After sold out screenings, insightful masterclasses and meaningful connections, the Clapham International Film Festival returns in November 2024.

CIFF exists to bring together high level filmmakers to showcase exceptional work, develop ideas and explore the mystery of reality through film.

We organise screenings in boutique cinemas and community spaces, put on Q+As with directors, instigate professional networking and invite participants to take part in our (free) Development Labs over the course of several months.

This time around we're also launching a virtual VoD festival in the week after our live event.

We are filmmakers, and are building a festival to create a community of likeminded people to come together in mutual support so that we can all get to where we want to go in our lives.

This is our 3rd edition, and the theme this time around is Freedom (3 - dom, but of course). We are introducing a 'New Intelligence' category for filmmakers using experimental technology to tell innovate cinematic stories. This category is free, but please don't take the mickey.

We welcome films of all persuasions from all places, and do not discriminate based on genre (we also love cover letters).

All submitters will be offered feedback on their work, whether successful or not. Our Development Labs are currently supporting filmmakers from around the world, and we are keen to support even more. There's a space for everyone, so join the party!

We hope to see you there.

Awards & Prizes

The festival has three prizes:

The Golden Fox, for winner of the festival; The White Rabbit, for one to watch; and The Grey Moth, for outstanding contribution by a crew member.

Our prizes are sculpted by a world renowned (although currently under-wraps) sculptor.

Rules & Terms

By submitting your film to the Clapham International Film Festival, you are entering into an agreement with all of the festival’s terms and conditions. Mainly, you’re agreeing that if we select your work, you grant us permission to exhibit your work in public and on our online platforms.

Entries are open to every filmmaker on Earth, and we have a local category for those who can demonstrate their connection to Clapham.

We wish to see films produced over the last 18 months. If you wish to submit older work, you will need to explain in your cover letter why it is vital for us to see your work at this point in time.

If you would like to premiere at CIFF, let us know so we can factor this into our thinking.

Submissions should be in English, or have English subtitles attached. If your film isn’t in English and doesn’t have any subtitles, our ability to evaluate it becomes compromised and we won’t be able to consider it.

We are only accepting submissions through FilmFreeway.

We will be carefully evaluating each and every submission, and will be selecting films that best align with our festival’s vision and theme. If you send a film into our free category and it doesn't align with what we are looking for in the category, we reserve the right to disqualify the film from consideration.

If you can't stump up the entrance fee email knock@ciff.uk and we can talk.

We wish to support all filmmakers regardless of submission status, and offer our feedback on all entries, if requested.

9 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Andrew Adams

    This fest is great! Don't be fooled by the fact that it's young and doesn't have a ton of reviews yet -- this one is up-and-coming and goin' places. The festival directors Simon and Ieva have a clear vision for the fest and are striving to build an artful, social, community-oriented film event. My feature played this past year and I wasn't able to go in-person due to the international travel costs, but Simon kept me looped into every step of the process and set up a virtual Q&A so that I could still interact with the audience. Their marketing was on-point (SUPER cool souvenir postcards printed on our behalf!), the screening was sold out, and audience members reached out to me afterwards. There also seemed to be a ton of VERY cool workshops on the schedule, and I was bummed that I couldn't join them. I'm hoping this fest keeps growing, because it's a cool community of people and I want excuses to go in-person next time!!

    November 2023
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  • Martin Sandin

    Brilliant. If you haven't gone go. Good communication and festival IRL looked great. Couldn't go this time, hoping there will be a next time for a film of mine. Submit now or forever miss out.

    November 2023
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  • Anna Brochmann

    Thank you so much Simon and Ieva for this experience. Taking part in this festival didn't only truly boost my confidence as a filmmaker, but also gave me so much inspiration and new ideas, and helped me to think more out of the box. I only had the chance to go to one of the masterclasses, and it was such a good one!! They had organised it really well too, and there was a great amount of time and space for networking, which I really appreciated, so it was all just really well put together and a great experience. Also really liked that films were screening at different venues, and the variation in films that was screening.

    November 2023
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  • Swen Werner

    I had the pleasure of attending the Clapham Film Festival and I must say it was an extraordinary experience. The organisers were not only knowledgeable about the film industry but also incredibly friendly and engaged. From start to finish, their attention to detail and passion for cinema shone through. It has been an absolute delight to be a part of this festival.

    November 2023
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  • Corinna Elleschild

    Fantastic festival run by fantastic people! Superb event, thoroughly enjoyed it, we'll see you again next year!

    November 2023
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