Sustain Film Festival (2)

Festival start: 14 March 2026      Festival end: 14 March 2026

SHOWCASING POWERFUL STORIES OF PEOPLE AND PLANET

Sustain Film Festival based in Guildford, Surrey—a cathedral town just a short train ride from London. While our festival theme has environmental overtones, we welcome submissions from artists, creators, producers and makers from across the creative and cultural landscapes, with an open invitation to interpret the theme as they see fit. We seek stories and artworks far and wide – local regional, national and global. We want to bring people together to promote the future wellbeing of the planet, as well as the current cultural wellbeing of its inhabitants. We want to deliver experiences that explore the very nature of our species, that probe into our psyches, ask big questions of who we are, and who we might become.

Our first year saw 53 events, with our main festival covering 4 days packed with 80 incredible shorts and features from over 35 countries. If you have an emotionally and environmentally engaging story, we want it to shine within our showcases!

Previous venues

ODEON Guildford
The Boathouse Cafe
Boileroom
Guildford Institute
Nodus Centre
Trinity Centre
Performing Arts Technology Studios
Lakeside Cinema

All selected submissions will be screened at venues in Guildford at our main festival, and potentially any build-up events prior.

All selected projects will receive an "OFFICIAL SELECTION" Sustain Film Festival laurel to use for promotion, for both main festival and build-up screenings.

All student films will are eligible for competition in our awards; there are no student specific categories, though students who can present ID valid at the time of their project's production are eligible for a discount.


Types of selection:

AWARD WINNER - These will be announced during the festival.

NOMINATIONS - These will be announced shortly prior (1-2 weeks) of the festival. Films that have been nominated will be screened and eligible for an award at our main festival.

SELECTIONS - These will be announced up to Feb 26th, or earlier. Selections will be screened at our main festival.

SEMI-FINALIST - Your film has great potential, and we are likely to screen it at a pre-festival event, but are yet to determine if it belongs in our main festival programme.

HONOURABLE MENTION - Unfortunately we can't make space for your film in our categories, but we value your submission and it's message/mission.

NOT SELECTED - Your film is unfortunately not suitable for our events - but that doesn't mean we didn't like it, so don't be afraid to submit your next project!

Please do not email us for waiver codes.

For eligibility details head to SustainFilmFest.org/FAQs.

TECHNICAL DETAILS

- For your film:

We will screen films at a minimum resolution of 1080p, and up to 4K.

Exceptions may be made for lower resolutions, such as historical works or young filmmakers, though this decision is at the discretion of the festival team.

Subtitles are encouraged for all submissions and required for non-English language films. Find resources on how to make these at SustainFilmFest.org/FAQs

- To help us promote your film please provide:

At least 3 high quality PNG photos/screenshots you would prefer to be used for promotional purposes

Your film’s poster

Your film’s brief synopsis – if yours is longer, please update to include a version that is no more than 45 words.

Your director’s statement – we use this occasionally for promotional purposes where we wish to spotlight your film, such as on our social media channels.


ADVICE

GENRE - All project genres welcome, as long as your project(s) meet Sustain's theme!

ORIGIN - International submissions welcome!

FORM - Moving image only.

LENGTH - We accept both short and feature submissions. Shorts should be no longer than 30 minutes, features no longer than 100 minutes.

THEME - Our 'Sustain' theme is open to interpretation - we are particularly interested in titles associated with our theme, in whatever creative ways you can interpret. For example, as well as nature and climate, sustaining health, relationships, self, and more.

SUSTAINABILITY - Projects that adhere to sustainable production practices are, of course, encouraged


TERMS

By submitting your film, we reserve the right to use it at upcoming and unannounced events, should we deem it brilliant enough to be worth sharing a second time around! You will be welcome to use laurels for these events, though your submission will only be eligible for awards in your project's original submission.

For screening eligibility, films can have been produced any year.

For award eligibility, films must have been produced after 01/01/2023

We may use your trailer or short clips from your film (max. 90 seconds) to promote your film's screening, on social media and other digital platforms

To ensure you are satisfied with your films marketing materials, we would appreciate the following from you:

- at least 1 director/filmmaker headshot
- any BTS photos
- any stills/screenshots from the film
- a trailer, if you have one

Our intention is to use these within marketing materials for the festival, both digital and physical media - promo videos, flyers, posters, programmes etc.

On occasion, we may also gather alternate screenshots and short clips from the projects ourselves, for use in festival marketing where appropriate.

SELECTION PROCESS

Films are reviewed by a majority of our team before the ultimate selection decision to screen is made. Our team is made up of filmmakers, creative producers, journalists and more!

Not all projects might suit our film festival, and we reserve the right not to screen project submissions we think would find a more suitable home at other festivals.

We are committed to including a variety of films by a variety of filmmakers, and consciously programme our events to include a diversity of culture.

All films submitted after our normal deadline are guaranteed to be reviewed for our next festival edition, but may not be screened at immediately upcoming events.


SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS

Funded by the University of Surrey's Institute of Sustainability, we ensure our projects focus on the United Nations' 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Below are statistics showcasing the frequency of SDGs across the 84 films in our 2025 programme. If your film covers multiple or especially infrequent SDGs, it is more likely to be selected!

No poverty 11x
Zero hunger 5x
Good health and well-being 40x
Quality education 12x
Gender equality 17x
Clean water and sanitation 14x
Affordable and clean energy 11x
Decent work and economic growth 12x
Industry, innovation and infrastructure 9x
Reduced inequalities 24x
Sustainable cities and communities 16x
Responsible consumption and production 18x
Climate action 16x
Life below water 11x
Life on land 12x
Peace, justice, and strong institutions 18x
Partnerships for the goals 4x

For more details head to SustainFilmFest.org/FAQs.