SWIF digest 📬 3 November 2026

🍻 Hello filmmakers. Freelancers don't get Christmas parties. Until now! Join SWIF filmmakers for festive drinks on 14 Dec from 8pm at Small Bar in Bristol. No need to rsvp, just come on down! I'll be wearing my SWIF cap. Wear some yellow.

Here’s your weekly digest for independent film in the South West:

😔 Watch a screening of The Unseen on 3 Nov in Bristol. The film follows three West-African migrants living in Italy’s largest informal settlement. Stay for dinner and hear from a consultant at Borderlands on his lived experience of the UK asylum system. - Eventbrite

🫜 Afrika Eye Film Festival kicks off with a screening & discussion with the filmmakers behind Rooted in Bristol, recognising the long-standing contributions of Black & Afro-Caribbean communities to Bristol's green spaces and allotment culture. 17 Nov in Bristol. - Afrika Eye

🗣️ Watch short films from the region and attend the industry day at Cornwall Film Festival on 19 Nov in Falmouth. - CFF

🤗 Filmmakers Plymouth Social returns on 19 Nov. Meet filmmakers, workshop ideas, share work and connect. - Eventbrite

🟦 Bluescreen short film night in Bristol takes place on 25 Nov. Submissions are open. - Headfirst

📮 Watch a screening of Postcards from the Peaks and hear a post-screening talk from Stu Skinner about his journey carrying a 26 kg postbox to the highest point in all 15 UK national parks and walking the length of the UK with it! 25 Nov in Bristol. - Eventbrite

📇 Filming in England are facilitating out a lot of crew call outs right now. Update your profile on their crew directory. - Filming in England

🤝 Kinetic Films are open to co-production partnerships for feature projects looking to shoot in and around Bournemouth. - Smash Media

🛖 Survival horror film The Bothy is launching its crowdfunding campaign this week on 5 Nov, with Creative Scotland match funding. Part of the SWIF micro-budget feature workshop and from the team behind Shadow Peak & Text Me When You're Home. - Trail 3 Films

🛝 Look Aside Films are hosting a webinar on making pitch decks on 10 Nov. - Eventbrite

💡 Somerset Film are hosting a workshop on lighting for film on 14 Nov in Bridgwater. Free for under 25yr olds. - Somerset Film

🪽 Swashbuckling Cornwall & Yskynna are holding an introduction to wirework workshop on 5 Nov in Penryn. - Eventbrite

📨 Take a practical half-day writing workshop on getting your script ready for opportunities. 30 Jan in Bridgwater. - Somerset Film

🌆 A free Screenskills training course for the Locations department is open for applications for its Cardiff & online sessions next year. - Screenskills

🏃🏿‍♀️ Runners needed for location and office based roles in Bristol. Deadline 4 Nov. - Production Base

🪴 Multiple roles needed for BBC Studios' Gardeners' World; Runners, Researchers, Producer-Directors & Assistant Producers. Deadline 4 Nov. - Talent Manager

👀 Pre-vis Production Coordinator needed in Bournemouth. Deadline 6 Nov. - Production Base

🪄 The West of England Mayoral Combined Authority (WECA) is looking for a Creative Communications & Marketing Lead with a specialist focus on the Creative Places Growth Fund. Deadline 8 Nov. - Bristol Creative Industries

🍹 Love Struck is looking for a freelance content creator to make social reels for their drinks products. Ideally Bristol or Bath based. - Bristol Creative Industries

🎥 Apply to join the Bristol based Camera Assistant & Edit Assistant talent pools for a large independent producer of natural history content. - My First Job in Film

🙋🏽‍♂️ BBC Studios have opened applications to their AP Self Shooting pool in Cardiff. - Screen Alliance Wales

✍️ BFI Network's early development fund for feature film treatments closes for applications on 11 Nov. - BFI

🤖 Forbidden Worlds Film Festival in Bristol are actively seeking filmmakers from the SW region to submit genre short films. Fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films are all welcome. Next deadline 30 Nov. - FilmFreeway

📮 Upcoming film festival submission deadlines: Celtic Media Festival (6 Nov), Screams by the Sea (8 Nov), No Reason Short (22 Nov), Forbidden Worlds (30 Nov), Bristol Documentary (18 Dec), Encounters (21 Dec), Carmarthen Bay (23 Dec) & Pigeon Laughs (9 Dec). - FilmFreeway

✊ Bristol Radial Film Festival takes place 6-8 Nov. - BRFF

🌾 Harvest Film Festival with a theme of 'Apocalyptic Visions' takes place on 14 Nov near Chard. - HFF

☠️ Pompeywood Film Festival takes place 14 Nov in Portsmouth. - PWFF

🤩 Cornwall Film Festival takes place 16-22 Nov in Falmouth. - CFF

🌍 Afrika Eye Film Festival takes place 17-22 Nov in Bristol . - AEFF

🇵🇸 Bristol Palestine Film Festival takes place 25 Nov - 6 Dec. - BPFF

🍿 On film club: Victim dir. Basil Dearden (on BFIplayer) & The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young dir. Timothy James Kane, Annika Iltis (on Amazon Prime).

📣 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

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Until next week!
Holly Holdsworth (she/her)
Writer/Director
watch my films

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.