Watersprite Film Festival

Overview

Watersprite is the world's largest student film festival. With submissions from over 108 countries, Watersprite seeks to provide a creative, vibrant and inclusive space for the filmmakers of the next generation. Watersprite is now looking for the world’s best short films in fiction, documentary, animation and experimental for its 18th edition! We offer a wide array of exciting awards across several technical and genre categories, which aim to provide long-term career support, offering unique opportunities such as working with respected industry professionals and getting access to the best available equipment. Watersprite goes beyond one-off cash prizes and instead provides you with real, practical opportunities to progress your career in the creative industries. We are planning for a hybrid festival where we will offer online access to the festival weekend including access to its events and screenings. Where it is possible for nominees to attend the festival in person, we will endeavour to provide support to nominees with bursaries and support with other bursary applications. Watersprite will take place from 6th - 8th March 2026. We will have a diverse offering of industry events, panel discussions, Q&A's, workshops, and screenings, all of which are completely free of charge! Our previous keynote speakers have included Academy Award and BAFTA winners, including Bill Nighy, David Yates, Olivia Colman, Richard Curtis, Biyi Bandele, Finola Dwyer, Asif Kapadia, Himesh Patel, Julia Jackman, Eddie Redmayne, Asif Kapadia and Tamsin Greig. If you aren't eligible to submit a film, please feel free to sign up to be an online judge and have the chance to watch the best short student films from around the world! Hear about this opportunity and others by signing up to our mailing list https://watersprite.org.uk/.

Last updated Sep 19, 2026

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FilmFreeway community

• Filmmaker

  Review Festival Review

• Filmmaker

  Attending the Watersprite Film Festival in Cambridge was a truly memorable experience. From the warm hospitality of the organizers to the thoughtfully curated film selection, every aspect of the festival was handled with care and professionalism. The opening ceremony set an inspiring tone, and the award ceremony was beautifully arranged, celebrating the creativity and dedication of filmmakers from around the world. I am deeply honored to have received the Best Sound Design Award for my film, The Town of Dead Dreams, and grateful for the opportunity to share my work with such an engaged and passionate audience. Watersprite fosters an incredible sense of community and appreciation for storytelling, making it an outstanding platform for emerging voices in cinema. Thank you to the entire team for an unforgettable experience!

• Filmmaker

  A truly brilliant festival. It was such a fantastic experience, great settings, great people, great films, I really can’t say a bad word about it. The whole thing is just so well organised and executed. It is everything you hope a film festival would be!

• Filmmaker

  Thank you so much Watersprite for nominating and screening 'Sequoia.' Great films, super welcoming, and well organized – 10/10!

• Filmmaker

  Thank you so much for including our short film "Heartware" in this year's program. Our set designer and our sound designers were nominated and attended the festival in person. It was an amazing experience and they were so thrilled about this opportunity. It's a wonderful thing, that Watersprite celebrates the achievements of these often underappreciated departments. Our set designer Leonie is infinitely grateful for her "Production Design Award"

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