International Short Film Competition Programme Announcement

The Encounters Film Festival 2026 competition programme brings together 142 exceptional films from fresh voices and celebrated filmmakers around the world. The 31st edition showcases the very best in contemporary short film, spanning live action, animation and documentary across the Brief Encounters, Animated Encounters and Documentary Grand Prix competitions, the Children's Jury programmes and the DepicT! competition for films under 90 seconds.

71 Premieres and Films from 39 Countries

This year's selection features 71 premieres, including 17 world premieres, 7 international premieres and 47 UK premieres, with new work drawn from 39 countries, from Afghanistan and Cambodia to Mexico, Palestine, Taiwan and Ukraine. Half the competition has never been seen in the UK before, so audiences in Bristol will be among the very first anywhere to discover the next wave of cinematic talent.

The programme is headlined by the UK premiere of Paper Plane, the directorial debut of four-time Oscar nominee Saoirse Ronan, alongside new films from Oscar winner Aneil Karia (Vote Gavin Lyle), Oscar nominees Joshua Oppenheimer (The Revolution Against Death, UK premiere), Don Hertzfeldt (Paper Trail), Bill Morrison (Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon, UK premiere) and Jérémy Comte (Brute, UK premiere), plus Jamie Hewlett and Max Taylor’s Gorillaz film The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God.

Animation lovers can look forward to new work from Anna Mantzaris (PLEASE), Theodore Ushev (Life with an idiot), Anna Ginsburg (HAG), Emma Calder and Coco Cripps (House of Love) and Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski (The Girl Who Cried Pearls), while the documentary competition includes Maryam Tafakory’s Daria’s Night Flowers and Elham Ehsas’ Forgotten Spaceman. Viral filmmaking phenomenon Wesley Wang brings the international festival premiere of Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank.

Bristol and the South West are strongly represented, including the world premiere of Paul Holbrook’s Tor Lewa, Myles Kamwendo’s Why You Shouldn’t Date In Bristol and Rob Hifle’s RENO (European premiere).

The 2026 Official Selection celebrates the vitality of British filmmaking alongside cinema’s universal language, with premieres arriving from every corner of the globe.

Encounters Film Festival 2026, 23 to 27 September, Bristol. Buy passes now.

View the Encounters Film Festival 2026 film guide.

