Short Film Competition Programme announcement
The Encounters Film Festival 2025 competition programme presents an extraordinary collection of 105 exceptional films from fresh voices and celebrated auteurs around the globe. This historic 30th edition showcases the very best in contemporary cinema, bringing together diverse perspectives, innovative storytelling, and genuine star power across multiple formats and genres.
44 Premieres and High-Profile Talent
This year's programme features an impressive 44 premieres, including 33 UK premieres, with world and international premieres from as far afield as China, Kazakhstan, Poland, Norway and the USA. New films drawn from over 50 countries ensure audiences will be amongst the first to discover the next wave of cinematic excellence.
UK premieres provide a chance to be among the first to discover stunning new works from Charlie Kaufman (How To Shoot A Ghost), Mark Jenkin (I Saw The Face Of God In The Jet Wash), Ida Melum (Ovary-Acting), Georges Schwizgebel (From One Painting… to Another) and Simon Ellis (Notes from Planet Three), alongside many of the most notable new short films including Oscar-nominated works from Nina Gantz (Wander to Wonder) and Bill Morrison (Incident) and a chance to see festival hits from Theo Panagopoulos (The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing), John Smith (Being John Smith) and JJ Lin’s Hippopotami.
The programme boasts remarkable star power, featuring acclaimed performers including Jessie Buckley (Oscar-nominated for The Lost Daughter), Domhnall Gleeson (Star Wars, Ex Machina), Emma D'Arcy (House of the Dragon), Charlotte Ritchie (Ghosts), legendary singer Marianne Faithfull and BAFTA, Oscar and Emmy Award winners Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Foy, and Juliet Stevenson.
Bristol and the South West are also widely represented in competition with films from Paul Holbrook, Xenia Glen, Ellen Mcdougall, Laura Tofarides, Siôn Marshall-Waters, Edward Rowe, Penn Bálint, Ada Player and Bron Waugh, Karni and Saul, Matty Crawford and Ross Harrison (whose The Alphabeticians will world premiere).
The 2025 Official Selection celebrates both the continued vitality of British filmmaking and cinema's universal language through diverse international perspectives.
Join us for Encounters Film Festival 2025.
A Round of Applause for Death, Stephen Irwin (United Kingdom)
Adiós, José Prats (United Kingdom)
Alo, Xenia Glen (United Kingdom)
An Ongoing List of Things Found in the Library Book Drop, Usually Being Used as Bookmarks, Kayla Abuda Galang (United States) International Premiere
Animals, Modiyar Abdukadyr (Kazakhstan) World Premiere
Are You Still There, Fraser Howse (New Zealand)
As If The Earth Had Swallowed Them Up, Natalia León (France)
Bare Roots, Ellen McDougall (United Kingdom)
Barlebas, Malu Janssen (The Netherlands, Belgium)
Being John Smith, John Smith (United Kingdom)
Black Scarf, Ali Reza Shah Hosseini (Iran) UK Premiere
Blackout, Chris Urch (United Kingdom)
Boys Like You, Paul Holbrook (United Kingdom)
Brain Space, Laura Tofarides (Wales, New Zealand, England) UK Premiere
Broomsticks on Broadway, Gordon Howie (Scotland, United Kingdom)
Chicken Salad, Cortney "CK" Thornton (United States) International Premiere
Contradiction of Emptiness, Irina Rubina (Germany)
Cottage Cheese, Liina Luomajoki, Lena Metzger, Janina Müller, Alice Kunz (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Dare To Be Fabulous, João Buosi, Yangjia Chen, Adam Meziane Philipps, Carla Sampaio da Silva, Xinxin Qin, Zhen Zhou (France) UK Premiere
Dede (Ancestor), Yasmine Djedje-Fisher-Azoume (United Kingdom)
Don't Look Back, My Friend, Wenli Huang (China) World Premiere
Drijf, Levi Stoops (Belgium) UK Premiere
Exam, Jan Naszewski (Poland, France) International Premiere
Existential Greg, Will Anderson (Scotland) UK Premiere
Familiar Stranger, Ace Mahbaz (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Family Man, Kalani Gacon (Nepal, Australia) UK Premiere
Fata Morgana, Aasne Vaa Greibrokk (Norway) World Premiere
Follow Me Wherever I Go, Max DeFalco (United States) International Premiere
Frater, Valentin Guiod (France)
From One Painting… To Another, Georges Schwizgebel (Switzerland, France) UK Premiere
Genealogy of Violence, Mohamed Bourouissa (France)
God Is Shy, Jocelyn Charles (France) UK Premiere
Hippopotami, Lin Jianjie (JJ) (China, Hong Kong)
Homework, Jamie Di Spirito (United Kingdom)
