiar and anomalous programme of experimental film relating to durational and landscape moving image art. The festival also programmes popup events in galleries and cinemas throughout the UK.

The Slow Film Festival was founded in 2016 in the village of Mayfield, East Sussex, UK and was transplanted to a new home in Waltham Forest, East London in 2023.

1. Entries must be original works produced, written and/or directed by the submitting filmmaker.

2 Submission Lengths:
We accept films of any length.

3. It is the filmmaker's responsibility to obtain rights, clearances and permissions. Slow Film Festival assumes no responsibility for violation of copyright law.

4. Illegal material is not allowed under any circumstance. The enforcement of this rule will be at the discretion of Slow Film Festival.

5. By submitting to the Slow Film Festival, entrants expressly grant Slow Film Festival the nonexclusive, royalty-free right to publish submitted material and meta material such as (but not limited to) film stills, the title and credits of the film, the director’s name, and excerpts of up to 30 seconds of the film (in single form or as part of a showreel) for advertising and promotional purposes.

6. Screening:
a) Slow Film Festival is entitled to show the selected films during the duration of the festival.
b) Slow Film Festival is also entitled to show the selected films in various institutions and cinemas as part of a post-festival tour.

7. Each entry must be accompanied by the following:
a) entry fee
b) submission material

8. Entrants shall indemnify, defend and hold the Festival, its agents and its representatives harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs, liabilities and expenses which may be incurred by reason of any breach of these representations, or arising out of any matter contained in the media or otherwise by the Festival's use of the media.

9. Entries may be disqualified for the following reasons:
a) inappropriate material
b) incomplete application materials and documentation
c) submissions on unacceptable media
d) no application fee enclosed with the entry.

In the case of disqualification, an attempt will be made by the festival staff to contact the entrant. This will allow an opportunity for the disqualification to be remedied.

10. In case of questions, disputes or misunderstandings the decisions of the Festival Committee are final.

If your film is based in Waltham Forest or you currently reside in the borough then please get in touch and we can arrange a screening fee waiver.

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Gargantua Film Distribution

    Thanks for screening SONNENSTUBE at your festival!

    October 2023
  • Matthew Burdis

    Brilliant festival and curated programmes. The Q&A's and variation of speakers was a big highlight. Pleasure to have been involved.

    October 2023
  • Even though I couldn't make it to the show, I was honored to be there.

    November 2020
  • Great festival. Great communication. My film was selected in the 2019 edition. One of the rare festivals to endorse the lesser exhibited 'slow' genre of films. A big thank you to everyone who made it happen, especially Peter.

    I'm gutted I could not attend this year. But I hope that I will be able to in the future.

    October 2019
  • Joshua Gleason

    I have nothing but great things to say about SSFF and their entire team. While I was unable to make it to the festival itself, everyone that I spoke to along the way was helpful and truly invested in making the event a great experience for the audience and filmmakers.

    They have a true passion for slow/contemplative cinema and were champions of all of the filmmakers from the moment our works were programmed. I look forward to attending a future installment.

    September 2018