Encounters Film Festival is a

short film A short film is a film with a low running time. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) defines a short film as "an original motion picture that has a running time of not more than 40 minutes including all credits". Other film o ...

animation Animation is a filmmaking technique whereby still images are manipulated to create moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Animati ...

and VR

festival A festival is an event celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, Melā, mela, or Muslim holidays, eid. A ...

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Based in Bristol, Encounters runs a six-day festival in September and its main venues are Watershed, Bristol Beacon and Arnolfini, on Bristol’s harbourside.

History

The festival began in 1995 as Brief Encounters, a one-off event. Animated Encounters was set up in 2001 to celebrate and showcase animation. In 2006 the two festivals united as the Encounters Short Film Festival. Special guests at past festivals have included

Matt Groening Matthew Abram Groening ( ; born February 15, 1954) is an American cartoonist, writer, producer, and animator. He is best known as the creator of the television series ''The Simpsons'' (1989–present), ''Futurama'' (1999–2003, 2008–2013, 2 ...

Hayao Miyazaki is a Japanese animator, filmmaker, and manga artist. He co-founded Studio Ghibli and serves as honorary chairman. Throughout his career, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a masterful storyteller and creator of Anime, Japanese ani ...

Ray Harryhausen Raymond Frederick Harryhausen (June 29, 1920 – May 7, 2013) was an American-British animator and special effects creator who is regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of both fields. In a career spanning more than 40 ...

and

Andrea Arnold Andrea Patricia Arnold OBE (born 5 April 1961) is an English filmmaker and former actress. She won an Academy Award for her short film ''Wasp'' in 2005. Her feature films include '' Red Road'' (2006), '' Fish Tank'' (2009) and '' American Hon ...

. Notable competition alumni include

Denis Villeneuve Denis Villeneuve Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, OAL (; ; born October 3, 1967) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. He has received seven Canadian Screen Awards as well as nominations for four Academy Awards, five BAFTA Awards, and two ...

, Lynne Ramsay, Rungano Nyoni,

Julia Ducournau Julia Ducournau (; born 18 November 1983) is a French film director and screenwriter. She made her feature film debut in 2016 with '' Raw''. At the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, she won the Palme d'Or for her film '' Titane'', which made her the sec ...

, Charlotte Wells, Ruben Östlund,

Joachim Trier Joachim Trier () (born 1 March 1974) is a Danish-born Norwegian filmmaker. His films have been described as "Melancholia, melancholy meditations concerned with existential questions of love, ambition, memory, and identity (social science), ident ...

, Molly Manning-Walker and

Radu Jude Radu Jude (; born 28 March 1977) is a Romanian film director and screenwriter. Most known for his Golden Bear winner film ''Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn'' (2021). Biography In 2003, Jude graduated from the Film Directing Department of the Med ...

. Since 2010 Encounters Festival has been a qualifying festival for the

Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film The Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film is an award presented at the annual Academy Awards ceremony. The award has existed, under numerous names, since 1957. From 1936 until 1956 there were two separate awards, ''Best Short Subject, On ...

and Best Animated Short, alongside the equivalent BAFTAs categories. In 2011 Encounters Festival announced a new partnership with the European Film Academy Short Film Initiative, becoming a member of the 15 European festivals that present the nominations for the

European Film Awards The European Film Awards (or European Film Academy Awards) have been presented annually since 1988 by the European Film Academy to recognize excellence in European cinematic achievements. The awards are given in 19 categories, of which the mos ...

. The festival celebrates its 30th edition in September 2025.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Encounters.film
Film festivals in England Short film festivals in the United Kingdom