SCREEN GUIDE: Film Festivals in London (A to Z)
SCREEN GUIDE: Looking for Film Festivals in London? We’re doing all the hunting so you don’t have to. Here’s our comprehensive listing (A to Z // beta version).
Film festivals can deliver rich rewards for lovers of adventurous moving pictures. However, the variety of film festivals in London can be overwhelming. Many official sites are partial in their coverage and listings are frequently out of date. The term ‘festival’ is used to describe very different attractions from DIY community weekenders to heavyweight industry affairs.
This is our attempt at putting London’s film festivals into one simple listing. There’s world, documentary and short form cinema as well as diverse stories of people and places. A small number of events feature experimental strands – we’ll try to map these features in future updates.
Our simple test for inclusion is that a festival has an up to date website (please!) and active social media. Festivals that only exist socially (e.g. Facebook events) are harder for us to check, as are those that screen away from cinemas we check regularly. Working out what will happen every year, over alternate years or might never happen again will take more time…
BETA VERSION: We’ll update as we go, add some extra functionality and review the entire list annually. There will be a lot of clicking and checking.
FILM FESTIVALS IN LONDON (A-Z)
| FESTVAL | FOCUS | DATES (last/next) | WEBSITE | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture Film Festival | Moving image & the built environment. | 06 to 11 JUN '17 | www.archfilmfest.uk | @ArchFilmFestUK | @archfilmfestuk |
| BFI FLARE | LGBT cinema. | 22 MAR to 01 APR '18 | www.bfi.org.uk/flare | @BFI | @britishfilminstitute |
| BFI London Film Festival | New film. | 04 to 15 OCT '17 | www.bfi.org.uk | @BFI | @britishfilminstitute |
| Breaking The Legacy Film Festival | African Holocaust Remembrance Day. | 10 to 31 AUG '17 | www.blackhistorystudies.com | @BlkHistStudies | @blackhistorystudies |
| British Urban Film Festival | Urban independent cinema. | 06 to 12 SEP '17 | www.britishurbanfilmfestival.co.uk | @buffenterprises | @buffenterprises |
| Chinese Visual Festival | Contemporary Chinese language film & art. | 02 to 11 MAY '17 | www.chinesevisualfestival.org | @CVF_london | @cvf_london |
| Cinema Made In Italy | Italian film & film made in Italy. | 01 to 05 MAR '17 | www.institut-francais.org.uk/cine-lumiere/ | @iiclondra | |
| Crystal Palace International Film Festival | World independent film. | 27 OCT to 18 NOV '17 | www.cpiff.co.uk | @CrystalPalaceFF | |
| Doc 'N Roll Festival | Music documentary film. | 02 to 19 NOV '17 | www.docnrollfestival.com | @docnrollfest | @docnrollfilms |
| East End Film Festival | British & international cinema. | 11 to 29 APRIL '17 | www.eastendfilmfestival.com | @EastEndFilmFest | @eastendfilmfest |
| Essay Film Festival | Essay film as criticism. | 24 MAR to 01 APR '17 | www.essayfilmfestival.com | ||
| Kinoteka | Polish cinema. | 17 MAR to 05 APR '17 | www.kinoteka.org.uk | @PLInst_London | |
| Fashion In Film | Exploring fashion & film. | 11 to 26 MAR '17 | www.fashioninfilm.com | @FashionFilmFest | @fashioninfilmfestival |
| Film Africa | African cinema from the continent & diaspora. | 27 OCT to 05 NOV '17 | www.filmafrica.org.uk | @ FilmAfrica | @filmafrica |
| Frames of Representation | New perspectives in documentary cinema. | 21 to 29 APR '17 | www.framesofrepresentation.com | @framesofrep | |
| Free Film Festivals | Neighbourhood festivals. | VARIOUS | www.freefilmfestivals.org | @freefilmfests | |
| French Film Festival UK | Francophone cinema. | 02 NOV to 17 DEC '17 | www.frenchfilmfestival.org.uk | @lefrenchfilmfes | |
| Frightfest | Horror cinema. | 24 to 28 AUG '17 | www.frightfest.co.uk | @frightfest | @horrorchannelfrightfest |
| Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Fest | LGBTIQA+ stories. | 14 to 19 NOV '17 | www.fringefilmfest.com | @ fringefilmfest | @ fringefilmfest |
| GFEST | LGBTQI film, performance, art & debate. | 13 to 25 NOV '17 | www.gaywisefestival.org.uk | @GFEST | @GFEST |
| Human Rights Watch Film Festival | Human rights abuses. | 06 to 17 MAR '17 | www.ff.hrw.org/london | @hrwfilmfestival | @hrwfilmfestival |
| Irish Film London | Irish film & animation. | 29 NOV to 03 DEC '17 | www.irishfilmfestivallondon.com | @irishfilmlondon | @irishfilmlondon |
| I Will Tell International Film Festival | Films about the 'other'. | 30 AUG to 09 SEP '17 | www.iwilltell.com | @iwilltell | |
| LOCO Film Festival | International comedy film. | 04 to 07 MAY '17 | www.locofilmfestival.com | @locofilmfest | @locofilmfestival |
