international film competition 2025

2025 brings the 8th 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.

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We are looking for films in the following categories:

NARRATIVE FICTION FILMS:

    • SHORTS – 20m or less run time
    • LONGER SHORTS – 20-40m run time
    • FEATURE FILMS (Narrative Fiction) – 40-120m run time

DOCUMENTARIES:

    • SHORT Documentaries – 20m or less run time
    • FEATURE Documentaries – 40-90m run time

SPECIFIC SHORTS CATEGORIES:

    • MICRO SHORTS (Any Genre) – 4m or less run time
    • Films made by FILMMAKERS AGED 22 OR UNDER (Any Genre) – 20m or less run time
    • FAMILY FRIENDLY SHORTS (made for a family or child audience) – 10m or less run time
    • GENRE FILMS (e.g. horror, comedy, sci fi, fantasy) – 20m or less run time
    • ANIMATION SHORTS (Any Genre) – 20m or less run time

EXPERIMENTAL FILMS:

    • DANCE & MOVEMENT FILMS & MUSIC VIDEOS – 15m or less run time
    • POETRY & SPOKEN WORD FILMS – 10m or less run time
    • OTHER EXPERIMENTAL FILMS (artistic, experimental and unconventional approaches outside of the genres listed above) – 10m or less run time

SOYS!:

    • SHOW OFF YOUR SHORTS! (any genre) – 10m or less run time

This category is for filmmakers who commit to ATTEND IN PERSON on Saturday 26th April 2025. This informal lively and fun show involves a screening and an individual Q&A for each selected film.

LOCAL Filmmakers:

    • Local films made by filmmakers currently residing in Bucks, Berks, Herts, Beds or Oxon only (any genre) – 20m or less run time

This category is for filmmakers who commit to ATTEND IN PERSON for networking and Q&A.

For full details and to submit your film, go to Film Freeway.

selection and award process

Each film submitted through Film Freeway is watched in its entirety by one or more members of the selection committee. The films are scored in several technical categories, as well as given an overall rating (a measure of the overall excellence and impact of the film). Films scoring above or around a cut-off mark are then debated at a moderation meeting to decide which we think should be shown, judging by their fit within the programme and the diversity ethos of Fisheye Film Festival. The committee aims both to select the best films and to reflect the range of films submitted.
Selected films which are rated particularly highly by our committee are nominated for consideration by the Awards Jury.

Our Awards Jury is made up of industry professionals, past winners and film professionals. Some Awards are decided by specialist Jury members (e.g. Choreography / Best Dance film). Nominated films are put forward to our Jury to score in a variety of categories. Some 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.

For a list of past Award winners, see previous festivals.

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nomination and awards

How Fisheye assess award nominees and decides on competitions awards:

    • 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:

    • 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
    • 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