Worcester Film Festival Awards

Worcester Film Festival gives out 20 bespoke trophies every year at our Awards Ceremony. This is a night of glitz and glamour with food, drink, entertainment and an auditorium-style ceremony.

Our bespoke trophies are made in conjunction with charity Men’s Sheds.
Continue reading to explore our categories and learn the process behind our film selection.

  • DAY ONE (24TH SEPTEMBER)

    Worcester Film Festival 2025 kicks off with our Opening Night Film – a preview screening of “I Swear”. This will be followed by a Drinks Reception.

  • DAY TWO (25TH SEPTEMBER)

    Independent films screening from 9.00-21.15 across two screens in ODEON with 2 filmmaker Q&As. There are also workshops and talks from the BFI, Create Central, Royal Television Society Midlands, Filming in England and on pitching. In the evening join us for a networking and film social evening with Film Hub Midlands and live Open Mic entertainment.

  • DAY THREE (26TH SEPTEMBER)

    Independent Films screening from 9.00-20.45 across two screens in ODEON with 6 filmmaker Q&As. “Alien” also returns to cinemas for a special presentation followed by a talk on AI. There is a workshop on casting, a pitch event and another networking and film social in the evening. Alongside the networking, there is a late night horror preview screening of “Bone Lake”.

  • DAY FOUR (27TH SEPTEMBER)

    Independent Films screening from 9.00-18.25 across two screens in ODEON with 2 filmmaker Q&As. There is also a panel on sales and distribution. The festival culminates in an Awards Ceremony where 20 bespoke awards are handed out. Alongside the ceremony, there is a special presentation of our “Islands” as our Closing Night Film

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FILM CATEGORIES

Best British Feature Film

Best International Feature Film

Best British Short Film

Best International Short Film

Best Midlands Film

Best Documentary Film

Best Animated Film

Best Music Video

Best Student Film

CRAFT CATEGORIES

Best Screenplay

Best Performance

Best Director

Best Cinematographer

Best Costume Designer

Best Editor

Best Hair & Make-Up

Best Production Designer

Best Sound Design

Best Composer

The Audience Award

Our Judging and Selection Process

  • 01STAGE ONE - Submission & Selection

    Films are submitted to us by filmmakers through FilmFreeway. These are then passed to our Selection Committee who review them and choose whether or not they are taken through for screening. The festival is constantly on the lookout for fresh storytelling and unique ways of portraying topical themes. This is factored into the criteria of the committee to ensure what is curated every year at the festival is an eclectic mix of genres, subjects and styles.

  • 02STAGE TWO - Officially Selected & Jury (Longlist)

    Once the films have been chosen, the filmmakers are notified that they are Officially Selected at the festival. They receive a laurel to display on any of their marketing acknowledging their film is a part of the upcoming programme. The films are then put into a schedule with short films being blocked together in 45 minute segments. Each short block is designed to give the audience a real rollercoaster. Whilst the festival programmes the films, they are also assigned to a panel of jury members. They go through every selected film and score it on a list of criteria. There is a broad range for them to consider from pacing and originality to craft categories like sound design and costume etc. Once the festival receives their data, it shortlists certain films to be notified of nomination in particular fields.

  • 03STAGE THREE - Nominees & Awards (Shortlist)

    The nominees then have clips of their work added to a presentation that will be shown at the Awards Ceremony. The festival uses the data from the jury members to see which films have the highest score in each category and go through the jury’s comments for special commendations. This is how the winners of each category are chosen. In some cases, the festival task Guest Jury members to lend their expertise on a specific category, adding their thoughts to that of the other Jury members. They usually either present the award on the night or provide a video revealing the winner if attendance is not possible.

Worcester Film Festival Jury

Ralph Ineson

Martin Freeman

Emma Mason

Mat McHale

Hannah Brown

Steve Maher

Barbara Masullo

Kate Horlor

Gillian Davies

Parth Trivedi

Amy Upton

Nick Blair

Georgia Neath

Sam Barriscale

Chloe Brown

Simon Lucas

Ash Turner

Jim Morgan

Anne Sophy Schleicher

Elliot Wallis

PAST WINNERS

Check out who’s been recipients of our awards throughout the years!

Winners

HEAR FROM PAST WINNERS

  • Excellent Festival with excellent communication and overall professional and promotional standards set to a very high level. A festival that will continue to grow and grow in strength. Delighted to have won Best Cinematography at this year’s Festival. Wishing the team at Worcester continued success.

    Eamonn Keane

  • As someone who grew up just outside the city, I can confidently say this festival does Worcester proud. Screening our short, ‘Where Are All the Gay Superheroes?’ was an honour not only because of my attachment to the area, but also because WFF is a fast-growing and confidently run festival. I’m proud to say this is not just “one to watch” – this is one to get involved with now.

    Tom Paul Martin

  • Wonderful festival, great communication, well pulled together, felt professional and really based on a passion for film. Unbelievably friendly team, who were so quick to answer questions. The awards were also amazing, again professionally thought out, so well regarded. We were lucky enough to be nominated and win on the night, so that really was the cherry on the cake. Well done to all of those involved, an honest and awesome festival!

    Kate Horlor

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