Physical : Wed 30th Sept - Sun 4th Oct 2026
Online : Wed 7th Oct - Sun 18th Oct 2026
"I planned on staying for one day and I ended up staying for five. The quality of films, industry talks and networking is all exceptional but what really makes Bolton special is the friendly and welcoming vibes from everyone.
Cannot recommend this festival enough!"
Joseph Walker (Director)
Celebrating films from home and abroad, Bolton Film Festival acts as an amplifier of emerging and established talent. Through its industry talks, masterclasses and networking sessions it aims to break open the door to a creative industry that many people find difficult to access and navigate.
The festival is a BIFA and BAFTA Qualifying short film festival and a Creative England CE50, it has been consistently voted a "Top 100 reviewed" festival from over 10000+ worldwide on FilmFreeway since inception.
Bolton is also a BAFTA qualifying Animation Festival and a Grierson Documentary qualifying festival.
Creative England CE50
If you're thinking about entering this festival, definitely do it! Our film got a distributor off the festival and is now showing on-board Virgin Atlantic flights. Wild. Amazing festival by amazing people.
Ash & Ken (Directors)
Bolton is one of the best festivals on the circuit. Films playing all day across three screens at the swanky The Light cinema, mixed with industry talks and even a film pitch to win £10k. There are networking events everyday where I met so many awesome filmmakers
from around the UK.
Ryan Mekenian
Director
Simply one of the Best Indie Film Festivals in the world! Great film selection, competent jury, great organisation and most importantly- big enthusiastic audience. I'm really honoured that my film was
finally accepted to this festival and even won an award!
Dusan Kastelic
Director
Bolton is up there with the best in the world. It's run by people who love film, are connected across the industry, and understand what it's like for filmmakers at every stage of their career. The programmes, panels and networking are world class, thank you to the whole team - we'll be back!!
Henry Playfoot
Writer
Competition
The festival is competitive with awards for the films and film-makers across 20 disciplines including the categories International, UK Shorts, Documentary, Animation, Comedy, Horror, Women in Film, Dance, Music and Fashion.
We also have dedicated strands for students at undergraduate and postgraduate level offering an even playing field for all the competitors.
Industry Talks
Our industry talks come from talent that's both behind and in front of the camera. We invite award winning writers, producers, directors, location production crew and post production specialists to share their knowledge alongside potential film funders and partners.
We host Q&A's with all our film-makers after each screening inviting the audience to delve deeper into the making of the film and the creative decisions they see on screen.
Bolton was a beaut! Great films, wonderful opportunities to meet and connect with fellow filmmakers and get feedback from audience members who came to see our film, and really nice having all the events under one roof and close together. The selection of films was really exciting to see, and I would definitely recommend submitting your film to Bolton as well as attending in person.
Catherine Peel
Director
Bolton has been the highlight of our festival run so far. In the five days it was running, I saw dozens of amazing films, met incredibly talented people and got to listen to some established professionals talk about their craft. Adrian, Zoe and the whole team of volunteers went out and beyond making everyone feel welcome and important. we hope we’ll be able to come back in the future. Highly recommend!
Adrian Leon
Director
A truly wonderful festival! Saw so many excellent films. A beautiful, varied and engaging selection of films. Communication was on point. Everything was very clear, well organised and the staff were responsive. Amazing networking opportunities every day. Made lots of contacts and left feeling very inspired. Thank you for organising such an amazing experience. Would highly recommend to anyone!
Seth Barnard Chodzko
Director
