Encounters Film Festival

About Encounters Film Festival

Encounters is Bristol's internationally renowned short film and animation festival, taking place across five days each September across Watershed, Bristol Beacon and Arnolfini on the harbourside in Bristol UNESCO City of Film. Founded in 1995 to mark the centenary of cinema, it brings together filmmakers, audiences and industry from across the world for one of the UK's most significant celebrations of short form filmmaking.

The centrepiece is the international competition, screening over 200 new films drawn from more than 50 countries across fiction, documentary, animation and experimental programmes. Encounters is a qualifying festival for BAFTA, BIFA and the European Film Awards, and has launched the careers of some of the most significant filmmakers working today, with alumni including Denis Villeneuve, Lynne Ramsay, Ruben Östlund, Julia Ducournau and Charlotte Wells.

The wider programme spans talks, masterclasses and industry events, making Encounters as much a professional gathering point as a public film festival.