HORSHAM FILM FESTIVAL 2024
NOW IN ITS SIXTH YEAR, THE HORSHAM FILM FESTIVAL IS BACK FOR 2024 IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE EVERYMAN CINEMA, HORSHAM!
SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW OPEN!
So if you’re ready to submit your film, just click the FilmFreeway logo below and then read on for more info on the festival…
We’re partnering again with the EVERYMAN CINEMA in Horsham to not only host the Awards Night later in the year but to run a program of screenings in the week of the Awards Night, where all shortlisted films will be screened in full at ticketed screenings at the cinema!
Take a look at the 2023 Awards Night…
The 2023 Horsham Film Festival saw a record number of films entered plus a sold-out Awards Night and screenings of the shortlisted films at the Everyman Cinema in Horsham! Alongside that, the event was supported by industry talent and local educational talent in the judging of the entered films.
Starting in 2019 as part of the Horsham District Year of Culture, the Horsham Film Festival has run in-person events every year since, baring a virtual Awards Night in 2021 due to Covid.
The event celebrates short filmmaking talent from within the Horsham District and further afield and does so within an Over 18s category and a Student category which caters to children and those still in education. With multiple categories to enter within those, there is an opportunity for films of all types to be part of the festival.
We’re thrilled to be back and to be partnered with the best cinema in the area to screen the best short films around!
With that, we’re pleased to be able to say now that we will be having screenings of the shortlisted films at the Everyman Cinema in Horsham on the following dates…
- August 27th (times TBC)
- August 28th (times TBC)
- August 29th (times TBC)
…and our Awards Night will be taking place on Friday August 30th 2024 from 7pm for networking and the main event from 8pm.
But first…we need to get some films in!
The Horsham Film Festival 2024 – or HFF24 if you don’t want to type all that out – is going to be open for submissions from April 1st 2024.
The Horsham Film Festival celebrates not only local, West Sussex based talent but also looks further afield to celebrate films from ALL OVER THE UK.
We want to see films from everyone – whether you are a filmmaker who has already won awards at other film festivals or a first-time filmmaker looking to start developing your skills and in 2024, we particularly want to see films from young filmmakers too.
Our judging criteria doesn’t exclude any filmmakers. We aren’t judging based around equipment quality or technical expertise. We want to see and experience good stories first and foremost. Of course we consider shots, editing, acting and so on as part of the judging process but your film will not be looked down upon if you have shot it on your phone rather than Blackmagic gear!
The Festival hosts 4 categories for both Over 18s and Students (whether they’re under 18 or still in education), each with their own prizes and awards:
- Best Drama
- Best Documentary
- Best Animation
- Best Comedy
The event also hosts a special category called the ‘Your District Award’. This is for film makers that have used the Horsham District in their entries, whether it’s use of the local environment, local actors or something that links the entry to our home district! You can enter your film into both a standard category and the ‘Your Horsham District Award’ if the entry criteria is met.
Please note – the other four categories CAN have films made ANYWHERE in the UK entered into them. They are NOT exclusively for West Sussex made/set films.
So – show us your stories, show us your world, show us your imagination and make sure you enter for this year’s event – read on for ALL the festival details and keep up to date with us on social media throughout the year for more news on the 2024 Awards Night!
————————
ENTRY RULES AND MORE INFORMATION
SUMMARY
- Entry via FilmFreeway ONLY unless arranged specially, directly with us
- Entry costs £15 for Over 18s and is FREE for STUDENTS. Filmfreeway GOLD member entry is £12
- Films should be no longer than 15 minutes (including credits)
- Prizes are non-exchangeable
- If you are submitting on behalf of a STUDENT entrant please notify us at Silvertip Films
- If you have filmed in the Horsham District, please notify us at Silvertip Films
THE FILM CATEGORIES
We have four main categories for anyone in the UK to enter your film within…
- Best Comedy – we want to see the funniest, wackiest, most off the wall entries to make us laugh!
- Best Drama – move us, thrill us or maybe even scare us – this is the category for storytelling at its best. It’s open to interpretation so give us something we don’t expect!
- Best Animation – we love animation whether its hand drawn, stop motion or computer generated. Make it out of paper, plasticine or pixels – whatever you want!
