Stroud Film Festival 2026

Dates announced for

Friday 27th February-Saturday 14th March

we’re excited to invite submissions of short films (3-30 mins) for screening at Stroud Film Festival 2026. 

Whether you have a super smart comedy, an insightful documentary, a quirky drama,  or something more experimental, we’d love to hear from you.

And the best bit: we don’t charge you to submit your film! find out more here

short film submissions

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If you've been to events during the 2025 festival, many thanks for your support. We hope you found films which were enjoyable, thought provoking and inspiring!

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If you've been to events during the 2025 festival, many thanks for your support. We hope you found films which were enjoyable, thought provoking and inspiring! ///

Autumn EVENTS 2025


  • Boarding on Insanity - Sep 14th

    “Boarding on Insanity” is a 2025 documentary which asks - are our leaders traumatised? And if yes, how might that be impacting us as a society ?

    Featuring renown trauma expert Gabor Mate, this film offers stories from a wide range of contributors about their boarding school experiences.s here

  • The Pickers - Oct 12th

    A beautifully made and informative film which affords dignity to the migrant agricultural workers of Southern Europe who are exploited in order to provide us with cheap fruit.

events from the March 2025 festival

  • Life through a lens

    Sat 8 Mar
    2:00pm

    Director Jason Figgis’ response to the remarkable photography of Shirley Baker.

  • film school 1

    Sat 8 Mar
    12:00 - 4:00pm

    Video production workshop for beginners and intermediates (over 18s).

  • Femme Directions

    Sat 8 Mar
    7:30pm

    Femme Directions: short films by female directors.

  • Mo

    Sun 9 Mar
    2:00pm

    1966 music and poetry documentary with introduction from Adam Horovitz.

  • African Apocalypse

    Sun 9 Mar
    4:30pm

    Screening African Apocalypse in dialogue with communities of resistance.

  • Your Fat Friend

    Sun 9 Mar
    7:30pm

    A film about fatness, family, complexities of change and the messy feelings we hold about our bodies.

  • Film School 2

    Sun 9 Mar
    12:00 - 4:00pm

    Video production workshop for beginners and intermediates
    - 14- 18 years.

  • Exhibition

    Multiple Dates
    2:30pm

    Horror is our theme for Film Posters Reinterpreted 2025. Dark, spooky, scary and oh so chilling contemporary retakes on some fearful classic movies coming your way for SFF2025.

  • maidaan - (screening cancelled)

    Tues 11 Mar (screening cancelled)
    7:30pm

    Indian Hindi-language biographical sports drama.

  • The Art Of Balancing Dreams And Making Bread and Butter

    Tues 11 Mar
    6:30pm

    An evening of short film screenings, networking and discussion focused on how to thrive as a filmmaker during a time of change.

  • Responsible

    Wed 12 Mar
    7:30pm

    Documentary examining the reach and influence of Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia

  • hyper: The Stevie Hyper D Story

    Thu 13 Mar
    7:30pm

    A journey through 90s London to explore Stevie Hyper D’s legacy.

  • Sunset Boulevard

    Fri 14 Mar
    7:30pm

    Join us for the 75th anniversary of this iconic film.

  • Cottontail

    Fri 14 Mar
    7:30pm

    Award winning Anglo Japanese drama with introduction from the director.

  • Shadow Puppet Short Film Workshop

    Sat 15 Mar
    2:00pm-4:00pm

    Workshop run by Imogen Harvey-Lewis. Parents/Guardians and older children/ teenagers.

  • Finding Nemo

    Sat 15 Mar
    2:30pm

    A relaxed screening of this classic family film in collaboration with family charity Allsorts.

  • No Other Land

    Sat 15 Mar
    5:00pm

    A Palestinian-Israeli collective’s unflinching account of a community's mass expulsion

  • Song Of The Nightingale

    Sat 15 Mar
    7:30pm

    A dance, film and talk about the enigmatic nightingale.

  • bike generator film screening

    Sat 15 Mar
    10:00am-2:00pm

    Drop in and see a selection of films all screened using bike generated power.

  • 90 Second Stroud

    Sat 15 Mar
    12:00pm

    Watch the films made in response to the 90 Second Film Challenge.

  • The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg

    Sun 16 Mar
    2:00pm

    Jacques Demy’s tale of first love is a ravishing mix of music, romance and cinematic invention.

  • London Recruits

    Sun 16 Mar
    4:30pm

    Ordinary People, Extraordinary Things.

  • Witches

    Sun 16 Mar
    7:30pm

    An examination of cinematic portrayals of witches and our view of women, motherhood, and mental health.

  • Radical Love: The Life And Legacy Of Satish Kumar

    Mon 17 Mar
    7:30pm

    A documentary about love and forgiveness, about activism, optimism and hope.

  • American Fiction

    Tues 18 Mar
    8:00pm

    Fed up with Black entertainment’s exploitation, a novelist falls into the hypocrisy he disdains.

  • Rocco And His Brothers

    Wed 19 Mar
    7:30pm

    Luchino Visconti’s operatic and poignant story of brotherhood.

  • All This Can Happen

    Thu 20 Mar
    7:00pm

    An uncanny compelling ‘walk’ through early photo imagery, encountering life, absurdity, despair.

  • Patti Smith: Dream Of Life

    Thu 20 Mar
    7:30pm

    A documentary focusing on singer and godmother of punk Patti Smith.

  • rabbitman presents: overbytes

    Fri 21 Mar
    7:00pm

    Hop on over and sink your teeth into a delectable display of bitesized films for and by young people.

  • Riceboy Sleeps + trailer for Such a Vivid Imagination

    Fri 21 Mar
    7:30pm

    Set in the 90s, a Korean single mother raises her young son in the suburbs of Canada.

  • connected

    Sat 22 Mar
    12:00pm

    Short films with a twist on human relationships. Q&A with filmmakers.

  • The Arbor

    Sat 22 Mar
    2:30pm

    A documentary charting the life of Bradford-born playwright Andrea Dunbar, from the performance of her first play to her tragic early death.

  • Burkitt

    Sat 22 Mar
    5:00pm

    Documentary about the Irish surgeon who discovered Burkitt’s lymphoma, told by a survivor.

  • The Stupid Boy

    Sat 22 Mar
    7:30pm

    The Stupid Boy screening and panel discussion.

  • Brian and Charles

    Sat 22 Mar
    7:30pm

    The 2025 Patron’s Pick; a whimsical, warmhearted and thought provoking British comedy.

  • Spirited Away

    Sun 23 Mar
    2:00pm

    Experience Hayao Miyazaki’s Oscar- winning masterpiece in all its magical glory.

  • Picture Portraits

    Sun 23 Mar
    12:00pm

    Short films that get to the heart of personal stories with Q&A.

  • Freedom To Run

    Sun 23 Mar
    2:30pm

    Freedom to Run is a feature-length documentary about the Palestinian running group Right to Movement

  • Black Mambas

    Sun 23 Mar
    5:00pm

    A documentary about South Africa’s first all-female anti-poaching unit in Kruger National Park. Plus live Q&A

  • Solo

    Sun 23 Mar
    7:30pm

    Beautifully charting the highs and lows of falling in love and finding oneself in one’s art. Writer and director Sophie Dupuis’s “Solo” is a passionate feat of character-driven storytelling and visual extravagance, celebrating the drag world in all its splendour and heartache.

  • 90 Second Film Challenge

    Make a film lasting 90 Seconds in just 5 days!