Manchester Experimental Film Festival

The first Manchester Experimental Film Festival took place from 8th to the 15th of March 2020 at the Holden Gallery, Manchester Craft and Design centre and Saul Hay Gallery and was a huge success! For the 2021 event we're looking to expand to even more gallery loactions across the city. All selected films will screen in a selection of Manchester’s contemporary art galleries. This format gives experimental films the room to breathe that they deserve, allowing audiences and artists who have specific interest in the form the opportunity to experience experimental films in an environment more suited to the medium. This also gives experimental filmmakers the chance to present their work to a wider audience of both fans of contemporary art and the general public. MANIFF director of programming Alan Bailey says ‘over the years at MANIFF it has become clear that experimental films are an art form all of their own and screening them alongside standard narrative short films means the complexity and beauty of experimental filmmaking is lost. Showing these films in a gallery will give audiences the chance to take in what they have seen in a more reflective manner’ This event allows us to showcase experimental film and opens new possibilities for the medium in the city of Manchester.