BIFA QUALIFYING FESTIVAL - 2026 CALL FOR ENTRIES NOW OPEN!

Greetings from Worcester International Film Festival! We are committed to introducing the best of indie film to our region by championing and nurturing talent both upcoming and established. We're proud to be a festival for film lovers and filmmakers alike, creating a meaningful film presence right here in the heart of the UK.

What to expect:
Multiple screens at ODEON cinema, industry talks & workshops, pitching events, networking film socials, filmmaker Q&As, podcast interviews, special presentations/preview screenings, all culminating in an awards ceremony.

We're looking forward to welcoming back familiar faces as well as getting to know all those we’ve yet to meet in 2026. We hope to see you there...

WHY WORCESTER FILM FESTIVAL?
With over 12,000 festivals listed on this platform alone, we appreciate that festival runs are becoming increasingly difficult for filmmakers to plan, navigate or create robust strategies for. Our team have all worked in filmmaking, so we know how that feels to try and find festivals that genuinely engage, have filmmaker's best interests at their core and don't exploit, especially in times with ever tightening budgets.

This is why our aim is to deliver a festival that is a valuable and authentic experience for our filmmakers and attendees. We want to champion you and are invested in your ongoing success. We do this by focussing three specific areas - Community, Industry and Education.

Community: Over the years we have built a warm and welcoming group of film lovers and filmmakers that support each other and their projects. This grows and grows with each festival and with year round events and networking, we are seeing even more of the local community engaging. From 2022 to present our attendees have grown from 250 to 1,600, we feel this is a testament to our ethos, open communication and our transparency.

Industry: Each edition we try and identify which areas of the industry filmmakers would like to learn more about or which areas they find barriers for. From there, we plan events that put filmmakers in front of the right guests and industry specialists - ranging across distribution, casting, pitching, visual effects and composing. We've also seen many filmmakers make connections that have led to collaborations and co-productions.

Education: Students are the next generation of the industry and it is important to us to showcase them and build retention in our area for those studying here. Our student category offers lower rates for this reason with further discounts for students from local institutions. Over every festival, we've been fortunate to have driven and engaged students volunteer with us and through the connections they've created there, have gone on to make or be part of Officially Selected films at subsequent editions.

We're always happy to answer any questions, so feel free to drop us a line via email.
If you want to see what other filmmakers have said about our event, just read the reviews!

Our Previous Partners, Patrons, Guests and Supporters:
Martin Freeman (The Hobbit), Ralph Ineson (Fantastic Four), Patrick Fabian (Better Call Saul), Mathew Horne (Gavin & Stacey), Murray Gold (composer of Doctor Who), Stuart Conran (Prosthetics Effects Designer of Shaun of the Dead), Emma Mason (Mister Smith Entertainment), Sasha Damjanovski (Pitching Specialist)

BAFTA, ODEON, BFI, BBC, StudioCanal, Signature Entertainment, Mister Smith Entertainment, Film Hub Midlands, Royal Television Society Midlands, Create Central, The Film Orchestra, Raindance Film Festival, Reel Brum, Rural Media & Rural Studios, Sandstorm Films, The Glacé Film Club, Industrial Light & Magic, Filming in England, CREW Birmingham, Worcestershire Film Office, Birmingham Film & Television Market, Dark Matter Films, University of Worcester, Heart of Worcestershire College, Worcester City Council, Worcestershire County Council

Awards & Prizes

Bespoke Trophies will be given at our Awards Ceremony.

Film Categories:

Best British Feature Film
Best International Feature Film
Best British Short Film
Best International Short Film
Best Midlands Film
Best Student Film
Best Emerging Filmmaker
Best Documentary Film
Best Animated Film
Best Comedy Film
Best After Dark Film
Best Music Video

Craft Categories:

Best Screenplay
Best Performance
Best Supporting Performance
Best Director
Best Cinematographer
Best Costume Designer
Best Editor
Best Special Effects
Best Hair & Make-Up
Best Production Designer
Best Sound Design
Best Composer
The Audience Award

Rules & Terms

Films must not have had a UK commercial release prior to submission.
Short films must be under 40 minutes
Feature films must be 40 minutes or longer.

The Festival welcomes all forms of film production – animation, experimental, etc. However, promotional films are not eligible (e.g. films promoting tourism, charitable appeals, etc.)⁣
- The Festival does not require your films to have premiere status (however if this does apply please let us know).
- Films that are available to purchase in the UK are NOT eligible; this includes VOD/DVD/Blu-ray/VHS formats.⁣
- It is the sole responsibility of the Entrant to secure clearance from the copyright holders of any copyrighted materials included within the submitted Film. The Festival or Venues will not be held responsible for the unauthorised inclusion of any copyrighted materials within or relating to the submitted Film.
- The Festival reserves the right to disqualify, without reimbursement, any Films that do not adhere to these terms.

