The World Cinema Film Festival is a celebration of culture and community through a universal love of film - brought to you by London based production company Bluebird Pictures. Bluebird is founded by writer and director Joelle Mae David (Dreaming Whilst Black - BBC3, A24, Showtime and Queenie - Channel 4/ Disney)

Over three days we screen short films from around the world that represent some of best in world cinema. This is accompanied by industry talks, an opportunity to feast on local cuisine from our global food stalls and networking - making it a truly inclusive and special festival.

The World Cinema Film Festival has a summer festival atmosphere that will allow attendees to pick and choose which talks and screenings they view, with lots of opportunity to network and try out new food and drink. At the end of the festival we have an amazing award ceremony for our winners from the selected films.

In September 2022 we will be hosting the festival at a brand new building in Barking, East London called Make It Barking - taking over the entire ground floor for three days. Our opening night will be curated by local events company One Room, and will feature a selection of short films in the event space, with music, food and drinks in the main restaurant/ bar area. The following two days will host our short film showcases, alongside industry guest speakers. £1 of every ticket sold this year will be donated to the Future Youth Zone and pay for lunches for kids.

Awards & Prizes

ALL selected films will play in the festival and be voted for by a panel of industry experts as best in category, for the following prizes:

SHORT FILM WINNER:
(A selection of the following)
Industry standard Final Draft screenwriting software worth $250
Meeting with and industry pro
Pitching session with a producer
Screening in
London
Opportunity for representation with US based talent management company Emagine Content
Free membership with Backstage Casting

SHORT DOCUMENTARY WINNER:
(A selection of the following)
Industry standard Final Draft screenwriting software worth $250
Meeting with and industry pro
Pitching session with a producer
Screening in London
Opportunity for representation with US based talent management company Emagine Content
Free membership with Backstage Casting

SHORT ANIMATION WINNER:
(A selection of the following)
Industry standard Final Draft screenwriting software worth $250
Meeting with and industry pro
Pitching session with a producer
Screening in London
Opportunity for representation with US based talent management company Emagine Content
Free membership with Backstage Casting

CHILDREN SHORT WINNER:
(A selection of the following)
Industry standard Final Draft screenwriting software worth $250
Meeting with an industry pro
Pitching session with a producer
Screening in London
Opportunity for representation with US based talent management company Emagine Content
Free membership with Backstage Casting

FEATURE FILM AWARD
Award
Screening
Meeting with an industry pro
More TBC

Our previous winners had meetings with the following industry professionals:

Concept artist for Wonder Woman Po Sing Chu
Director of Photography for Game of Thrones Fabian Wagner
Writer and producer of hit Channel 4 show Humans Jonathan Brackley
Literary agent from Curtis Brown Kat Buckle
Director and writer Koby Adom
Writers of the new Mulan movie Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek

And many more..

Rules & Terms

-Short Films must be under 20 minutes
-Feature Films must be over 40 minutes
-No premiere status required
-Unfortunately we cannot offer any fee waivers
-Any genre is accepted in each category

11 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Julie Mayhew

    Great to be part of a festival that is investing in future filmmakers. Really excited to see how WCFF develops. Thanks for including FOR MUM in your line-up.

    October 2023
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  • Funke Alafiatayo

    Honoured that my short film 'Everything's Fine' was selected to screen at WCFF 2022 amongst other wonderful films. Great communication, the team are very friendly, and the panel speakers were fantastic. Highly recommend this festival!

    February 2023
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  • Joshua David Blum

    We are honored that our film, Boys Clap, Girls Dance, was chosen to show at World Cinema Film Festival making it our London Premiere. We are beyond words and exuberant that it was awarded Best Animation Short. We are grateful to this festival jury and to all those organize it - who took a chance on filmmakers who are still getting underway in establishing themselves as artists in the world of animation. Thank you so much!

    October 2022
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  • Jonas Myrstrand

    Great to be a part at the festival with our VR-film, so inspiring!

    October 2022
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  • CHiMaeRa FiLMS

    Very grateful to have had Starboy selected to this brilliant and unusual festival that featured so many talented filmmakers with diverse voices. And also, behind it, is a caring, wonderful and thoughtful team of people led by Joelle Dae David & Bluebird Pictures. Great festival to be part of. Thank you again.

    October 2021
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