Encounters Short Film and Animation Festival

Encounters Film Festival
LocationBristol, England
Founded1995; 29 years ago (1995)
LanguageEngland
Websitewww.encounters.film

Encounters Film Festival is a short film, animation and VR festival in Bristol, England. Based in Bristol, Encounters runs a six-day festival in September and its main venues are Watershed and Arnolfini, on Bristol’s harbourside.

History

The festival began in 1995 as Brief Encounters, a one-off event. Animated Encounters was set up in 2001 to celebrate and showcase animation. In 2006 the two festivals united as the Encounters Short Film Festival.[1]

Since 2010 Encounters Festival has been a qualifying festival for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film[2] and Best Animated Short, alongside the equivalent BAFTAs[3] categories. In 2011 Encounters Festival announced a new partnership with the European Film Academy Short Film Initiative, becoming a member of the 15 European festivals that present the nominations for the European Film Awards.

In 2024, the festival's 30th edition was suspended due to funding issues. They announced “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2024 iteration of Encounters Film Festival which would have been the 30th edition.” [4]

References

  1. ^ Mitchell, Wendy (2006). "Encounters to host Ken Russell and Frank Cottrell Boyce". Screen Daily. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  2. ^ "92nd Academy Awards Short Films Qualifying Festival List" (PDF). Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  3. ^ "British Short Film Qualifying Festivals List" (PDF). British Academy of Film and Television Arts. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  4. ^ Dalton, Ben (29 April 2024). "Bristol's Encounters Short Film Festival Cancels 2024 Edition, Future Events in Doubt". www.screendaily.com. Screen Daily. Retrieved 9 December 2024.