international film competition 2024
2024 brings the 7th Fisheye International Film Competition.
Since it began in 2016 the competition has received hundreds of entries from countries around the globe and screened a selection of excellent films. This year we are looking forward to presenting an equally high standard of films reflecting the range and diversity of those submitted.
competition entries
SUBMISSIONS FOR FOR FISHEYE FILM FESTIVAL 2024 ARE NOW CLOSED.
Films must have been completed NO EARLIER THAN 1 AUGUST 2022.
Entries are by submission via Film Freeway until 31st December 2023.
We are looking for:
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- FEATURE FILMS (narrative / genre / documentary) between 60-120 minutes in length
- SHORT FILMS (narrative / genre / documentary) less than 20
minutes in length - MICRO SHORT FILMS (narrative / genre / documentary) less than 4 minutes in length
- SHORT EXPERIMENTAL / NON-NARRATIVE FILMS (e.g. silent films, dance, music videos) less than 15 minutes in length
short film categories
We have special categories for:
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- SHORT FILMS (narrative; any genre) – must be 20 minutes
or less in length - SHORT FILMS (documentary) – must be 20 minutes or less in length
- MICRO SHORT FILMS (narrative fiction [all genres]; documentary; artistic) – must be 4 minutes or less in length
- SHORT GENRE FILMS (Horror, Comedy, Sci Fi, Thriller, Fantasy, etc.) – must be 20 minutes or less in length
- SHORT EXPERIMENTAL / NON-NARRATIVE (e.g. silent films,
dance, music videos) – must be 15 minutes or less in length - SHOW OFF YOUR SHORTS! (films eligible from any of the above categories and you present your film in person) – must be 20 minutes or less in length
- SHORT FILMS by FILMMAKERS AGED 22 or UNDER at time of
completion of the film (narrative / genre / documentary) – must be 20 minutes or less in length - SHORT FILMS by LOCAL FILMMAKERS residing in Buckinghamshire and surrounding counties; Bedfordshire, Berkshire, Northamptonshire, Oxfordshire, London, Hertfordshire (films eligible from any of the above short film categories and attending filmmakers given priority for theatrical screenings) – must be 20 minutes or less in length
- SHORT FILMS (narrative; any genre) – must be 20 minutes
selection and curation
A few notes on Fisheye’s selection of entries and curation of the festival:
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- Films submitted through Film Freeway are all watched in their entirety by one or more members of the selection committee.
- The films are scored in a number of technical categories, as well as given an overall rating (a measure of the overall excellence and impact of the film).
- Films scoring above our cut-off mark (which varies year by year) are then debated amongst assessors and festival organisers at a moderation meeting to decide which we think are worthy of inclusion, judging by suitability and how they fit with the ethos of Fisheye Film Festival. We aim both to select the best and to reflect the range of films submitted.
nomination and awards
How Fisheye assess award nominees and decides on competitions awards:
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- Our Awards Jury is made up of industry professionals, past winners and film professionals. Selected films which score particularly well with our assessment team (overall and/or in the technical categories) are then put forward to our Jury to score, again in a variety of categories.
- Some of these categories directly relate to particular Awards (for example, Cinematography or Sound Design). For other Awards (for example, Best Film or Best Director), we collate scores from a set of relevant categories to find our winners.
