New Renaissance Film Festival (London, UK)

Overview

The New Renaissance Film Festival (NRFF) is an independent film festival founded in 2015 in London, with a reputation as a curated platform for emerging and established filmmakers and screenwriters. It is notable for championing independent storytelling across narrative, documentary, animation, experimental, music, and dance cinema, and for building an international community around art-house and genre-adjacent work. The festival has been recognized as one of the UK’s top film festivals and is part of the broader film festival circuit for its focus on diverse, high-quality independent films and career opportunities for new talent.

Last updated Oct 1, 2026

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FilmFreeway communityGold festival

• daniel devilleOct 2023

  If you want a festival where the filmmaker is the star, this is the one for you. The programming was bold and the team didn't shy away from difficult subject matters. I'm honoured to have received 'Best Of Fest', and without question will be submitting all my films from here on out. Thank you NRFF!

• Evan PrestonOct 2023

  New Renaissance Film Festival is brilliant. I really enjoyed my experience there this year. The entire fest is absolutely bursting with talent. Jan and Massi are friendly and the way they curate and run the festival is to be admired greatly. I would highly recommend!

• Shezah SalamOct 2023

  Honoured to have won the 'Emerging Artist' award with my short Bona Vacantia! I've been to quite a few film festivals now including some great BAFTA-qualifying ones so I can say with some confidence that New Renaissance delivers an excellent festival experience and gives you everything you want from a festival and more. Venue? The close-up cinema was cool, intimate and had a first-class screen. Programming? It was a tight set - the films I watched along with mine were all very good. But most of all, it was the networking opportunities, hospitality and community that stood out. To win an award was great - a festival that gives out actual prize money for shorts is rare and if you're a new filmmaker then this is definitely one of the fests you should submit to. I will certainly be submitting all my future films here.

• Olivia RutherfordOct 2023

  What a great festival as ever, thank you Massi & Jan. Top selection of films. And it's intimate enough to meet a lot of the film makers and collaborators. Great vibe, great venue, right in the middle of Soho. I'm very happy to be taking away a trophy - Best International Documentary with The Hustle.

• All Mixed Up ProductionsOct 2023

  Such a nice vibe and energy in this festival. We had a great time and will definitely be submitting again next year.

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