- Best Documentary – celebrate your area and it’s places, people and activities within this category. Tell us their story, bring it to life on screen.
For filmmakers in the Horsham District/West Sussex area we also have our special category for films which celebrate the Horsham District whether it be in the locations used or within the stories told. This is the…
- Your District Award – so get out there and make use of all there is in the Horsham District to produce your film!
You CAN also enter a Horsham District-filmed film into Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Animation OR Best Documentary as well.
If your film was NOT filmed in the Horsham District, please DO NOT enter the Your District category but you CAN still enter into Best Comedy, Best Drama, Best Animation OR Best Documentary.
AGE CATEGORIES
We have two age groups for entry…
- STUDENTS – if you have a camera and are under 18 and in education, we want to hear from you!
- OVER 18s – if you’re over 18 and have a camera, we want to hear from you too!
KEEP UP TO DATE
If you want to be kept up to date with the Horsham Film Festival and everything happening with it, then please join our mailing list or ‘like’ our Facebook page for the most up to date information. You can also follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
JUDGING PERIOD
Submissions close on July 15th 2024 and once all the films are in, the judges will sit down to watch, enjoy and deliberate the films received to make their shortlist of best films.
SHORTLISTED FILMS
If your film is shortlisted for the festival, we will notify you no later than August 1st 2024. If your film isn’t accepted, we will inform you as well.
THE JUDGES
This year, the films entered into Horsham Film Festival 2024 will be judged by….
Photography by Chrissie Brooks Photography
Geoff Cockwill – Director and Producer at Silvertip Films.
Geoff founded Silvertip Films in 2005 after graduating from the University of Creative Arts in Farnham. Geoff has a hand in all aspects of productions undertaken at Silvertip Films and is regularly directing and editing projects and occasionally pointing a camera on them too. The Horsham Film Festival was a finally achieved goal of a long held ambition for Silvertip Films.
Photo by Chrissie Brooks Photography
Pete Levy – producer on Doctor Who Flux, Casualty and more and VFX supervisor on Doctor Who.
Pete is a BAFTA and RTS award winning Producer with over 25 years experience within live action, scripted drama as well as television based VFX production. Pete began his TV career way back during the early days of breakfast TV after which he became a VFX Producer working on a significant number of blue chip factual TV series predominantly with the BBC’s Natural History Unit. Most recently he was one of the regular Producers for the BBC’s popular continuing drama Casualty. Prior to this Pete was one of the Producers on Doctor Who Flux helping to oversee the last series of Jodie Whittaker’s fabulous run as The Doctor. Pete’s association with The Doctor began back in 2018 when he spent two years as the show’s VFX Producer overseeing twenty three episodes covering series 11 and 12. Pete and his talented VFX team at Dneg won a BAFTA in 2018 for their incredible work on Charlie Brooker’s Black Mirror (Metalhead) creating and bringing to life a terrifying robotic guard dog roaming amongst a collapsed human society.
Photo by Chrissie Brooks Photography
Rebecca Moon – Head of BTEC Creative Media at Collyers College, Horsham.
Rebecca is the Head of Creative Digital Media Production at Collyer’s. She was educated in Horsham area, went on to achieve a first class honours in Photography at the University of Portsmouth. She began her career teaching at Collyer’s in 2012 and has taught there ever since, also running evening classes and after school photography clubs. Rebecca currently teaches full time across Creative Digital Media Production and Alevel Photography, as well as running the Media Hub which is an onsite creative collaborative for the students at Collyers.
Stuart Andrews – Head of Film Studies at Collyers College, Horsham.
A former Media production technician, Stuart has over 15 years’ experience teaching at Collyer’s both in A-Level courses for Media and Film. He fondly remembers the annual Collywood film awards ceremonies that he co-organised between 2006-2015, held at the Capitol Theatre in Horsham. More recently he also helped to launch the successful Creative Digital Media Production course at the college in 2017. He is currently Head of Film Studies.
