About this Festival
Fisheye International Film Festival is a diverse international film festival based not far from London, in south Buckinghamshire (England). The area is close to one of the UK's great production studios at Pinewood, some exciting studios in development, and the National Film & Television School.
In 2027, our 12th year of the Fisheye International Film Festival and 10th international competition, we will be introducing new films and new talent to people in our region and beyond. We champion UK independent filmmakers as well as sharing stories and creativity from around the globe.
Inspired by the fisheye lens which brings the all-around view into focus, we encourage audiences and creators to come together to “experience the bigger picture” of the wider world seen through the magic of filmmaking.
Fisheye is a celebration of filmmaking in all forms, and invites new and different views and voices. The festival is mainly focused on screening high quality shorts and feature films from our international competition.
Why not join us for the 12th Festival, which will be held at the end of April 2027? It promises to be our most exciting festival to date!
We would like as many filmmakers as possible to take part in both online discussions as well as in person events. We are interested in meeting you, and hearing about your story and your career path and we enjoy seeing our alumni return year on year with their new films.
WHAT YOU CAN SUBMIT
We are looking forwards to a healthy, creative and diverse future industry and continually seek and encourage what's excellent, interesting and different in our art-form, so, send us your best!
We want to see ALL manner of films, not just those with named actors or crew; we’ve screened no-budget films alongside big-budget; we don’t discriminate, so long as there’s a great story (or impact) and the films are well made.
Please note - 100% of our competition film selections are sourced from submissions.
Short films must have been completed NO EARLIER THAN 1 JANUARY 2026. Feature films must have been completed AFTER 1 MAY 2025.
We have a number of CATEGORIES for you to enter – please read them carefully and ensure you submit to the one you think is best!
We are looking for
- a wide range of genres and styles
NARRATIVE FICTION: DRAMA; GENRE
DOCUMENTARY:
ANIMATION:
EXPERIMENTAL (narrative or non- narrative based); MOVEMENT & DANCE FILMS; MUSIC VIDEO; SILENT FILMS; ARTIST FILMS; POETRY & SPOKEN WORD FILMS
- and a range of duration:
FEATURE Films (narrative fiction & experimental) – 80-120m run time
FEATURE Documentaries – 60 -120m run time
MICRO SHORTS - 4m or less run time
SHORTS (all genres) – 20m or less run time
Films made by FILMMAKERS AGED 22 OR UNDER – 20m or less run time
SHOW OFF YOUR SHORTS! (any genre) – 15m or less run time. This category is for filmmakers who commit to ATTEND IN PERSON on Saturday 24th April 2027. This informal lively and fun show involves a screening and an individual Q&A for each selected film.
UK LOCAL Filmmakers – films made by filmmakers currently residing in Bucks, Berks, Herts, Beds or Oxon only (any genre) – 20m or less run time - ATTEND IN PERSON for networking and Q&A.
ONLINE SCREENINGS:
Since 2021 we have offered films online as well as screening them theatrically. In 2024, we teamed up with eoFlix to offer opportunities for films to be screened online during the festival and some filmmakers opted to continue streaming their film on the platform afterwards. If your film is accepted but you do not want your film to be screened online, that is no problem, it is not compulsory, and all is under your own control. Please let us know in your covering letter, but you can change your mind later if you wish.
SELECTION AND CURATION
All films we select from the competition will be screened during the 2027 Fisheye International Film Festival programme.
Complementing our aim to screen new fiction and documentary short films of a high professional standard, the festival is evolving new strands; Fisheye Features, Fisheye Futures (aimed at encouraging younger filmmakers), and Fisheye Fusion (the mixology of art and film). Fusion is where art and film collide; it creates an opportunity to showcase unconventional and non-narrative films and celebrate the many component artistic skills involved in film creation.
Each film submitted is watched in its entirety by one or more members of our selection committee. The films are scored in a number of technical categories, as well as given an overall rating (a measure of the overall excellence and impact of the film).
Films scoring above or around a cut-off mark are then debated at moderation meetings to decide which we think should be shown, judging by their fit within the programme and the diversity ethos of Fisheye. The committee aims both to select the best films and to reflect the range of films submitted.
Selected films which are rated particularly highly by our committee are nominated for consideration by our independent Awards Jury.
*photo credits: https://neilmarshment.co.uk*
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Submission Categories
Submission categories not found
Rules & Terms
PLEASE READ THE FULL TERMS AND CONDITIONS BEFORE SUBMITTING YOUR FILM.
The Fisheye International Film Festival shall be referred to as “the Festival" or “FIFF”; and the Fisheye International Film Festival 2027 shall be referred to as "FIFF2027.”
ELIGIBILITY
To be eligible for consideration, you must fully comply with these Entry terms and conditions, including all deadlines, film length, entry material and other requirements.
• Short Films must have been completed NO EARLIER THAN 1 JANUARY 2026. Feature films must have been completed AFTER 1 MAY 2025
• No films shall be longer than the stipulated runtime for the category entered.
• All submitted films must be COMPLETE. We do not accept Work-In-Progress submissions.
• NO Premiere Status is required, but it will be taken into consideration.
• Films MUST NOT have been available to general public prior to festival i.e. YouTube/Vimeo (other festival screenings are permitted!)
