Hebden Bridge Film Festival

NB:Important Notice. With the ongoing COVID situation we will be presenting the festival as a hybrid live/online festival and will default to an Online version if that is what we need to do at the time. By submitting you agree to this. Welcome to the 2nd Hebden Bridge Film Festival, with the theme of “The Other”. With over 500 years of non-conformism in the Calder valley, the theme is fitting. We will be celebrating films by or about those who dare to be different, whether they exist in the margins, sit outside the mainstream or just plain don’t fit in. We are now accepting submissions for for 2021 for feature length and short films, both drama and documentary. We particularly encourage submissions from women directors. HBFF is partnering with the beautifully restored, state-of-the-art Hebden Bridge Picture House cinema and with the Hebden Bridge Town Hall as our Film Festival Hub where Filmmakers and Film lovers can come together and experience the wonderful community spirit our historic town is famous for. HBFF will show a programme of World cinema, UK and US Independent features and shorts, as well Q&As, masterclasses, and panel discussions with the film makers. We cannot wait to welcome filmmakers again to the beautiful Calder Valley. See what filmmakers who attended the 1st HBFF say about their experience. BAFTA winner Nicole Taylor writer of last year’s smash hit Wild Rose said “The friendliest festival on earth! We were made so welcome by everyone involved in the Festival and indeed the whole town. The atmosphere on opening night was electric and ever since I’ve been looking for an excuse to return to Hebden Bridge!” BIFA nominee Steve Sullivan, winner of HBFF Audience award for Being Frank said “HBFF is simply the friendliest festival I’ve ever been too. The festival and cinema staff went out of their way to make my screening a success, from getting a near capacity audience to attend through to even helping me run my merch stall. It’s a beautiful town, populated by passionate cineastes and I can’t wait to return.” This year's Short Film Prize winner Hannah Currie with 'We Are All Here': Screening at Hebden Bridge Film Festival was such a warm, welcoming and positive experience that was so appreciated after a difficult year. Despite the pandemic they made amazing efforts to get our films seen and to connect us with other filmmakers. I especially loved receiving my prize from the estate agents with all their For Sale boards on display - a stand-out experience that I won’t forget! Louise and Jay’s passion for film is so clear and I was inspired to be amongst so many other incredible films in the short film competition. The festival really reminded me of the importance of independent film and cinema and why we must fight to keep it alive. And from Marziyeh Riahi the runner up for Driving Lessons: "Thank you so much, jury members for this award. Thank you, festival team. I'm really proud of this award. Receiving this award during this most unusual time was very promising for me. I hope that all those who work in cinema under any title anywhere in the world will not lose hope. Stay safe and strong!" -Marziyeh Riahi from Tehran Note: we are proud that HBFF is an F – Rated Film Festival. F-Rating is given to any film written by a woman, directed by a woman or featuring women in significant on-screen roles. Any film that meets all three criteria is awarded a Triple F-Rating. There is no requirement for films screened at HBFF to be F-rated, however we aim for at least 50% of films to be so. We also follow the BFi diversity standards - focusing on underrepresentation on screen, behind the camera and in film audiences, in relation to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, LGBTQ+, religion or belief, socioeconomic background and geographical location.