THE JUDGES SPEAK…
Geoff Cockwill, director at Silvertip Films said:
“I can’t believe that the Horsham Film Festival is now in it’s sixth year and that we run it in partnership with the Everyman Cinema in Horsham – it’s the perfect venue for our event and to screen the brilliant short films that are entered to the festival. After the high bar set by the films in 2023, I am excited to see what comes in this year!”
Pete Levy, producer on Doctor Who and Casualty said:
“I thoroughly enjoyed the festival last year, I watched some amazing work and met some hugely talented storytellers. I’m absolutely thrilled to be invited to take part again this year.”
Rebecca Moon from Collyers College, Horsham said:
“So honoured to be back in the judging panel for the Horsham Film Festival again this year! 2023 entries will be hard to beat but I’m certain there are even bigger and better things coming our way. Roll on Horsham Film Festival 2024 – lights, camera, action!”
THE HORSHAM FILM FESTIVAL 2024 AWARDS EVENT AND SCREENINGS AT THE EVERYMAN, HORSHAM
The shortlisted film screenings and the Awards Night take place on the following dates this year and details on tickets will be available nearer the time…
- August 27th
- August 28th
- August 29th
- August 30th Awards Night
SPONSORS and SPONSORSHIP
Last year we were pleased to be working with a number of businesses as sponsors of the Film Festival, and this year are looking to do the same. If you are interested to see how partnering with us can benefit you, get in touch via [email protected]
This year we are pleased to be working with the following businesses for HFF24…
Big Bee Content – copywriting excellence
T21 – E-Learning experts
Seofon Business Services – everything a business needs to run smoothly
ENTRY RULES
- Films can be shot anywhere and submitted, however…
- Any films which are partly or fully shot within Horsham District will be eligible to win the Your District award in each age group, this is the award that celebrates our District by making great use of our locations or acting talent or telling interesting stories about the area. Horsham District covers Horsham, Billingshurst, Pulborough, Storrington, Steyning, Henfield, Rusper, Warnham, Colgate, Slinfold, Broadbridge Heath, Itchingfield, Southwater, Nuthurst, Lower Beeding, Shipley, Cowfold, West Grinstead, West Chilington, Thakeham, Ashington, Ashurst, Shermanbury, Woodmancote, Upper Beeding, Bramber, Wiston, Washington, Coldwaltham, Parham, Amberley, Rudgewick.
- We will want to see some proof of shooting within the District so we can incorporate that into potential promotional material around the festival and its entries.
- Films must be 15 minutes maximum runtime
- Your productions must not break any laws during filming! Be safe, be careful and be respectful.
- You must obtain permission for all locations you film at and you must also obtain release consent forms from all actors and people involved in your film
- Prizes awarded are per category, per film – not per group member. There are no duplicate prizes for winning films with multiple crew members.
- All prizes are final, there are no cash prize alternatives.
- By signing up to the film festival, you agree that clips / stills from your film may be used for event promotional material, as well as being used at the film festival awards ceremony.
OUR SUPPORT
- We are here to help you with your film production – join our Facebook Group Horsham District Filmmakers and you can communicate with us, privately in a closed group, and receive help, advice, tips and more.
- What we can’t do however, is read your scripts and provide input into them – it isn’t fair on the other entrants.
- All other updates, information and details will be posted on the Silvertip Films Facebook page and on our main website and communicated to you via mailing list.
- We can’t provide equipment, insurance or any editing facilities.
- During the lifetime of the festival, we will be featuring reports, updates and mentions on randomly selected entrants and their productions in the Silvertip Films vlog and on our blog and Facebook pages and live streams.
- After the event, we will be giving further exposure to the winners and runners up with things including, but not limited to or guaranteed to be -a interviews, live stream features, blog articles, press coverage and more.
- We want to create a community of filmmakers in this district who can help each other, support each other, work together and come together over a mutual love of film and our district.
- We’re always on the look out for new crew and new talent so be sure to be proactive during the event period and be putting your best production skills to work in making your film.
That’s everything for now – send us your films or get out there and start shooting! We can’t wait to see what you have to show us!
If you’re getting involved, use the hashtags #horshamfilmfestival or #horshamfilmfestival22 or #HFF22 so we can find you on social media or just tag us on one of our social media platforms!
Any questions? Email us on [email protected]