• Films must not have distribution deals or VOD placement prior to festival unless release falls after festival dates
• Films must be sent via CineLot with a secure screening link and files must be made available for festival screening before 14 FEBRUARY 2027, deadline to be confirmed upon notification of selection. DCP may be required for feature film screening in a cinema, to be discussed on selection.
• Films not in English must be submitted with embedded English subtitles.
• Filmmakers submitting to the Under 22 category must have been under the age of 22 at the date of completion listed for your film.
ENTRY
• Please select only ONE SUBMISSION CATEGORY per project.
• Filmmakers may submit more than 1 film, but a separate submission fee must be paid for each film.
• Entry fees are per film and are non-refundable.
• We discourage requests for submission fee waivers, instead keeping our entry fees relatively low. We currently rely on submission fees to cover the expenses of the festival, which is staffed entirely by volunteers.
• The Festival reserves the right to disqualify a submission, without refund of any kind, if eligibility requirements are not met including if eligibility status changes post-submission.
• All submitting filmmakers will be notified of any regulation or date changes that affect them. Any changes to regulations after a submitter has already submitted will not apply to them.
• Your digital signature on the entry form authorises us to use, without limitation, excerpts from your film for marketing purposes on television, in advertising, promotional items and/or news and other programs now and in perpetuity.
• Make sure to update the Festival with new contact information or any other festival invitations prior to the FIFF2027 at info@fisheyefilmfest.uk.
FESTIVAL SECTIONS / SERIES / PROGRAMMES
• Films invited to participate in the FFF 2027 will be shown in the section, series or programme determined most appropriate by Festival programmers, at their sole discretion.
• The Festival reserves the right to make any necessary changes in festival scheduling.
INVITED WORKS / SELECTED FILMS
• If your film is selected for screening at the festival, you will be asked to immediately forward: a poster image (portrait preferred), stills, and an online trailer (feature films), as well as a screening copy, film summary for brochure (under 150 words); certain key cast & crew info and other materials/information as requested. In addition, we will ask the lead filmmaker to submit a personal profile for our programme and collaborate in the marketing of their film's screening at the festival. This material is required before the deadline date of 14 FEBRUARY 2027.
• All selected films to be made available in a screening format as specified by venue BEFORE 14 FEBRUARY 2027.
(i.e. BluRay, DCP, DVD, MP4).
• We do not pay screening fees under any circumstances and we’re unable to pay any filmmaker borne costs for attendance (travel or accommodation).
• Unless otherwise agreed by the Festival in writing, awards will be given to any attending cast/crew members on behalf of their films!
TERMS
By submitting to the Fisheye Film Festival through FilmFreeway, you are stating that you are the owner of your entry and it is your original work.
Entrants are responsible for obtaining any necessary licenses, royalties, release forms, clearances, permits necessary to present their work. The Festival is not responsible for any claim involving copyright, trademark, credits, or royalty infringement related to the work.
While we understand that you retain all rights to ownership of the work, you hereby give the Festival permission to feature, advertise, display, in whole or in part, the work titled and described herein, for festival purposes including promotion in future years.
You also understand that your entry is valid only upon completion of the following conditions: (1) receipt of a copy of the work, (2) the processing of the entry fee by the festival organization, and (3) when the work is found to be original and owned by you or those you represent and eligible for the category submitted to.
It is your sole responsibility to ensure that your online entry form is properly submitted. You may email the Festival at info@fisheyefilmfest.uk to confirm submission.
It is also your responsibility to ensure the streaming link is functional and the link and password submitted are accurate. In the unlikely event of a password change or link change you must email the Festival immediately with that change so we may update your record. If the Festival is not notified of the change and the link is found to be inactive or the password to be incorrect the Festival will send an email to the submitter’s address on file to follow up. If a response with the correct information is not received within forty-eight (48) hours, the submission may be deemed ineligible. The password protected link must be active at least through to May 3rd, 2027, and all entries MUST be received by the Festival no later than the applicable deadlines referenced above.
The Festival reserves the right to disqualify any submission, without refund of any kind, if i
Awards & Prizes
Please note, we do not present cash awards/prizes.
Our independent Awards Jury is made up of industry professionals, past winners and film professionals.
Some Awards are decided by specialist Jury members (e.g. Choreography / Best Dance film).
Nominated films are put forward to our Jury to score in a variety of categories. Some categories directly relate to particular Awards (for example, Cinematography or Sound Design). For other Awards (for example, Best Film or Best Director), we collate scores from a set of relevant categories to find our winners.
In 2026, awards were presented in the following categories (these are subject to change at the festivals discretion):
• Best UK Short Film
• Best International Short Film
• Best Short Film by a Local Filmmaker
• Best Short Film by a Filmmaker Aged 22 or Under
• Best Micro Short Film
• Best Feature Films: Narrative; Documentary and Experimental
• Best Short Documentary
• Best Short Experimental Film
• Best Short Animation
• Best Short Dance Film
• Best Director
• Best Male Performer
• Best Female Performer
• Best Choreography
• Best Production Value
• Best Sound Design
• Best Score / Music
• Best Cinematography
• Best Editing
• Best Screenplay
For a list of previous winners, please visit our website.