SWIF digest ๐ฌ 16 September 2025
It's definitely festival season in the south west...
๐ Hi filmmakers. Time for some hard truths I'm afraid. With passing 500 subscribers (a fantastic milestone) hosting fees for SWIF have increased. Last year this incredible community stepped up and paid subscriptions covered the hosting costs. Now I'm asking for help to keep this resource accessible for everyone. And I love running SWIF!
๐ฅฐ Please support this resource for the filmmaking community. You can now give a one-off amount, if an on-going membership isn't possible for you right now.
Hereโs your weekly digest for independent film in the South West:
โค๏ธ Shout out to the amazing team on my short film Playback, which shot this summer. - Instagram
โช๏ธ Bristol Doc Club presents a screening & co-Director Q&A of Mother Vera, winner of the Grierson award for best documentary at London Film Festival. 18 Sep. - Watershed
๐ซ Women in Film & TV are screening the series finale of the new Welsh crime drama Mudtown, followed by a Q+A with the team behind the series. 18 Sep in Cardiff. - WFTV
๐ฅ Palpa Films in Bristol are having an open day at their studio. Meet the team, ask questions, and maybe even catch a sneak peek of their latest projects. 19 Sep. - Eventbrite
๐ถ Catch a screening of Inโsive, a new film about Bristolโs no-wave and experimental music scene, along with a live music set. In Bristol on 20 Sep. - Headfirst
๐ค Not a lonely picnic (NALP) is a monthly, relaxed networking hang out for anyone overwhelmed by networking events and job searching. Next meet up is 21 Sep in Bristol. - Email for more info
๐ฐ๐ฝโโ๏ธ Reclaim The Frame are screening debut film Brides, followed by a Q&A with the cast and crew on 22 Sep in Cardiff. - Chapter
๐ Hell-Tor Film Fesival has a panel of short filmmakers & industry experts discussing the trials and creative possibilities of both shorts and grassroots feature production. 27 Sep in Exeter. - Exeter Phoenix
๐ Watch Africa Film Festival present Manyatta Mengi Mashariki, a short films screening spotlighting exciting new voices from Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Ethiopia and Reunion Island. 4 Oct in Cardiff. - Eventbrite
๐ Join Devon & Cornwall Screenwriting Group to hear about their monthly meet ups. - Heylo
๐๏ธ Edinburgh TV Festival are releasing talks from the festival on their youtube channel. - YouTube
๐คผโโ๏ธ A Swindon short film following a single mum taking her first steps into the world of professional wrestling has a crowdfunder. - IndieGoGo
๐ Afrika Eye Festival of African cinema & culture has just announced its programme. This year marks its 20th birthday. 14-16 Nov in Bristol. - Afrika Eye
๐ญ Queer Stage: Acting is a series of workshops in Bristol open to anyone interested in developing their acting skills, building confidence and having fun. - Ticket Source
๐ค BIFA have an upcoming unconscious bias training for the screen industries. 1 Oct online. - Eventbrite
๐ UWE Bristol are running a leadership & resilience for creative and cultural work skills bootcamp. And it's subsidised! Open to those in Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Bath and North East Somerset or North Somerset. - UWE
๐๏ธ ScreenSkills' Animation Trainee Finder has its application deadline on 26 Sep. - ScreenSkills
๐ Aardman are hiring a Set Dresser & Prop Maker to work on a Shaun the Sheep stop motion feature. Deadline 18 Sep. - Aardman
๐ฅ Cinematographer needed to shoot an acting showreel in Bristol. Deadline 23 Sep. - Tabb
๐ A Bristol short film needs a Make-Up Artist for a shoot in Oct. Deadlin 1 Oct. - Tabb
โ๏ธ Bristol Costume Services are hiring a Costume Cutter. - Instagram
โ๏ธ Bluemetaphor, a production company making socially conscious films & hosting events for under represented communities, needs a Public Relations Officer. Deadline 3 Oct. - Tabb
๐ Moon Fest, an East & South East Asian (ESEA) multi-arts festival in Bristol, is seeking film submissions & volunteers. - Made On The Moon
๐ Screen Cornwall are looking for short film scripts for production with BFI Film Academy. If you're aged 16-25 yrs then apply by 26 Sep. - Screen Cornwall
๐ฎ Upcoming film festival submission deadlines: Cardiff Animation (22 Sep), Two Short Nights (30 Sep), Southampton Film Week (10 Oct), Gloucester Independent (11 Oct) & Pigeon Laughs (31 Oct). - FilmFreeway
๐ Fashion in Film Festival continues 5 Sep - 25 Oct in Bristol, Exeter & Plymouth. - FiF
๐ค Darkroom Festival takes place in Bristol on 21 Sep. - Cube
๐ฝ Encounters Film Festival takes place in Bristol on 24-28 Sep. - Encounters
๐ฉธ Hell-Tor Film Festival takes place 26-28 Sep in Exeter. - Exeter Phoenix
๐ Save the Waves Film Festival comes to Bristol on 2 Oct. - Eventbrite
๐ฝ๏ธ Wellington Film Festival takes place 3-5 Oct. - Wellington Film Festival
๐งฑ In The Walls Independent Film Festival takes place in Weston-super-Mare on 4 Oct. - FilmFreeway
๐ Moon Fest takes place in Bristol on 4 Oct. - Made on the Moon
โ Bristol Radical Film Festival takes place 4-5 Oct. - BRFF
๐ Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival takes place 13-19 Oct in Cardiff. - IP
๐ฟ Bath Film Festival takes place 17-26 Oct. - Film Bath
๐ฉโโค๏ธโ๐ฉ The personals: Nothing this week. Get in touch for a free listing.
๐ฟ On film club: Les Misรฉrables dir. Ladj Ly (rent on BFIplayer) & The Peasants / Chลopi dir. DK Welchman (on Amazon Prime).
๐ฃ Have something to share on the next digest? Could be an event, workshop, behind the scenes updates, crew call, showcasing your work or a personal ad. Get in touch! hollyholdsworth@gmail.com
๐ If you found this helpful please forward it to a friend.
Until next week!
Holly Holdsworth (she/her)
Writer/Director
where I am on the net
Inclusion in this email does not denote endorsement. I will always try to platform the best opportunities for this community and am not affiliated with any organisation, unless explicitly mentioned besides the link.