award categories
The Prize Jury awarded Laurels and Honourable Mentions for the following:
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- Best Screenplay
- Best Editing
- Best Animation
- Best Cinematography
- Best Music
- Best Sound Design
- Best Hair & Makeup Design
- Best Costume Design
- Best Production Design
- Best Short Film by a Filmmaker Aged 22 or Under
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- Best Male Performer
- Best Female Performer
- Best Director
- Best Experimental Film
- Best Micro Short
- Best Short Documentary
- Best Short Film Genre
- Best International Short Film
- Best UK Short Film
- Best Short Film of the Festival
award juries
This year the Prize Jury will be split into six different panels:
general jury
Amita Shankar
Andrew St Maur
Molly Isaac
Tony McHale
Annabella Rich
Francesca Louise White
Jim Eaves
Carla Hart
Robyn Adams
Marvin Roberts
Bella Bregazzi
Ty Cheman
animation jury
Martin W Payne
Austin Charlesworth
Ty Cheman
Andy Walker
documentary jury
Jonathan Latham
Dr Tom McGorrian
Sean Botha
Jason Dinsdale
Tim Fuell
Bella Bregazzi
dance / choreography jury
Sue Weston
Debbie Green
acting / performances jury
Martin W Payne
Rune Temte
Annabella Rich
Francesca Louise White
Scott Philip Goergens
Shiraz Khan
Jim Eaves
Carla Hart
Bella Bregazzi
experimental jury
Martin W Payne
Fil Leropoulos
David Duke
Sean Botha
Jason Dinsdale
awards panel
For the 2023 Festival, we have an amazing panel of experts to judge Fisheye’s competitions.
Amita Shankar
A well-known name on the British-Asian stage, London-based Amita has been an actor & has also designed, curated & organised a number of theatre & cinema events in the UK & other countries.
Her focus across all these events has been in support of Women: from workshops on Women in Films in London to chairing the International Women’s Conference in various other countries to the roles she has championed women’s issues across multiple fronts. She is also a programmer & juror for various film & drama festivals around the globe
As an amateur actor in the UK’s Asian theatre circuits, she has acted in several successful shows — most recently “SHE, The Shakti”, a one-act dance drama, she scripted & acted in. She also finds time to contribute to radio/TV programmes supporting charitable causes.
She has been a juror for the Dhaka International Film Festival, Religion Today Film Festival, Italy, Rainbow Film Festival in London and Fisheye.
She is also a member of the Women of Faith for Peace Conference (Italy), a delegate at the Kazan Muslim Film Festival, a member of delegation at the Central Asian Arts Festival London to Bishkek and has been a motivational speaker at the Women’s Conference, Firozabad, India.
Besides her acting & film career, Amita has been an entrepreneur with the experience of having run her own art exhibitions & artwork shipping & handling business for over 15 years.
Andrew St Maur
Andrew is a proudly working class filmmaker from nearby Slough, and is a graduate of the National Film & Television School, where he was the proud recipient of a full scholarship from Pinewood Studios. He has subsequently set up his own production company, St Maur Pictures Ltd. In addition to his degree in Film Production, Andrew has a background in producing; 27 shorts for television broadcast for Channel 4 & the BBC, as well as funders including the BFI & Creative England. Many of his films have gone on to screen at BAFTA & Academy Award qualifying festivals around the world, picking up many awards.
Recently, Andrew was an associate producer on two fully financed European co-production short films, “Scale” (which screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2022) & “Pops” which is currently screening on Disney+. He has several short films in post production and several features in development.
In summer 2021 he produced his debut feature “Little English” with Resource Productions, which had it’s festival premiere last summer at the BFI Southbank and will be released theatrically this spring.
Andy Walker
Andy is a musician, film maker, actor and reviewer. He currently co-hosts a film review podcast, now in its fifth year, concentrating on independent features and shorts.
Annabella Rich
Annabella is an actress, writer and producer, best known for her work on the UK independent film scene. She has been involved in over 50 projects and has won multiple awards.
Austin Charlesworth
Austin studied at Norwich School of Art and Design and graduated in 1996 after specializing in animation. His final 3rd year film was in stop-motion and was shown on Rapture TV and in the British Short Film Festival. He went on to work in the animation industry in London, Manchester and Cardiff on series such as Bill & Ben, Fireman Sam and Rastamouse. In 2019 he entered a short animated film into Sci-Fi London’s 48hr Film Challenge where the film got a special mention and was picked up by the DUST platform. He regularly makes his own films in his spare time. He lives with his partner and 2 cats.
