Bristol’s Encounters Film Festival (23-27 September) has unveiled its 2026 programme, led by the UK premiere of Paper Plane, the directorial and screenwriting debut of Academy Award‑nominated actor Saoirse Ronan, and the English premiere of Mission, directed by Paul Wright and produced by Bristol’s own Early Day Films, with Wright and star Rosy McEwen set to attend.
The line‑up also features new UK premieres from Joshua Oppenheimer (The Revolution Against Death), Bill Morrison (Sawyer Avenue), and Jérémy Comte (Brute), contributing to a programme of 140 films, including 18 world premieres, eight international premieres, one European premiere and 43 UK premieres, with half the titles new to UK audiences.
And this year’s festival will also celebrate international and UK‑wide connections. In partnership with the British Council and Bristol UNESCO City of Film, Encounters marks a creative exchange between the UK and the Philippines, linking Bristol with fellow City of Film Quezon City in a collaboration that spotlights Bristol on the international stage. Closer to home, the festival celebrates London Film School’s 70th anniversary, marking seven decades of influence on British and international cinema.
As the city’s flagship film festival, Encounters continues to anchor Bristol’s reputation as one of the UK’s most vibrant centres for filmmaking, animation and creative innovation. This year’s festival opens with a 360° dome screening at We The Curious, launching a week of discovery, experimentation and audience‑first cinema.
Encounters also introduces screenPLAY, a new youth strand championing positive screen experiences and digital play across gaming, filmmaking, animation and content creation. Music plays a major role in this year’s programme: filmmaker Oliver Laxe joins Kangding Ray to introduce the UK premiere of Sirat Live, their acclaimed audiovisual collaboration presented as part of Crack and MUBI’s Underscore series. Kangding Ray also appears with Bristol’s Geoff Barrow (Portishead, Invada Records) to explore the shared territory between electronic music and cinema. Steven T. Hanley, curator of Deeper Into Movies, presents a selection of Warp Records music videos on Bristol’s Megascreen (formerly IMAX), ahead of a late‑night festival party at Wake The Tiger, the city’s immersive art experience, featuring special guest artists soon to be announced.
The Industry Programme, which runs 23-25 September at Watershed and partner venues across Bristol, will see filmmakers, producers, commissioners and executives convene for talks, masterclasses and sector‑focused sessions.
Encounters Exec Director Dave Taylor-Matthews (photo credit: Charley Williams Photo)
Encounters Executive Director Dave Taylor-Matthews says: “This year’s programme is the clearest expression yet of what Encounters is. The UK’s longest running international short film competition sits at the heart of the festival, and around it we’re building a festival of breakthrough and discovery in every form, from a pulsating live performance reimagining last year’s phenomenal Cannes breakthrough Sirāt, to new partnerships with Crack, MUBI, Invada and Warp Records, to the creators redefining how films get made and seen, from a 360 dome screening to a nano budget British feature that stormed SXSW. With a strengthened board behind us and half this year’s programme never before seen in the UK, if you want to see where cinema is heading, Bristol in September is the place to be.”
Across the wider programme, Encounters welcomes leading figures from the UK screen industries. BAFTA‑winning casting director Isabella Odoffin delivers a masterclass on her creative process; Mandy Chang, CEO of the Documentary Film Council, examines the future of UK documentary; Aneil Karia returns to the festival as an Academy Award winner, joining the BAFTA-winning writer-director Nida Manzoor to reflect on his progression from acclaimed shorts to features and high‑end television. Bad Wolf offers insights into talent development and HETV production, while Bristol‑based BAFTA and Emmy‑winning VFX studio Lux Aeterna, one of the city’s leading screen‑sector success stories, breaks down the making of its suspenseful sci‑fi short RENO.
Animated Encounters returns with a showcase from cult US network Adult Swim, anchoring a future‑focused day of conversations, workshops and masterclasses exploring narrative, story and the evolving craft of animation. The strand opens with a keynote from Lucy Stone, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Spring, followed by a visual storytelling masterclass from Jay Clarke, Wes Anderson’s lead storyboard artist. BFI NETWORK South West showcases its newest cohort of regional animation writers in a live pitch event, while Film Strategist Benoit Berthe Siward demystifies awards campaigning for the Oscars and BAFTAs. The day also features collaborations from Animinspo and Bristol Animation Meetup (BAM) running throughout the festival.
The animation slate is further strengthened by a special screening of Aardman’s new Shaun the Sheep film, The Beast of Mossy Bottom – a major hometown moment for Bristol’s globally recognised animation studio – introduced by BAFTA‑winning producer Richard Beek. Blue Zoo Co‑founder Tom Box presents the studio’s new manifesto on healthy screen content for children, adding a national industry perspective to the day.
Encounters also spotlights nano‑budget, audience‑first filmmaking with Peril at Pincer Point – the SXSW‑premiering feature that has rapidly become a festival‑circuit success, screening at Fantasia, Edinburgh and FrightFest. Made outside the traditional funding system by two young filmmakers, including a University of Bristol graduate, the pair join Encounters to share how they brought the project to life.
The programme explores the future of film and the emerging generation reshaping it, examining shifts from the vertical‑content boom to creator‑to‑filmmaker pipelines and new distribution models. Sessions span vertical drama with Jen Cooper, Marina Elderton and Noel Goodwin; branded storytelling with Scott O’Donnell (Somesuch), Bethany Thomson (Sea Star) and the creators of viral US series Roomies; and creator‑led pathways into film with Fivefold Studio head David Levy and content creator HaZ.
The 31st edition of Encounters Film Festival runs 23-27 September across Watershed, Prospect Building, We The Curious and Wake The Tiger, bringing a vibrant mix of film, conversation and creative exchange to Bristol audiences across the city.
Get your passes now: https://www.encounters.film/buy-passes