Encounters reveals first look at 2023 programme  

From over 4,000 films submitted, Encounters Film Festival are proud to announce the list of films in our 2023 programme!

With over 80 films competing in 16 eclectic programmes, films have been programmed into National, International and South West competitions, as well as Out of Competition programmes comprising of our much-loved Late Lounge and Children’s Jury. Expect works which explore sincere human connections, complex geographical identities, techno-memory, hyperpolitics and much, much more.

This year’s programmes were carefully curated by Ren Scateni, Encounters’ Head of Programme, along with our team of Preselectors : Florian Fernandez, Jonathan Bygraves, Philippa Walusimbi, Alonso Aguilar, Annabel Bai Jackson, Monica Wat, Milo Clenshaw, Patrycja Loranc, Isaac Holmes and Theo Panagopolous.

Our 29th annual festival will run from 27 September to 1 October at Watershed, Bristol. Stay tuned for our soon-to-be-announced industry programme, DepicT! and packed schedule of evening events. In the meantime, you can explore the competition programmes and selected films below, and grab your festival or discovery pass.

South West Competition

Bedroom scenes, Directed by Katy Shepherd // UK // 2022

Come on Pilgrim, Directed by Marcy Suade // UK // 2022

Distressing images, Directed by Sam Dawe // UK // 2023

Dowr Tamar / Great Water, Directed by Samuel Bestwick // UK // 2023

First Timers, Directed by Hector Bell // UK // 2022

Goodbye Python, Directed by Frankie Milo Fox // UK // 2023

Homegrown, Directed by Corinne Walker // UK // 2023

Microwave, Directed by Anastasia Bruce -Jones // UK // 2023

Middle Watch, Directed by John Stevenson, Aiesha Penwarden // UK // 2022

Rapture, Directed by Em Smith // UK // 2022

Rhizome, Directed by Daniel Camargo-Grosso // UK // 2023

Spines, Directed by Joseph Inman // UK // 2023

Throng, Directed by William Clarke // UK // 2022

Trengellick Rising, Directed by Guy Potter // UK // 2023

Wicked & Bad, Directed by Toni Lotta Groner // UK // 2023

National Competition

45th Parallel, Directed by Lawrence Abu Hamdan // UK // 2022

A Band Apart, Directed by Ruth Negasa Hunduma // UK // 2023

Being seen, Directed by Ren Faulkner // UK // 2023

Black Strangers, Directed by Dan Guthrie // UK // 2022

For people in trouble, Directed by Alex Lawther // UK // 2023

Fuar: A Counter-Memory, Directed by Ezgi Ozbakkaloglu // UK // 2022

Institution, Directed by Cole Morris // UK // 2022

Jellyfish and Lobster, Directed by Yasmin Afifi // UK // 2023

Jill, Uncredited, Directed by Anthony Ing // UK // 2022

Johnny Barnes, Directed by Alex Etchart // UK // 2023

Killing Boris Johnson, Directed by Musa Alderson-Clarke // UK // 2022

Kitchen Sink Fantasy, Directed by Heath Virgoe // UK // 2022

Muntjac, Directed by Finn Darrell // UK // 2023

Neo Nahda, Directed by May Ziadé // UK // 2023

Original Skin, Directed by Mdhamiri á Nkemi // UK // 2023

Outlets, Directed by Duncan Cowles // UK // 2022

Something More Than Masquerade, Directed by Shamica Ruddock // UK // 2022

Sweet Like Lemons, Directed by Jenny Jokela // UK // 2023

The Archive : Queer Nigerians, Directed by Simisolaoluwa Akande // UK // 2023

The Möbius Trip, Directed by Simone Smith // UK // 2023

There’s Not Much We Can Do, Directed by Erica Monde // UK // 2022

Untitled, Directed by Sweatmother // UK // 2022

White Ant, Directed by Shalini Adnani // UK // 2023

World To Roam, Directed by Stephen Irwin // UK // 2023

Yellow, Directed by Elham Ehsas // UK // 2023

International Competition

2nd person, Directed by Rita Barbosa // Portugal // 2023

All My Scars Vanish in the Wind, Directed by Angélica Restrepo, Carlos Velandia // Colombia // 2022