Bella Bregazzi
Bella is an independent filmmaker and founder of production company, Gloom Bot Films. She began working in film at 16 years old and has worked on a range of short and feature films as well as event videography. She has achieved festival success for a range of projects, most notably her short documentary, ‘Stand Out Fit In’ won best non – fiction film at DMOFF and had its premiere screening at COSXPO comic convention in 2023. Currently, Bella is in production on her 5th short film, ‘Natalmare’, which will be developed into a feature film later this year.
Carla Hart
Carla holds a BA in Media Studies, and is an actress, theatre director, writer, script editor & production manager. She founded Misfits Theatre Group in 2018, a production company for actors to gain invaluable experience of both acting on stage and being involved in the production process. Carla is also the production manager for a company that creates short form documentaries around the UN Sustainable Development Goals for member bodies to showcase amazing advancements in their industry towards making the world a better place. She enjoys writing for both film and theatre, and has her first one woman show debuting later this year. Carla is no stranger to films festivals; as well as assisting with the TriForce Film Festival pre-pandemic, she spent 2 years working with Lift Off International Film Festival out of Pinewood Studios judging short & long form narratives, documentaries and script submissions from all around the world and soon became their head script editor. After Lift Off, Carla went on to be script editor on a number of films, one of which was recently an official selection at the Catalina Film Festival 2023.
Claudia Nettleford
Claudia began acting at a young age like many in the school nativity play, and continued throughout her formal education gaining a degree in Business studies and Drama. After her degree she has worked with many independent directors and short films, presenting for a comedy club and a feature film. Her staring role in the short film Longing has been shown at film festivals in the UK and internationally as well as been shown on cable tv in the USA and Canada. Most recently she has read for a local newsletter for the blind.
David Duke
David is an award winning actor, writer, director and producer of short films.
Debbie Green
Debbie is a dancer and movement artist, trained at the Rambert School of Ballet. She has worked as a professional ballet dancer and choreographer for theatre, film, video promos and TV commercials and spent three decades as a movement tutor for actors at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama. She is co-author of “Actor Movement: Expression of the Physical Being”. Her work with photographer Clare Park as both collaborator and subject has produced imagery for exhibition and books including “Breaking Form; Re-Formed” & “A Square Foot of Sky”. She is currently involved in the development process of an album with the company ‘Music and Being’.
Fil Leropoulos
Fil studied film and cultural studies, and completed his PhD with a specialisation in film poetry at the University of Kent. Since 2003 he has been a Senior Lecturer at Buckinghamshire New University. He has participated in festivals, exhibitions and conferences around the world. His film ORFEAS2021, a queer adaptation of Claudio Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, was nominated at the Hellenic Film Awards. His second feature, experimental documentary Avant-Drag! premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam.
Francesca Louise White
Francesca Louise White is an Internationally Award-Winning Actress, Producer and Voice Artist from Oxfordshire. BA (Hons) Drama degree from Exeter University, studied Acting across the pond at AADA in Los Angeles & comedy improvisation with The Groundlings. She has over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry which includes 36 British short films to date. A life-long film lover whose interests in martial arts and stories of all varieties have led her to work across almost all the genres. She is most known for her independent film work including: ‘King of Crime’ directed by Matt Gambell for Lionsgate, ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ by Steve Lawson for Creativ Studios & Highfliers Films, and ‘Walking Against the Rain’ by Scott Lyus for Crossroad Pictures.
Jason Dinsdale
Jason is a movie fan, enjoying the arthouse as much as the multiplex. He has performed, contributed to soundtracks and animated, with his main interest being scriptwriting. Collaborations included winning the LoveBath film prize – which is Ken Loach’s all-time favourite pub skittles based documentary!
Jim Eaves
Jim is an award-winning filmmaker with several feature films on international release. He has also spent the last 20 years working as Video Production Manager for an NGB. He hosts The Honest Filmmaker podcast – career advice for creatives – a podcast designed to help people new to creative industries. Find out more at The Honest Filmmaker.
Jonathan Latham
Jonathan has been a film fan since childhood. Currently living on Long Island, NY, he once worked as a projectionist, running as many as 6 projectors a night. Building sets and doing makeup for stage plays, along with years of experience making mask and puppets, has given him a rich love for all things cinema.
