Northampton Film Festival 2022: Entries now open for short film and schools categories

Entries are now open for this year’s Northampton Film Festival for the first in-person event since 2019.

Northampton Film Festival 2022: Know Your Place will bring people together in Northampton town centre to watch locally-connected short and feature length films, and take part in Q&As and masterclasses with film industry professionals.

The festival will be back in-person for the first time since 2019 between May 16 and 22, 2022 after the 2020 and 2021 events were held virtually.

Becky Adams, producer at social enterprise film company Screen Northants said: “The theme in 2019 was Coming of Age followed by Kind of a Big Deal for our virtual 2020/2021 festival, and now in 2022 we think you should Know Your Place…. That means knowing there’s a place for you in the film industry if you want it and knowing there’s plenty to celebrate in Northampton.”

Northamptonshire filmmakers can now submit their short films for free to a number of different categories:

- Schools competition with a prize of £2,000 worth of filming equipment sponsored by Northampton Town Centre BID

- Main short film competition for films made by Northamptonshire writers, producers or directors, or filmed in Northants, with both drama and documentaries subcategories

- Sketchy Link to Northants short film category, which is new so the film festival can celebrate work from those with a connection to the county even if the link is a little tenuous or outdated, such as having studied here some years ago.

Paul Mills, another producer at Screen Northants, added: “Screen Northants has worked with so many talented young people in Northamptonshire over the last five years that we thought there should be a platform to show their work and to celebrate their talent.

“As we’re Northampton Film Festival, if you are a Northampton school, we are offering free workshops to inspire and equip students to make their own film.

“We’d urge local schools to get in touch, if they haven’t already, and take advantage of these opportunities kindly supported by Northamptonshire Community Foundation and… the council.”

More information on the film competitions can be found on the festival’s website.