| London Asian Film Festival | South Asian art & film. | 09 to 19 MAR '17 | www.tonguesonfire.com | @cometoLAFF | @londonasianfilmfestival |
| London Drone Film Festival | Creative skills of drone pilots. | 25 SEP '17 | www.londondronefilmfestival.com | @LDRONEFILMFEST | |
| London East Asia Film Festival | Collaboration & diversity in East Asian filmmaking. | 19 to 29 OCT '17 | www.leaff.org.uk | @LEAFilmFest | @leafilmfest |
| London Experimental Film Festival | Experimental film. | 03 DEC '17 | www.londonexperimental.org | @londexpfilmfes | |
| London Feminist Film Festival | Feminist films from women directors. | 17 to 20 AUG '17 | www.londonfeministfilmfestival.com | @ldnfemfilmfest | |
| London Greek Film Festival | Modern Greek film. | 14 to 20 MAY '17 | www.londongreekfilmfestival.com | @londongff | |
| London Indian Film Festival | Indian independent film. | 22 to 29 Jun '17 | www.londonindianfilmfestival.co.uk | @LoveLIFF | @loveliff |
| London International Animation Festival | The spectrum of creative animation. | 01 to 10 DEC '17 | www.liaf.org.uk | @londonanimation | |
| London Korean Film Festival | Korean cinema. | 26 OCT to 19 NOV '17 | www.koreanfilm.co.uk | @ koreanfilmfest | @ london_korean_film_festival |
| London Porn Film Fest | Sex positive queer film. | 07 to 09 APR '17 | www.thehorsehospital.com | ||
| London Short Film Festival | Independent short film. | 12 to 21 JAN '18 | www.shortfilms.org.uk | @LSFF | @ londonshortfilmfest |
| London Spanish Film Festival | Contemporary Spanish cinema. | 21 to 24 SEPT '17 | www.londonspanishfilmfestival.com | @LSFFest | @londonspanishfilmfestival |
| London Surf Film Festival | Surf film, art & culture. | 19 to 21 OCT '17 | www.londonsurffilmfestival.com | @LonSurfFilmFest | @londonsurffilmfest |
| Made In Prague | Films, visual arts, literature, theatre & music. | 08 NOV to 06 DEC '17 | www.london.czechcentres.cz | @ CzechCentreLnd | @ czechcentrelondon |
| Native Spirit Film Festival | Indigenous film, native mediamakers. | 12 to 21 OCT '17 | www.nativespiritfoundation.org | @NativeSpiritUK | |
| Ocean Film Festival | Films from above & below the surface. | 16 to 21 OCT '17 | www.oceanfilmfestival.co.uk | @ OceanFilmFestUK | @ oceanfilmfestuk |
| Open City Documentary Festival | Creative documentary & non-fiction film. | 04 to 09 SEP '18 | www.opencitylondon.com | @OpenCityDocs | @opencitydocs |
| Origins Festival of First Nations | World indigenous cultures. | 10 to 25 JUN '17 | www.originsfestival.bordercrossings.org.uk | @BorderCrossings | @border_crossings |
| Oz Film Festival | New & classic Australian film. | 30 JUN to 02 JUL '17 | www.ozfilmfest.com | @OZfilmfest | @ozfilmfestival |
| Raindance Film Festival | Independent film. | 19 to 30 SEP '18 | www.raindance.org | @raindance | @raindance_film_festival |
| Russian Film Week | Russian themed films. | 19 to 26 NOV '17 | www.russianfilmweek.org | @rfw_uk | @russian_film_week |
| Scalarama | National celebration of cinema. | 01 to 30 SEP '18 | www.scalarama.com | @scalarama | @scalarama |
| Sci-Fi London Film Festival | Science fiction & fantastic film. | 27 APR to 06 MAY | www.sci-fi-london.com | @scifilondon | |
| SERET London Israeli Film Festival | Israeli film & television. | 11 to 18 MAY '17 | www.seret-international.org | @SERET_Films | |
| Shubbak Festival | Contemporary Arab culture. | 01 to 16 JUL '17 | www.shubbak.co.uk | @shubbakfestival | @shubbakfestival |
| Sundance Film Festival: London | Independent film. | 01 to 04 June '17 | www.picturehouses.com | @sundancefestuk | |
| UK International Jewish Film Festival | Jewish & Israeli film. | 09 to 26 NOV '17 | www.ukjewishfilm.org | @UKJewishFilm | |
| UK Iranian Film Festival | Iranian film. | 27 OCT to 01 NOV '17 | www.ukiff.org.uk | @ifru_london | @ifru_london |
| Underwire Film Festival | Female talent across the film crafts. | 22 to 26 NOV '17 | www.underwirefestival.com | @underwirefest | @underwirefest |
| Utopia Film Festival | Portuguese film. | 13 NOV to 01 DEC '17 | www.utopiafestival.org.uk | @Portuguesefilm | |
| Walthamstow International Film Festival | Short film. | 04 JUN '17 | www.walthamstowinternationalfilmfestival.com | @e17filmfest | |
| Women of the Lens | Black women & women of colour in the UK creative industries. | 24 to 26 NOV '17 | www.womenofthelens.com | @WomenOfTheLens |
WHAT HAVE WE MISSED?
No list would be complete without the ones we’ve missed… Let us know any corrections and inclusions using the comments below or contact RADIANT CIRCUS here.
#shelterfromthestorm
Featured image: ANTI MATTER (2016) screened at Sci-Fi London 2017.