4 Wise Monkeys, dir. Xin Wang (France, China) UK Premiere
9 Million Colors, dir. Bára Anna Stejskalová (Czech Republic, Norway, Germany)
A Clayful Adventure, dir. Florrie Macleod (United Kingdom)
A Grand Night Out, dir. Elsie Lean (United Kingdom)
A Little Death, dir. Leto Meade, Jonathan Rockefeller (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
A Pint of Bitter, dir. Conor Kehelly (Ireland, United Kingdom)
A Shot At Art, dir. Ilke Paddenburg (Netherlands) UK Premiere
A Soft Touch, dir. Heather Young (Canada) UK Premiere
A Soil A Culture A River A People, dir. Viv Li (Germany, Belgium, China)
A Wonderful Neighbour, dir. Alun Rhys Morgan (Wales)
Action Bog, dir. Winston Hacking (Canada)
Adgwa-Ata, dir. Zsuzsanna Kreif (Hungary, France) UK Premiere
All the Real Boys, dir. Ohad Ira Amram (United States) International Premiere
At Night, dir. Marcus Söderlund (Sweden, United Kingdom) World Premiere
Babyface, dir. Sacha Beeley (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Ball Face, dir. Laurence Thérien (Canada, United Kingdom)
Birdie O Birdie, dir. Piaoyu Xie, Shuang Li (China) World Premiere
Bisou Sauvage, dir. Bahij Jaroudi (Canada) UK Premiere
Bla Bla Cry Cry, dir. David Junyent (Spain) World Premiere
Borderline, dir. Johannes Vang (Norway, Finland, Sweden) UK Premiere
Bread Will Walk, dir. Alex Boya (Canada)
Brute, dir. Jérémy Comte (Canada) UK Premiere
Buše, dir. Dalija Dozet (Croatia) UK Premiere
But I'm Your Brother, dir. Noah Morse (United States) International Premiere
Bwgan, dir. Hywel Pryterch Roberts (Wales, United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Cell Buddies, dir. Melle Windig, Hidde Alberts, Miguel Reyes, Jurgen de Smit, Arjen van der Plas (Netherlands)
City of Owls, dir. Zhenia Kazankina (France, Italy, Germany) UK Premiere
Clot, dir. Levi Stoops (Belgium)
Coyotes, dir. Said Zagha (France, Palestine, Jordan, United Kingdom)
Dance of The Spirits, dir. Andreea-Lorena Florea (United Kingdom)
Daria's Night Flowers, dir. Maryam Tafakory (Iran, United Kingdom, France)
Daylight, dir. Andrea A. Walter (United States) UK Premiere
Death's Peak, dir. Willy Fair (United Kingdom)
Dog Alone, dir. Marta Reis Andrade (Portugal, France)
Dollhouse Elephant, dir. Jenny Jokela (Finland)
Dropping Off, dir. Will Mayo, Ian Scott McGregor (United States) International Premiere
Ducks, dir. AJ Jefferies (United Kingdom)
Duet, dir. Léo Brunel (France)
Endo, dir. Eleanor Szydlowska (United Kingdom)
Enjoy Your Visit, dir. Erin Cramer (United States, United Kingdom) International Premiere
Ever Ending Summer, dir. Nikki Girod, Sylvia Jorde (Germany) UK Premiere
Extinction, dir. Molly Allen (Wales)
Fingerbang, dir. Kim Yeonwoo (South Korea)
Finished, dir. Rachel MacLean (Scotland) World Premiere
Foil Guy vs ANVIL, dir. Malcolm Lamont (United States)
For Those Who Love, Leave, and Love Again, dir. Paolo Laganà (Germany) UK Premiere
Forgotten Spaceman, dir. Elham Ehsas (United Kingdom, Afghanistan) UK Premiere
From Sidney, With Love, dir. East Elliott (United Kingdom)
Full Nest, dir. Elena Walf (Germany, Croatia)
Full Set, dir. Caitlin McCarthy (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Future Of…, dir. Scott Coello (United Kingdom)
Gaïa, dir. Gwenola Heck (Germany) UK Premiere
Grandma Nai Who Played Favorites, dir. Chheangkea (Cambodia, France, United States)
Gravity Racer, dir. Finn Walther (Norway) UK Premiere
Growing Stones, Flying Papers, dir. Roozbeh Gezerseh, Soraya Shamsi (Germany) UK Premiere
HAG, dir. Anna Ginsburg (United Kingdom)
Ham Wall, dir. Meghan Spurlock (United Kingdom, Portugal)
Happy New Year, dir. Radu Gaciu (Romania) World Premiere
House of Love, dir. Emma Calder, Coco Cripps (United Kingdom)
Hyena, dir. Altay Ulan Yang (China, United States)
I & Me, dir. Elizabeth Chatelain (United States) UK Premiere
I Beg Your Pardon, dir. John W. Lustig (United States)
I Have a, dir. Rory Waudby-Tolley (United Kingdom)
I'm Joey, dir. Matthew Wells (United Kingdom) World Premiere
I'm not sure, dir. Luisa Zürcher (Switzerland)
Imago, dir. Ariel Zengotita (United States, Canada) UK Premiere
Intimate Scenes, dir. Jakub Gomółka (Poland) World Premiere
Into The Betaverse, dir. Varun Raman, Tom Hancock (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Into The Forest, dir. Antonin Niclass (Switzerland)
Just My Luck, dir. Nicholas Pitts (United States) International Premiere
Just One Peek, dir. Mulan Fu (United States)
