Between the Blue & Green Film Festival

Join us for a four-day celebration of powerful storytelling by the sea in Worthing, West Sussex — where film meets sustainability and wellbeing.
Between the Blue & Green is a four-day film festival in Worthing dedicated to exploring sustainability and wellbeing through cinema. We champion bold, thought-provoking films that challenge perspectives and ignite conversation. Through inspiring screenings and engaging workshops, we invite audiences to connect with stories that motivate action, protect our planet, and enhance collective wellbeing.
Sustainability and wellbeing are at the core of BTBG, but we welcome films exploring a wide range of human experiences. Here are some suggestions:
• Human connection
• Relationships
• Mental health
• Suicide awareness
• Emotions
• Nature
• Natural disasters
• Climate refugees
• Public health
• Climate protests
• Pollution, plastic, and waste

Festival Highlights
This year’s festival presents four signature events designed to showcase creative filmmaking and spark meaningful dialogue:

• Short Film & Smartphone Competition & Screening – A platform for filmmakers to present their most powerful stories.
• Documentary and Wellbeing Screening + Filmmaker Q&A – Go behind the scenes and explore process and purpose with visionary filmmakers.
• Senior School Film Screening & Beach Clean – A one-of-a-kind experience combining impactful cinema with hands-on environmental action.
• Children’s Film Screening & Workshop – Engaging young audiences through creative filmmaking activities that inspire the next generation of storytellers and change-makers.
Explore past highlights:
https://betweentheblueandgreen.co.uk/

Making an Impact Through Film
Between the Blue & Green Film Festival goes beyond screening films — it inspires change. We spotlight powerful media stories that shift perspectives, raise awareness, and motivate action.
Festival venues: Various locations across central Worthing

Awards & Prizes

While there are no monetary prizes, winning films receive exclusive BTBG Film Festival handcrafted wooden award, selected film will receive laurels and will be featured across our social media channels and promotions.
All submissions are reviewed by an exceptional panel of judges:

• Richard Drew (Host) – Award-nominated Production Designer known for BBC’s The Witchfinder, Netflix’s After Life, and This Time with Alan Partridge.
• Paul Norris – Academy Award-winning VFX artist (Ex Machina) with credits including Bohemian Rhapsody and I Wanna Dance with Somebody.
• Em Davis – Marketing strategist with expertise in cross-platform storytelling and experience at the UK’s largest independent film festival.
• Mark Smith – Founder of Kalm Horizons, wellbeing expert, journalist, and international wellness editor promoting nature connection and stress reduction.
• Danielle Rotholi and Roberto Luis Ellis – Documentary filmmakers who won our Documentary category in 2023, returning as judges to share their insight and experience.

Award Categories
Best Short Film Competition
Best Short Film Presenter / Actress / Actor
Best Short Film Production Quality
Best Feature (Documentary or Drama)
Best Film for Children
Best Film for Beach Clean
Best Smartphone Film
Best Short Film for Sustainability
Best Short Film for Wellbeing

Judges’ Choice
A Judges’ Choice Award will recognize outstanding storytelling and impact across all submissions.

Judging Process & Reviews
• All films are evaluated using consistent criteria that reflect our festival’s mission to celebrate creativity, positivity, and craftsmanship at every level.
• Even the shortest films receive thoughtful attention from our review team.
• Feedback reviews are available upon request for a small fee (based on film length). Our goal is to support filmmakers and help their work evolve.

Rules & Terms

Does your film inspire action on sustainability or wellbeing? If so, we’d love to see it.
• All submissions must align with the festival’s themes listed above.
• Please include a short description explaining how your film connects to sustainability or wellbeing.
• Films must be in English or include English subtitles.
• All submitted works must be original, and filmmakers must own all rights (including music).
• By submitting, you grant Between the Blue & Green Film Festival permission to publicly screen your film if selected.
• Smartphone Category: Maximum runtime 3 minutes.
• Short Film Competition: Maximum runtime 10 minutes (some flexibility available — please contact us).
• Feature (Documentary or Drama): Runtime between 60–100 minutes.
14 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Nicole Betancourt

    Festivals like this connect us to local audiences around the world. It was such an honor to be a part of it. The post screening Q&A was moving and engaged - what every filmmaker wants. The stories we tell about nature change the landscape and we need more festivals like Between the Blue and Green Film Festival that connect environmental filmmakers with engaged audiences. Also, their awards this year were gorgeous carved slices of knotted wood!

    October 2025
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  • Matias de Sa Moreira

    Participating in the Between the Blue and Green Film Festival was a fantastic experience. Even though we couldn't attend, we were very impressed by the festival's unwavering support and commitment to films and filmmakers. Thank you very much. And what a joy to have won an award! It will help us find producers for the series adaptation.

    October 2025
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  • Clément Oberto

    Wonderful festival!

    Great communication and initiative. We were proud to have our film Sacrebleu - Chapter One screened to an audience of 130 kids before they headed out on a beach-cleaning adventure.

    Highly recommend!

    September 2025
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  • Melle Windig

    Thank you for giving the opportunity to share our short student stop motion animation Cell Buddies with your young audience and even awarding it with Best Children Short Film. Unfortunately we could not attend but the communication was thoughtful and great and the event looked awesome on social media.

    September 2025
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  • Carolina Bermúdez

    Such a lovely festival! We were so excited to win the award for Best Short Film for Children and Best Short Film Production Design for our film Sprout.

    I’m still telling people about the incredible experience we had. I absolutely love everything this festival stands for in supporting the environment while educating audiences about mindfulness and sustainability. It was a great opportunity to connect with other filmmakers who are passionate about climate change and to get to share our animated work with kids. We hope they love Sprout as much as we do!

    Thank you so much to Nicola and her team for being so kind and providing great communication throughout the whole festival process. You were so welcoming and supportive! We’re so grateful for your hard work and creating fun opportunities like this one for young filmmakers around the world! Looking forward to the next festival.

    January 2025
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