Martin W Payne
Martin is an actor, producer & director in the world of independent short & feature films. He’s been acting for over 25 years & made the leap onto the screen around nine years ago, since amassing over 100 credits. Most recently, he can be seen in “Mask of the Devil”, “Monstrous Disunion”, “lonely Hearts” and “Powertool Cheerleaders Vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead”, all of which have had successful festival runs.
Martin has been on the jury for a number of film festivals in the past, and says “I make sure to watch all of the films on offer before thinking about judging, even if sometimes that is difficult. Occasionally short films that just grab me and demand a high score”, adding “arthouse & ‘no budget’ films are a true curate’s egg – sometimes unexpected magnificence can be found, and its joyful to see such creativity when it appears”.
Marvin Roberts
Marvin is a writer and filmmaker, focusing on shorts with the topics of addiction & relationships. He has worked with Resource Productions, BAFTA, BBC Sports Relief and Edinburgh Television Festival. He also has a YouTube channel where he reviews films and interviews filmmakers.
Molly Isaac
Molly is a creative composer, sound designer & foley artist, experimenting with how far the boundaries of sound can be pushed & helping creators tell unforgettable stories. She currently works at KROTOS, the company behind award winning plugins revolutionizing the sound design workflow, allowing users powerful & efficient creation of sound design for post-production, game audio and music. She also holds a BSc in Music Composition & Technology for Film & Game.
She has worked on a wide range of projects including live immersive theatre, audiobooks, podcasts & sync work, most recently with BXB Studios on their new feature film “Sheryl”.
Robyn Adams
Robyn is an actress, filmmaker and ‘professional she-freak’ from Greater Manchester, and a rising star in the UK independent horror scene. She is best known for her appearances in short genre films, including “Mirror, Mirror: TRANSVILE”, which premiered at the 2024 edition of the Horror-on-Sea festival. She is also the director of the highly anticipated upcoming folk-horror short “The Estrogen Gospel”. Her performances and work frequently draw from her experiences as an autistic transgender woman living in the North of England. Robyn is a writer and critic for the website The Geek Show, where she reviews cult and genre titles both old and new and has appeared as a guest on numerous podcasts. In February of 2021, she hosted the highly successful queer cinema panel talk “Closet Monsters” in association with Grimmfest and the charity Forward Stockport LGBT+.
Scott Philip Goergens
Scott hails from just outside Baltimore, USA and was awarded an art scholarship from the state of Maryland. He used the scholarship to receive a general associate’s degree from Catonsville Community College, where he concentrated electives in some art courses and chose to continue his art career by developing his skills in various mediums and styles. Scott is also a writer and an award winning filmmaker. He worked as a Casting Associate for Emmy award winning Pat Moran, CSA, and is currently working on his second feature film and an illustrated book. In 2018, Scott and his husband opened Gallery Blue Door to complement and add to the cultural landscape of his neighbourhood of Mount Vernon, Baltimore.
Sean Botha
Sean is an actor, camera operator and drone pilot based near Peterborough, with credits including “The Haunting of the Lady-Jane”, “The Samaritan’s Gift” and “Wastelands”.
Shiraz Khan
Shiraz is an multi award winning actor, writer, director and producer with his production company, Aimhigh Productions. He has produced three award winning features and multiple shorts, acclaimed by film festivals around the world. Shiraz is currently working on his first International feature “Journey” which is been shot in both the UK and Pakistan. He believes that films have the power to not only just entertain but also to bring change in the world. He holds an MA from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
Sue Weston
Sue is a former dancer, choreographer and director working across various media: BBC TV, ITV, Merchant Ivory, Scottish Ballet, Kent Opera etc . She lives in South East Wales, where she runs classes, courses and retreats in T’ai-Chi, Qigong and meditation – locally, in Scotland and internationally. www.sueweston.com
Tim Fuell
Tim learnt the craft of investigative journalism under the guidance of documentary luminaries such as Ray Fitzwalter and Jon Pilger & gained a distinction in the MA in Investigative Journalism at Nottingham Trent University, founding the global Association of Investigative Journalists before broadening his skillset by qualifying & prqctising as a Solicitor for a number of years. The lure of the creative arts was too strong however, and having founded Jibba Jabba as one of the first UK podcast creators for an embryonic iTunes, the company broadened into full content production making short and long form content and advising a number of high profile clients on social media. Over lock-down, he created Minority Support facilitating advice, guidance and funding to arts and leisure projects that might otherwise not reach completion. As well as occasional teaching of Media Law to trainee journalism students, Tim is currently working on a number of sports and personality-led documentaries alongside some fictional projects. He also recently helped found Stand To Crew, a not-for-profit company that helps link ex-military personnel with potential employers in the film, tv and construction industries.