- To be eligible for competitions, films must have been completed after 1st January 2025. If your film was completed before this date you will still be eligible for selection but not competition.
- Please note that films submitted through the incorrect category will not be considered.
- THE FESTIVAL DOES NOT PAY SCREENING FEES FOR SUBMITTED FILMS.⁣

Non-English language films⁣:

To qualify for selection, all non-English language films must have an English-subtitled screening copy available.⁣

BIFA QUALIFYING RULES & ELIGIBILITY:

Worcester Film Festival is a short film qualifying festival for BIFA. To see if your project is eligible for the BIFA Awards, please carefully read the information in the link below.
https://www.bifa.film/about/rules-and-eligibility/bifa-2025-short-film-entries/

How to send your film⁣:

Please submit your film via the online submission platform, FilmFreeway. WE DO NOT ACCEPT FILMS OTHER THAN VIA THIS PLATFORM.⁣

Notification⁣:

Due to the large amount of submissions received, the Festival will only contact those filmmakers with work selected for competitions and notification will be given by July 2026. The Festival cannot offer feedback regarding films that are not selected for the programme. Please don’t be discouraged if your film is not accepted to Worcester Film Festival. There are often many influencing factors on why your film may or may not be accepted or be suitable for the Festival.⁣

Using extracts of the films and film stills for promotion⁣:

The Entrant agrees that up to three minutes of their film may be used by the Festival in promotional activities including screening a clip on television, inclusion in the Festival’s trailer, and on the Festival’s website. Please ensure that uploaded stills and headshots are of print quality and that you have permission to allow the Festival to use these for promotional and press purposes in perpetuity. ⁣

Unsolicited submissions, waivers and discounts⁣:

The Festival respectfully requests that Entrants do not send a DVD directly to the Festival, do not send unsolicited Vimeo etc., links to Festival staff, and do not appeal for fee waivers unless there are extenuating factors that means you require one. The issuing of a waiver will then be at the discretion of the Festival. The modest fees are necessary to ensure that all films are viewed and fairly considered, as well as to support the costs of curation and Festival delivery.⁣

General⁣:

Acceptance of these Terms and Conditions implies that the Entrant will abide by them in their dealings with the Festival and also that the Entrant is legally entitled to submit the film for consideration. Entry to the Festival implies that the Entrant has the right to do so, has pre-cleared all materials that comprise the film, and is an authorised representative of the team that holds the intellectual property in the film.⁣

Entering a film to Worcester Film Festival implies the acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.⁣

The Festival wishes all potential Entrants the best of luck with their submission and their film.⁣

The Festival reserves the right to change the Terms and Conditions at any time.⁣
⁣
Updated August 2025.⁣

57 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Hayden Mclean

    Although we couldn't attend in person, the festival was extremely warm communicative with a great lineup of films alongside ours! Would 100% submit future work to this wonderful festival!

    February 2026
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  • Edward Tramaseur

    We had a great time at the Worcester Film Festival to screen our film The Joy of Falling. The networking events and other events the festival runs are really useful for filmmakers of all levels. Definitely looking forward to going back to Worcester for future editions of the festival!

    October 2025
    Helpful
  • Jorge Morais

    Although we weren’t able to attend in person, we’d like to sincerely thank the Worcester Film Festival for the wonderful opportunity to share our animated short film In Half.
    It’s been a truly positive experience for our project, and we feel honoured to have been part of such a thoughtfully curated and diverse programme. Our heartfelt congratulations to the entire festival team for creating such a welcoming and meaningful space for filmmakers from around the world. The care and dedication behind every detail was clearly felt.
    This is a festival we wholeheartedly recommend to anyone who loves independent cinema and is looking for a genuine platform to showcase their work.*****+
    Thank you once again, Worcester Film Festival, for helping our story travel even further

    October 2025
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  • Louis Lampard

    Absolutely loved my time at Worcester Film festival the team made the entire event so easy and special! Couldn’t be prouder to be featured among so many great films.

    October 2025
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  • Sunny Bahia

    Loved this festival, great communication from the beginning, elevated social media offering. The festival itself was really well run, screenings in big-sized cinemas, good range of events cumulating in an amazing awards gala. Big thanks to Kirstie, Hendrik and the whole team for all their passion and hard-work.

    October 2025
    Helpful