L'Avant-Poste 21, dir. Camille Surdez (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Land of No Man, dir. Muling Tzai, Olivia Lin (United States, Taiwan) UK Premiere
Life on the Line, dir. Vadim Vandenven (United Kingdom, United States) World Premiere
Life with an idiot, dir. Theodore Ushev (France)
Lost Touch, dir. Justine Klaiber (Switzerland)
Lovely, dir. Jasmine Blackborow (United Kingdom)
Loynes, dir. Dorian Jespers (Belgium, France, United Kingdom, North Macedonia)
Making a Mother, dir. Emily Downe (United Kingdom)
Meal Deal, dir. Niamh McArdle, Amy Mulcahy, Anaïs Kheir (United Kingdom)
Moderation, dir. Benedict Cohen (United Kingdom) World Premiere
Mr. Vapey Man, dir. Hugo Docking (United Kingdom)
Night Whispers, dir. Adrian Ramírez León (United Kingdom)
Nitpicker, dir. Luke McQueen (United Kingdom)
On Saint Nicholas' Eve, dir. Emy Mirel Ivașcă (Romania)
Once in a body, dir. María Cristina Pérez González (Colombia, United States)
Original Sin, dir. Amrou Al-Kadhi (United Kingdom)
Other I, dir. Alina Popescu (France)
Our Kingdom, dir. Chris Ross (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Paper Daughter, dir. Cami Kwan (United States) UK Premiere
Paper Plane, dir. Saoirse Ronan (United Kingdom, Ireland) UK Premiere
Paper Trail, dir. Don Hertzfeldt (United States)
Pickled, dir. Fanny Capu (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Please, dir. Anna Mantzaris (Sweden, France, Czech Republic, Norway, Finland)
POOB, dir. AJ Jefferies (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Poster Boy, dir. India Opzoomer (Canada, United States) UK Premiere
Praying Mantis, dir. Joe Hsieh (Taiwan)
Redman, dir. Edith Morris (United Kingdom, Norway)
Reno, dir. Rob Hifle (United Kingdom) European Premiere
Reset, dir. Matt Freeth (United Kingdom) World Premiere
Rotten, dir. Asli Bildirici (Netherlands) UK Premiere
Satanascabaña, dir. Natalia Martínez Mejía (Mexico) World Premiere
Sausage Poem, dir. Rob Ling (United Kingdom)
Sawyer Avenue, Sunday Afternoon, dir. Bill Morrison (United States) UK Premiere
Send Nudes, dir. David Sick (Germany)
Stuck, dir. Matt Nicholas (United Kingdom) World Premiere
Sub5, dir. Laura Kavanagh (Ireland) UK Premiere
Summer Ripples, dir. Yijian Shan (United States, China) UK Premiere
That's My Sister, dir. Zoé Pelchat (Canada) UK Premiere
The Cure, dir. Seán Connolly (Ireland)
The Death of the Fish, dir. Eva Lusbaronian (France) UK Premiere
The Devil Is In Me, dir. Tia Salisbury (United Kingdom)
The Dream Is a Snail, dir. Thien An Nguyen (Vietnam, South Korea) UK Premiere
The Flower Witch, dir. Zoë Hutber (United Kingdom) World Premiere
The Girl Who Cried Pearls, dir. Chris Lavis, Maciek Szczerbowski (Canada)
The Gleam, dir. Veras Fawaz (Netherlands) International Premiere
The Hedgehog, dir. Zuzanna Heller (Poland) UK Premiere
The Land Remains, dir. Boris Thompson-Roylance (United Kingdom)
The Midnight Witch, dir. Jon Dunleavy (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
The Mountain, The Moon Cave & The Sad God, dir. Jamie Hewlett, Max Taylor (United Kingdom)
The Pigs Underneath, dir. Charlie Dennis (United Kingdom)
The Revolution Against Death, dir. Joshua Oppenheimer (Denmark, Sweden) UK Premiere
The Rossini Garden, dir. William Burger, Tara Rewal, Siméon Jacob, Odelia Laine, Garance Mondamert, Mathilde Vergereau, Arthur Wong (France) UK Premiere
The Seeing Eye Dog Who Saw Too Much, dir. Eric Jackowitz (United States)
Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid, dir. Vyacheslav Turyanytsya (Ukraine, Netherlands)
Tor Lewa, dir. Paul Holbrook (United Kingdom) World Premiere
Trading Cards, dir. Radheya Jang (Australia, United Kingdom)
Trio, dir. Morten Borgestad, Fridtjof Stensæth Josefsen (Norway) UK Premiere
Ultra Strong, dir. Catherine Lepage (Canada) UK Premiere
Uncle Artoo, dir. Zoë Whittaker (United Kingdom)
Uncle Filmi, dir. Nazgol Kashani (Germany) World Premiere
Violet and Marlowe Rob a Bank, dir. Wesley Wang (United States) International Premiere
Vote Gavin Lyle, dir. Aneil Karia (United Kingdom)
Wavelength, dir. Kate Auster, Holly Warburton (United Kingdom)
We Were The Scenery, dir. Christopher Radcliff (United States, Canada)
Why Did Kai Stop Painting, dir. Hao Yu (Germany) World Premiere
Why You Shouldn't Date In Bristol, dir. Myles Kamwendo (United Kingdom)
Winter in March, dir. Natalya Mirzoyan (Estonia, Armenia, France, Belgium)
With Tapes and Toasts in the Car, dir. Kiana Naghshineh (Germany, France) UK Premiere
Work | Werk, dir. Janna Kemperman (Ireland) UK Premiere
Yo Yo, dir. Mohammadreza Mayghani (Iran, France) UK Premiere