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ABOUT ENCOUNTERS

Encounters is Bristol's international gathering place for film culture. Our annual film festival is home to the UK's longest-running short film competition — a global platform for the boldest emerging filmmaking talent in the world.

Founded in 1995 to mark the centenary of cinema, Encounters is a qualifying festival for BAFTA, BIFA, and the European Film Awards. The festival takes place each September on Bristol's harbourside, in a UNESCO City of Film, bringing together filmmakers, audiences, and industry from across the world.

The festival's centrepiece is its international short film competition, which screens over 200 new films drawn from more than 50 countries across competitive and curated programmes spanning fiction, documentary, animation, and experimental work. The 2025 programme featured 44 premieres, including 33 UK premieres, with world and international premieres from China, Kazakhstan, Poland, Norway, and the USA. Submissions are accepted from filmmakers worldwide.

Encounters has launched the careers of some of the most significant filmmakers working today. Alumni include Denis Villeneuve (Dune, Arrival), Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness, Force Majeure), Julia Ducournau (Raw, Titane), Joachim Trier (The Worst Person in the World, Sentimental Value), Rungano Nyoni (I Am Not a Witch), Charlotte Wells (Aftersun), Molly Manning-Walker (How to Have Sex), and Radu Jude (Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn), among many others.

The festival's wider programme features talks, masterclasses, and conversations with leading figures from film and the wider screen industries. Past headline guests have included Oscar-winning screenwriter and director Charlie Kaufman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Being John Malkovich), director Michel Gondry (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, The Science of Sleep), Hayao Miyazaki, Ray Harryhausen, Andrea Arnold, and Matt Groening. Past jury members include Andrea Arnold, Jenn Nkiru, Jennifer Reeder, and Bisha K Ali. Encounters is a recognised industry gathering point; the 2025 festival drew professionals from Netflix, the BBC, Channel 4, Bad Wolf, the BFI, Aardman, and talent agencies including Curtis Brown and Casarotto Ramsay, among many others.

Encounters works in partnership with leading organisations across the UK screen industries, including BBC Writers, Aardman, Bottle Yard Studios, the BFI, the British Council, the National Film and Television School, Bristol Beacon, Watershed, and Arnolfini.

Bristol's spirit of radical independence shapes everything about Encounters. There are no exclusive parties or formal black-tie events, just filmmakers and film-lovers from Bristol and beyond coming together around one shared passion. It's a festival where chance meetings and conversations have sparked countless collaborations and careers.

Encounters is a not-for-profit organisation and registered charity (no. 1058603).