Dr Tom McGorrian
Tom comes from a background in Broadcast and Business TV production. He started his career with BBC Documentary Features as a Researcher before moving into roles as an Assistant Producer and Director. Subsequently, his key posts of responsibility include EMEA Producer / Director for Unisys Ltd, the global IT Solutions company, where he led and delivered award-winning programme content across Europe; and Business TV Producer/Director for Halifax plc. His main areas of interest and expertise are factual programmes – both documentary and current affairs. Credits include the Royal Television Society award-winning series Close-up North; (BBC1); The Boarding House (BBC2 ’10×10′); Bridge Builders (BBC2); Mirror Image (BBC2); Into the Music (ITV); and Not on a Sunday (Channel Four). He was also awarded a US ‘Telly Award’ for his corporate social responsibility documentary, Project Raja – An Embassy for Elephants. Tom joined Buckingham New University as an Associate Professor in Film Production in 2022. As well as course leading its MA programmes in Filmmaking and Screenwriting, he is actively involved in developing media practice, and in creating links with partners from the broadcast, business and charitable sectors, whilst building students’ employability skills. His recent documentary films include “Irish Nurses in the NHS”, “Music4Displaced Dyads” and a commemorative documentary for the European Human Rights Agency.
Tony McHale
Tony was originally an actor, but he is best known for his work as a TV screenwriter, director and producer, with hundreds of hours of screen credits to his name. His writing credits include: “Silent Witness”, “Trial and Retribution”, “Waking The Dead”, “Dalziel and Pascoe”, “The Bill”, “Second Sight”, “Murphy’s Law”, “Dangerfield”, “Out Of Hours”, “Casualty”, “Eldorado” and his own original serials “Resort To Murder” and “Headless”.
He was one of the original team that launched “EastEnders” and was the first writer to complete over 100 episodes of the long running BBC show, becoming the show’s lead writer, story consultant and series consultant as well as directing numerous episodes. In 1999 he created the successful hospital drama “Holby City” and was the programme’s Executive Producer, Series Consultant and Lead Writer from 2006 to 2010, during which time he was the recipient of a BAFTA.
He has also developed TV series in several countries including India, Dubai, Egypt, South Africa and New Zealand, as well as writing a number of radio plays and directing a variety of theatre productions. Recently he has had two novels published, both thrillers “BECK LE STREET” and “EDGE OF CIVILISATION”, and is also the proud recipient of an Honorary Fellowship from the Rose Bruford College and an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Bradford.
Ty Cheman
Ty hails from Buffalo, NY, USA. A seasoned and award winning filmmaker that has committed years to helping other filmmakers find their start and calling amongst the film communities from the East coast of the US to the West. Known most for his productions Alive: The Undead, Little Green People, Not Another Monster Movie, and the upcoming Slasher Days of Summer. He started as a production assistant in 2013, and has grown through the ranks doing work including special effects makeup, acting, scouting, puppetry, prop building, casting, writing, directing, and now producing indie feature films in the WNY area.
festival diary
Tickets
In Person events:
Single Showcase £8
Gala Pass £18
Sunday Afternoon Tea on 21st April £20
All Day Pass £25-£35
All Film Access Pass £50
Virtual Festival:
Five Short Films Pass £5
Ten Short Films Pass £9
All Film Access Pass £25