How to Shoot a Ghost, Charlie Kaufman (United States, Greece) UK Premiere
Hunting, Lea Favre (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Hurikán, Jan Saska (Czech Republic, France, Slovakia, Bosnia and Herzegovina)
Hypersensitive, Martine Frossard (Canada) UK Premiere
I Saw The Face Of God In The Jet Wash, Mark Jenkin (United Kingdom)
Il burattino e la balena, Roberto Catani (France, Italy)
Incident, Bill Morrison (United States)
Intermission, Arnau Vilaró (Spain) UK Premiere
It All Comes Down, Meg Earls (United Kingdom)
Kaminhu, Marie Vieillevie (France)
Koko Suzanne, Zach Bandler (Democratic Republic of Congo, Ireland, United States) UK Premiere
Lamento, Jannik Giger, Demian Wohler (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Last Exit On Bethnal, Lydia Garnett (United Kingdom)
Little Other, Andres Tenusaar (Estonia)
LOCA, Véronique Paquette (Canada)
Lost & Found, Wiktoria Kwoka (Poland) International Premiere
Majonezë, Giulia Grandinetti (Italy)
Mog's Christmas, Robin Shaw (United Kingdom)
Mouse!, Max Fisher (United Kingdom)
My Teenage Blackout, Basile Khatir (France)
Night of Passage, Reza Rasouli (Austria) UK Premiere
Nora Can't Score, Joséfa Celestin (Scotland, United Kingdom)
Notes From Planet Three, Simon Ellis (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
On Weary Wings Go By, Lin Jianjie (JJ) (Estonia, Lithuania)
Ovary-Acting, Ida Melum (Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom) World Premiere
Pear Garden, Shadab Shayegan (Germany, Iran)
Peeping Mom, Francis Canitrot (France)
Pen Mari, Siôn Marshall-Waters (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Percebes, Alexandra Ramires, Laura Gonçalves (Portugal, France)
Poll Pri, Edward Rowe (United Kingdom) World Premiere
Porcelain, Annika Birgel (Germany)
Radix, Anne Breymann (Germany) UK Premiere
Razeh-del, Maryam Tafakory (Iran, United Kingdom, Italy)
Red, Zoé Arene (Belgium, France) UK Premiere
Retirement Plan, John Kelly (Ireland)
Revert, Miranda Stern (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Rhoda, Alex Lawther (United Kingdom)
Romina, Paola Mendonza, Bee Grandinetti (USA, Brazil, Sweden, Spain, France, Russia, Finland, New Zealand, United Kingdom, The Netherlands, Canada, Switzerland, Italy, Mexico, India, Germany)
Scars We Love, Raphaël Jouzeau (France)
Sixty-seven Milliseconds, fleuryfontaine (France)
Snow Bear, Aaron Blaise (United States)
Something Like The End Of The World, Emma Doxiadi (Greece) UK Premiere
Soviet Fantasia, Penn Bálint (United Kingdom, Hungary)
Spare Part, Ada Player & Bron Waugh (United Kingdom)
Stomach Bug, Matty Crawford (United Kingdom)
The Alphabeticians, Ross Harrison, (United Kingdom) World Premiere
The Dog, Kaspar Jancis (Estonia) UK Premiere
The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing, Theo Panagopoulos (United Kingdom)
The Last People, Nicolás Pindeus (Austria) UK Premiere
The Man That I Wave At, Ben S. Hyland (United Kingdom)
The Mud Under My Window, Violette Delvoye (France, Belgium) UK Premiere
The Shyness of Trees, Sofiia Chuikovska, Loïck Du Plessis D’Argentré, Lina Han, Simin He, Jiaxin Huang, Maud Le Bras, Bingqing Shu (France, Ukraine, China)
The Truck, Elizabeth Rao (United States)
The Undying Pain of Existence, Oscar Jacobson (France) UK Premiere
There Will Come Soft Rains, Elham Ehsas (United Kingdom)
Threaded, Naaman Azhari (United Kingdom)
Trash, Gregory Bouzid, Maxime Crançon, Robin Delaporte, Mattéo Durand, Romain Fleischer, Alexis Le Ral, Margaux Lutz, Fanny Vecchie (France) UK Premiere
Tuu Tuu Til, Veronica Solomon (Germany)
TV or The Disturbance on Forest Hill Road, Frederic Siegel (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Two Black Boys in Paradise, Baz Sells (United Kingdom)
Two Point Five Stars, Sina Lerf, Dario Marti, Dario Boger (Switzerland) UK Premiere
Volcelest, Éric Briche (France)
Wander to Wonder, Nina Gantz (Netherlands, France, Belgium, United Kingdom)
We Had Fun, Linda Lô (France) UK Premiere
When The Tide Comes, Fêt-Nat Bailly (United Kingdom) UK Premiere
Wild Dog, Chelsea Ingram (Australia) UK Premiere
Wild Summon, Karni and Saul (United Kingdom)
Windy Day, Martin Chailloux, Ai Kim Crespin, Elise Golfouse, Chloé Lab, Hugo Taillez, Camille Truding (France)
Wormwood, Matthieu Dupille, Chenhe Liu, Philémon Martin, Ninon Quemener, Alexander Vanderplank, Binlin Xie (France)
Yellow Light, Tal Kantor (Israel)
Zarko You Will Spoil the Child!, Veljko Popovic, Milivoj Popovic (Croatia, France)
