Get Involved!
Meet like-minded creatives and enjoy the very best in film from around the world.
The Worcester Film Festival is a celebration of independent filmmaking. Our mission is to provide a platform to promote the art of filmmaking in all its forms.
So whether you’re a seasoned pro or a first-time filmmaker, we want to hear from you. Join us for this 4 day event and be part of something special.
Who are we?
We’re a collective of filmmakers and film lovers who have come together to put Worcester on the film destination map. We live and work in the Midlands and are proud to champion this area. Every year we see more and more creativity coming to, and out of, the region and we’ll continue to work with local and national bodies and institutions to nurture that growth.
Why Worcester Film Festival?
With over 12,000 festivals listed on FilmFreeway alone, we appreciate that festival runs are becoming increasingly difficult for filmmakers to plan, navigate or create robust strategies for. Our team have all worked in filmmaking, so we know how that feels to try and find festivals that genuinely engage, have filmmaker’s best interests at their core and don’t exploit, especially in times with ever tightening budgets.
This is why our aim is to deliver a festival that is a valuable and authentic experience, working towards accessibility for all.
We do this by focussing three specific areas – Community, Industry and Education.
Community: Over the years we have built a warm and welcoming group of film lovers and filmmakers that support each other and their projects. This grows and grows with each festival and with year round events and networking, we are seeing even more of the local community engaging. From 2022 to present our audiences have grown from 250 to 1,600, we feel this is a testament to our ethos, open communication and our transparency.
Industry: Each edition we try and identify which areas of the industry filmmakers would like to learn more about or which areas they find barriers for. From there, we plan events that put filmmakers in front of the right guests and industry specialists – ranging across distribution, casting, pitching, visual effects and composing. We’ve also seen many filmmakers make connections that have led to collaborations and co-productions.
Education: Students are the next generation of the industry and it is important to us to showcase them and build retention in our area for those studying here. Our student category offers lower rates for this reason with further discounts for students from local institutions. Over every festival, we’ve been fortunate to have driven and engaged students volunteer with us and through the connections they’ve created there, have gone on to make or be part of Officially Selected films at subsequent editions.
Our Ethos
The Worcester Film Festival started because we believe that Worcester can be a destination for filmmaking. However, it takes more than just having film productions in this area to change an entire narrative and culture around a place. Our mission was to put on a festival in every sense of the word, one that would appeal to filmmakers and to the community at large.
Our ethos is to provide an earnest and friendly experience. Creating non-judgemental spaces and environments for people to have stimulating conversations, film allows us to discover new attitudes, views, cultures and ways of understanding our own lives. We want to enhance this experience.
For you
The Filmmakers
Blood, sweat and tears goes into filmmaking, so here’s your chance to take a load off and relax.
Whether you have a film with us or just want to connect with other people in the industry, come along and enjoy our programme of events and all the places Worcester has to offer.
For you
The Film Lovers
The capacity for storytelling has grown so much over the last 10 years and now more than ever we wanted to curate and showcase some of these fantastic films from all around the world.
So, whether you’re a cinephile who enjoys regular trips to the cinema or you prefer to binge watch from the comfort of your own home, take a chance and join us. There’s definitely going to be something for you.
