Four Days of Cinema from the Ealing Film Festival
Include Charlie Brooker Q&A and Attenborough cinematographer masterclass
Preparations underway for the Ealing Film Festival. Picture:EFF
October 15, 2026
Ealing Film Festival returns on Thursday (15 October) for four days of independent films, industry discussions and awards, with events at Ealing Picturehouse and Actone Cinema.
Now in its seventh year, the festival will showcase emerging and established filmmakers from Ealing, across the UK and internationally, with a programme running until Sunday (18 October).
The festival opens at ActOne Cinema with two simultaneous screenings of its Homegrown programme, featuring 17 short films by filmmakers from Ealing and neighbouring boroughs. The evening will conclude with the presentation of the Homegrown Award and an interview with the winning filmmaker.
The programme moves to Ealing Picturehouse on Friday, with a Film Schools Showcase, further short-film screenings and a panel discussion on influencing audiences and promoting films, featuring Lucas Pelizaro, Amber Doig-Thorne and Jack Howard.
Saturday will feature four blocks of short films, alongside a Women in Film and Television panel with Katie Bailiff and Susan Simnett, hosted by television presenter and writer Sharon Marshall.
Television writer and producer Charlie Brooker will take part in a special question-and-answer session later that evening, hosted by Andrew Sumner. The day will conclude with the festival's awards ceremony, recognising achievements across 11 categories.
On Sunday, audiences will be able to watch the award-winning films before a masterclass with Emmy Award-winning natural history and underwater director of photography Michael Pitts, known for his work on programmes with Sir David Attenborough.
This year's festival introduces two new awards. The Short Cuts category recognises films of approximately three minutes or less, while the Best British Film award will celebrate work reflecting the character, diversity and inclusivity of modern Britain.
Other categories include comedy, narrative drama, documentary, horror and suspense, science fiction and fantasy, animation, Green Planet, student film, experimental and Homegrown. The overall winner will receive the Ealing Film Festival Grand Prix.
Festival directors and co-founders Annemarie Flanagan and Alan Granley said the event had received 313 entries from 20 countries this year, with the quality of submissions making the selection process particularly challenging.
They said reaching the seventh year was an important milestone and that the festival aimed to give filmmakers a platform to share their work, meet audiences and develop professional connections.
Founded in 2020, the festival has grown from an online event into a four-day programme staged across two local cinemas. Its founders said it sought to celebrate Ealing's filmmaking heritage while supporting new talent.
The festival also marked a local moment recently when Prince William visited ActOne Cinema. Three filmmakers whose work features in this year's Homegrown programme had the opportunity to meet him, and the Ealing Film Festival trailer was shown during the visit.
The festival was founded by Annemarie Flanagan, Alan Granley and the late Peter Gould. Its industry partners include Ealing Studios, Twickenham Film Studios, Marlow Studios and The Farm Post, with prizes intended to offer practical support and career development to winning filmmakers.
Tickets and programme details are available at ealingfilmfestival.com.
The festival's online showcase will run from 18 October to 21 November, allowing audiences to watch selected films and vote for the People's Choice Award.
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