Catch the best new short and animated films from across the globe, right here in Bristol. Encounters is the UK’s leading short film festival combining film screenings, special events, industry masterclasses and workshops in a jam packed programme of activity.
The Encounters programme is bursting at the seams with a glorious selection of things to do, see, watch and experience. This year’s highlights include an Aardman Retrospective, celebrating their 40th year; a country focus on Ukraine, an exceptional programme of European shorts featuring films from each of the 28 EU member states; and a retrospective programme through Bristol’s musical history. Special guests include author and screenwriter David Nicholls, filmmaker, musician and DJ Don Letts, and writer, broadcaster and filmmaker Paul Mason.
The 22nd Festival will present over 400 films and 40 events, and the International Competition is a gateway to some of the biggest awards out there – filmmakers who screen their shorts at Encounters can go on to win the Academy Awards® the BAFTAs, Cartoon d’Or and the European Film Awards. See them here first.
Find out more about the festival, see the full programme and sign up to the Encounters newsletter at encounters-festival.org.uk.
Ticket price range: free drop in sessions - £8.00.
Want to see the best of the best from the 2016 competition? Catch a selection of the award winning short and animated films in this unmissable showcase – a regular sell out, make sure you get your tickets quick!
Want to see the best of the best from the 2016 competition? Catch a selection of the award winning short and animated films in this unmissable showcase – a regular sell out, make sure you get your tickets quick!
Celebrate our European-ness with this unique rolling programme featuring a film from each of the 28 EU member states screened back to back in this free drop-in screening.
This selection of six Lithuanian short films – fiction, animation and documentary, released in the last three years, is well representative of the direction of contemporary filmmaking in Lithuania.
This debut feature from BAFTA-award winning director and photographer Esther May Campbell is a poetic and startling story of loss, hope and the deepest of human connections.
We’ve teamed up with Aardman, the creators behind Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Morph, to offer some ewe-nique workshops and the opportunity to learn how to make your own Shaun the Sheep.
The big screen premiere of the tiny shorts (90 seconds or less) in the running for the DepicT! awards - plus a chance to meet the talent behind the films.
Aardman, the creators behind Shaun the Sheep, Wallace & Gromit and Morph, offer some ewe-nique workshops and the opportunity to learn how to make your own Gromit clay model.
A programme bringing together some of the titles from the short and animated films in competition and to give you a snap shot of what's coming up in the Festival week.
A selection of films that dare to be different - through experimentation and often non-narrative approaches these films excel in their design and novel ways of expression.
Back by popular demand... this collection of music videos and dance short films offers you dazzling visual art, wild stories and animated adventures in sound, music and image.
Defiance is the corner stone of every great on-screen protagonist. These films continue that tradition by showcasing new on-screen rebels and their revolutions both big and small.
The Cartoon d’Or is the award for the best European animated short film of the year showcasing the best of the best prize-winning films from major European festivals.
This politically charged, spine-chilling debut from Iranian director Babak Anvari (who joins us for a Director's Q&A after the Mon 3 Oct 18:00 screening) is a tense and atmospheric thriller set in a haunted Tehran apartment during the terrifying final days of the Iran-Iraq War.
From Celtic Mythology to shipwrecked sailors, dark memories to murder mystery, join us for an evening of tension and suspense with these heart stopping thrilling shorts.
For some, a first film, for others a step on their way to a first feature – this collection presents a young generation of female Ukrainian filmmakers to watch.
People aren’t always what you think, and friendships can often be found where you least expect them. In these films some characters open their eyes past first impressions, and some go on journeys to discover who they really are.
Four films from Gavin Scott Whitfield, a brave new filmmaking voice who seeks to empower the powerless and peer into dark corners that society would rather gloss over.
The prestigious Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg celebrates its 25th anniversary with this hand-picked selection of outstanding student projects from the last 25 years.
Newly digitised and restored these four documentary films accurately represent the turning point in Lithuanian documentary cinema and establish a dialogue between filmmakers from two different generations.
In this programme some of the most ambitious animation dares to tackle weighty subject matter each with something to say about humanity or the lack of.
In this special 40th anniversary event we are delighted to welcome Aardman co-founders Peter Lord and David Sproxton to look back at the key milestones along their incredible journey.
A programme bringing together some of the titles from the short and animated films in competition and to give you a snap shot of what's coming up in the Festival week.
