Little Wing Film Festival ()

Festival start: 23 September 2022      Festival end: 25 September 2022

A grassroots festival run by and for young creatives, Little Wing is challenging barriers to film, amplifying diverse voices and redefining the conversation for a new generation of filmmakers. Where we want to see real change, we'll start with ourselves.

Exclusively screening films from students, recent graduates, and new filmmakers, we held the first Little Wing Film Festival in 2017 and have since partnered with the likes of BBC Films, Mayor of London, and the BFI to deliver curated prizes and opportunity pathways for emerging filmmakers. Alongside screenings, our events are rooted in supporting filmmakers development and highlighting the importance of film in our wider social narrative. We've organised networking pubcrawls, partnered with charities to present accessible screenings around disability and industry inclusion, supported campaigns for sustainable career standards for producers, and worked with grassroots organisations to create their own community cinemas to build community resilience and tackle isolation throughout COVID.

Film guidelines are broad and submission costs are as low. We want Little Wing Film Festival to be accessible and we understand that first projects aren't usually backed by big budgets. Whether your films be shorts or features, animations or documentaries; every story that is weird and wonderful, and your unique point of view, we want to see.
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We are anticipating a 2022 hybrid festival so we can continue to reach audiences and filmmakers who aren't able to join us in person, but, like 2020, if COVID restrictions require us to move to an online platform, we're confident that we'll be able to once again deliver an event that is high quality, enriching, and personable. If you have any questions or concerns, write to us and let's chat.

Join us - be a part of a grassroots movement championing new talent and join our community of tight-knit, collaborative, and supportive filmmakers.
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For more information visit www.littlewingevents.com or send us an e-mail at contact@littlewingevents.com

More about us:
Little Wing began as a response against the socioeconomic barriers facing young people trying to break into the film industry. When opportunities are too often chiselled out of unpaid internships and work experience, young people working to support themselves independently often get left behind. Started by young people, for young people, we want to create more sustainable and inclusive opportunities with awards that help facilitate future projects. We want to curate events and opportunities that shift us towards a future in film that we'd like to see for ourselves and encourage around us - a future that is inclusive, where opportunities aren't just reserved for those who can afford to work unpaid, and where talent isn't disadvantaged because it's new.

Be it software, equipment, finances, or opportunity pathways, we want to ensure our awards are genuinely facilitating future projects and fostering career growth.

In the past, filmmakers have received one-on-one advice sessions with BBC Film, RODE equipment, Dropbox licenses, Final Draft scriptwriting software, Shure audio equipment, music licenses, Blackmagic Design gear, cash prizes, and more! Keep an eye out for 2022 prizes and award categories to be revealed.

2021 awards included

Best Director
Best Editing
Best Screenplay
Best Cinematography
Best Male Actor
Best Female Actor
Best Documentary
Best Animation
Best UK Film
Best International Film

Film Enterprise Award - to award those who have created brilliant films of limited resources. These awards will be eligible for those whose budgets were under £2000.

Film Futures Award - Rewarding filmmakers for championing stories, ideas, diversity, equality, that we want to see more of in the future of film.

If you'd like to be eligible, please include in your cover statement anything you would like to be taken into consideration. If there are elements of the process which you'd like to highlight behind the screens (eg diversity and representation in crew members) please be sure to include this.

Chosen films will also have allocations of free tickets that can be used throughout the festival so you can see the quality of work that is being produced by your peers and meet like-minded creatives.

Little Wing Film Festival is exclusively for new filmmakers, current students, and graduates within approximately 2 years of their graduation date. There is flexibility around these on an individual case basis so please get in touch if you have any questions around eligibility. We appreciate film isn't always the most linear career path and welcome returners.

**If you are unsure about eligibility or have intentionally not chosen to title your project as a student film, please speak with us. Each year, a lot of time is spent doing background searches and following up with filmmakers to check their status and going forward if eligibility isn't made clear the film may be disregarded. **

Please note that film submissions will be checked for eligibility and films in breach of this will be disqualified from festival consideration and submission fees will not be reimbursed. Festival submissions costs add up so please do your research before submitting to see if this is the best festival for your level of experience. All filmmakers must have the necessary rights to their work. Little Wing Film Festival holds no responsibility for self-incrimination or the consequences against submitting illegal content.

The individual or corporation submitting the film hereby warrants that it is authorized to commit the film for screening, and understands and accepts these requirements and regulations. They accept that the submission and accompanying photography and media assets may be used for promotional purposes as seen fit by Little Wing Film Festival management.

By submitting to the festival you're allowing us to contact you via e-mail to share occasional updates on the event.