Festival Data:

• Established: 1977
• Genre: General

• Competitive
• Retrospective
• Has Panels
• Has Seminars
• Workshops

Festival Website:

Festival Description:

The Cambridge Film Festival is one of the UK’s most popular, prestigious and well-respected film festivals, bringing an event with a national profile to Cambridge, and delivering inspiring, thought-provoking and challenging cinema to an ever-broadening range of cinema-goers. The Festival’s mission is to showcase the very best international cinema to the widest possible audience, by premiering and previewing outstanding new work as well as acknowledging cinematic classics through retrospectives and revivals.

The 11 day Festival is based at the state-of-the-art three screen Arts Picturehouse cinema in the centre of Cambridge but also uses other venues in Cambridge, including The Junction and West Road Concert Hall, with outreach events taking place at locations across the Eastern region.

Films receiving their UK premiere at Cambridge have included, VOLVER, THE LAST MITTERRAND, CRASH, GOODBYE LENIN, SILVER CITY, CLEAN, COMME UNE IMAGE, BEFORE SUNSET, SPIRITED AWAY, BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE, BARTON FINK, SEX LIES AND VIDEOTAPE, RESERVOIR DOGS and THELMA AND LOUISE. Scores of celebrated international film-makers have visited the Festival, including; Terry Gilliam, John Sayles, Julie Delpy, Jeremy Irons, Sir Richard Eyre, Cate Blanchett, Richard Harris, Joel Schumacher, Robert Carradine, Jane Birkin, Peter Greenaway, Michael Winterbottom, Alex Cox, Timothy Spall, Ray Harryhausen, Krzysztof Kieslowski, Philip Kaufman, Jeunet et Caro, and Hanif Kureishi.

The Festival’s strands include: new features; shorts; documentary; revivals, artist’s moving image work; and a Children’s Film Festival. Engagement with the fullest range of film culture is generated by visits from actors and directors, parties and receptions, forums and conferences, workshops and education events, and free outdoor screenings.

Cambridge Film Festival receives a large number of submissions each year and selection represents a public endorsement of your work and a prize in itself. However, the Cambridge Film Festival has two prizes, both of which are voted for by the Festival’s audience:

*ShortFusion Audience Prize for best short film. The winner of this award will gain the opportunity to have their film screened before a main feature at the Arts Picturehouse cinema. Previous winners have included WASP, MUSIC FOR ONE APPARTMENT AND SIX DRUMMERS, BREASTS, and PUPPET ACCESS TV.

*The Audience Favourite Award for best film. This auspicious award is voted for via the Festival website. Previous winners have included VOLVER, BROKEN FLOWERS, STAGE BEAUTY, SPIRITED AWAY, ELLING and last year’s feature submission ROCK PAPER SCISSORS.

Film Submissions:

• Accepts direct submissions
• Submission formats: Beta-SP, Digi-Beta, 16mm, 35mm, DVD, MiniDV, Other
• Call for Entry: http:/ / www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk/ submit/