Atopia, Directed by Olivier De Vos // Belgium // 2022

Baigal Nuur / Lake Baikal, Directed by Alisi Telengut // Canada // 2023

Beautiful Figures, Directed by Soetkin Verstegen // Belgium // 2023

Cabbage, Directed by Holly Márie Parnell // Canada, Ireland, UK // 2023

Cherries, Directed by Vytautas Katkus // Lithuania // 2022

Crater, Directed by Adina Camhy // Austria // 2022

Dildotectonics, Directed by Tomás Paula Marques // Portugal // 2023

Empty Rooms, Directed by Zhenia Kazankina // Russia // 2023

Fantasy in a Concrete Jungle, Directed by Mehedi Mostafa // Bangladesh // 2022

Flores del otro Patio, Directed by Jorge Cadena // Switzerland // 2022

Garden of Remembrance, Directed by Naoko Yamada // Japan // 2022

Hardly Working, Directed by Total Refusal // Austria // 2022

Headprickles, Directed by Katarzyna Miechowicz // Poland // 2022

Horse, Directed by Diana Yue Gong // United States // 2022

I Promise you Paradise, Directed by Morad Mostafa // Egypt // 2023

Incidences, Directed by Mischa Hedinger, Michela Flück // Switzerland // 2022

Issues with My Other Half, Directed by Anna Vasof // Austria // 2022

L’escale / The Stopover, Directed by Collectif Faire-Part // The Democratic Republic of Congo // 2022

La Linea Del Terminatore / The Ender Line, Directed by Gabriele Biasi // Italy // 2023

La Ultima Ascensión, Directed by Kevin Osepa // The Netherlands // 2022

Lake of Fire, Directed by Neozoon Collective // Germany // 2023

Luzonensis Osteoporosis, Directed by Glenn Barit // Philippines // 2022

Mast-del, Directed by Maryam Tafakory // Iran, UK // 2023

NYC RGB, Directed by Viktoria Schmid // Austria // 2023

Our Pain, Directed by Shunsaku Hayashi // Japan // 2022

Pacific Club, Directed by Valentin Noujaïm // France, Qatar // 2023

Paradiso, XXXI, 108, Directed by Kamal Aljafari // Palestine // 2022

Porcupine, Directed by Nicolas Graux, Quý Trương Minh // Belgium // 2023

Remember How I Used to Ride a White Horse, Directed by Ivana Bosnjak Volda, Thomas Johnson Volda // Croatia // 2023

Sensitive Content, Directed by Narges Kalhor // Germany // 2023

Silent Chirping of Invisible Digits, Directed by Vera Sebert // Germany // 2023

Skyscraper Film, Directed by Federica Foglia // Canada // 2023

Strangers in the Dark, Directed by Jenni Pystynen, Perttu Inkilä // Finland // 2023

Sunspots, Directed by Yannick Mosimann // Switzerland // 2022

The Crowd, Directed by Pelin Kirca // Turkey // 2022

The Eyeball Person, Directed by Yuri Muraoka // Japan // 2023

The Fruit Tree, Directed by Isabelle Tollenaere // Belgium // 2022

The Ghost from Mariupol, Directed by Marie Chemin // Switzerland // 2023

The Maestrat on Film, Directed by Fermín Sales // Spain // 2023

Out of Competition

Acid Green, Directed by EXYL // Singapore // 2023

Chomp it!, Directed by Marck Chua, Li Shuen Lam // Singapore // 2023

Cock, Directed by Robin Jensen // Norway // 2023

Crab Day, Directed by Ross Stringer // UK // 2023

FROM.BEYOND, Directed by Fredrik S. Hana // Norway // 2022

House Party, Directed by William Alexander Boyd III // UK // 2023

Ice Merchants, Directed by João Gonzalez // Portugal // 2022

In curve notes_Stream, Directed by Flavia Regaldo // Portugal // 2022

Kiddo, Directed by Brett Chapman // UK // 2022

Kill Your Darlings, Directed by Thirza Ingold // Switzerland // 2023

Mushka, Directed by Andreas Deja // United States // 2023

Perfect City: The Bravest Kid, Directed by Shengwei Zhou // China // 2023

Pipes, Directed by Killian Feusi, Jessica Meier, Sujanth Ravichandran // Switzerland // 2022

Pussy Love, Directed by Linda Krauss // Germany // 2022

Rainboy, Directed by Barbara Brunner // Switzerland // 2023

Somni, Directed by Sonja Rohleder // Germany // 2023

The Devil’s Footprints, Directed by Dean Puckett // UK // 2023

The Tornado Outside, Directed by Maria Tomazou // UK // 2023

Press

If you are a member of the press with a particular interest in any of the films, please contact marketing@encounters.film for press information, images and interviews. 

About Us

Encounters Film Festival is a key destination for new and emerging talent.  

Rooted in Bristol, a UNESCO City of Film, each September the festival supports and nurtures new talent in filmmaking by providing a platform for emerging and established filmmakers from around the world. Our purpose is to spotlight short film as a vital and exciting art form, offer validation at a critical crossroad in artists’ careers, equip new talent with the support needed to take their next steps, and create a space where lifelong collaborations can be made.