Discover Film Awards

The Discover Film Awards is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world with over 3,000 annual submissions from 100+ countries. There are global premiers in London's Leicester square with packed cinema audiences, filmmaker parties, red carpet events with funding available for new projects. This festival has one of the largest short film cash prize funds of over $50,000, including the prestigious Craghoppers Film Prize. The Discover Film Awards is consistently voted by filmmakers in the top film festivals in the world. Spread over 5 days in September 2022, the festival involves public cinema screenings at the Prince Charles cinema in Leicester Square. Quentin Tarantino describes it as his favourite cinema in London saying it is "everything an independent movie theatre should be”. Discover Film looks for the best short films: stories that share a glimpse of the lives of filmmakers. This could be what bothers them or makes them laugh, of injustices, of unsung heroes, of the serious, the bizarre, the funny or just where filmmakers' imaginations take them. All types of short film are welcome to enter with awards for: action, animation, drama, experimental, sci-fi, fantasy, documentary, horror, comedy, and everything in between. A full list of award categories is provided, below. All films must be under 45 minutes. A major supporting partner of the festival is Craghoppers, the global outdoor clothing brand, which awards The Craghoppers Film Prize, one of the largest cash prizes for short films. The prize is awarded annually, with awards winners selected by a panel of 50 independent industry judges from winners of the Discover Film Awards. The first prize is £20,000 in cash with a second prize of £5,000 awarded at the closing ceremony of the festival. There are awards of £5,000 for the best social impact film and £1,000 each for the best UK and international student films. In addition, there are various in-kind awards from sponsors. Selected films get the option of various paid distribution opportunities including international TV, video on demand, major trains, hotels and airlines. Distribution is optional and entirely up to the filmmaker. As well as cash prizes, winners can get help with future film projects in the form of discounted rates from partner firms (such as production houses) and mentoring from senior commercial film and business executives. The festival also introduces filmmakers to funding sources for future projects and offers publicity across a wide range of media (print and social) so enter today!