Festival dossier

Norwich Film Festival

Norwich, United Kingdom · Est. 2009 · Established legitimate festival with meaningful track record

Tier BTrusted
Norwich, United Kingdom
65
Legitimacy Score

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Solid signals — do normal diligence

Tier B looks established enough for many filmmakers. Check fees, programming fit, and recent editions before submitting.

  • No physical screenings
  • 17 years of verifiable history
  • 3 verified pro signals

Overview

The Norwich Film Festival is a BAFTA Qualifying Short Film Festival (Section B)* as well as a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) Qualifying Short Film Festival* and was chosen by The Metro as one of "the top UK film festivals you need to know about". We pride ourselves on screening a wide range of short films, spanning an eclectic mix of genres, themes and backgrounds. All films must be under 25 minutes in duration (including titles & credits). All films are screened in one of our specially curated strands, ranging from mixes of different genres and themes, to specific strands such as Women In Film, Comedy, Horror, LGBTQ+ and more. We have been running since 2009 and have screened over 1000 films to the public. The festival has an amazing array of celebrity patrons including Stephen Fry, Tim McInnerny, Olivia Colman, Julian Jarrold, Brian Cox & John Collee. We also work hard to recruit industry judges for our Grand Jury who are all eager to watch our nominated films. Previous final-round industry judges have included Stephen Fry, Neve Campbell, Alfred Molina, Michael Sheen, Emma Freud, Bernard Hill, Alistair Petrie, Edith Bowman, and Roger Michell. The full list of NFF2026 judges will be updated on our website and social media platforms throughout the year. *Only British short films and animations will be eligible for BAFTA/BIFA status as per their guidelines. See the BAFTA and BIFA websites for further details.

Last updated Sep 4, 2026

Legitimacy Analysis

Positive Indicators (+30 pts)

  • 17 years of verifiable history
  • 3 verified pro signals
  • Verified trusted status
  • Legitimacy signals outweigh concerns (3 vs 1)

Red Flags (-15 pts)

  • No physical screenings

Trust Signals

Positive Signals

  • FilmFreeway Gold festival
  • Documented history with archived programs
  • Has FilmFreeway community ratings

Festival Details

Founded

2009

Visit Festival Website

FilmFreeway communityGold festival

Avg. rating

4.5/ 5

Reviews

91

Synced 4 days ago

  • Filmmaker

    A brilliant festival with an amazing line up. Very warm and friendly.

  • Filmmaker

    Was wonderful to be a part of the festival! Thank you!

  • Filmmaker

    It was a huge honour to have Ritual play at Norwich film festival especially amongst such a high quality films. Will submit again!

  • Filmmaker

    Love it! Love it! Love it! Norwich is always on my festival strategy list and it is such a pleasure to attend and meet other filmmakers. Run by great people as well which is always a good thing.

  • Filmmaker

    Really appreciated, In the Clouds, was selected for such a fab festival! Thanks to the whole team! Norwich is such a beautiful city as well!

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At a glance

Legitimacy Score65/100
TierTier B
Reviews0
Community Reports0
FilmFreeway4.5★ · 91

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