Norwich Film Festival runs 6 to 15 November: 136 short films in 21 Cinema City screenings at £8, plus Fjord on 10 Nov and a 35mm Ghost in the Shell.
Norwich Film Festival returns from Friday 6 to Sunday 15 November, with 136 short films picked from 1,399 entries and shown in 21 themed screenings at Cinema City. Short film screenings cost £8, or £6 for concessions, according to the festival’s screening listings.
Around the shorts sit a handful of bigger nights: Cristian Mungiu’s Fjord, with Sebastian Stan and Renate Reinsve, on 10 November; a 35mm print of Ghost in the Shell on 9 November; and a silent horror classic with a live band at Norwich Playhouse on 7 November. One event comes first: a 35mm Don’t Look Now this Wednesday, 28 October.
The quick answer
- When: Friday 6 to Sunday 15 November 2026; the screenings below run from 6 November, with no short film session on 9 November.
- Where: Cinema City for almost everything; Norwich Playhouse for Caligari; Norwich University of the Arts for the Creative Futures days.
- Short film tickets: £8, £6 concessions (the Family Friendly screening also has a £5 price). The festival is selling screening bundles for the first time this year.
- Features and specials: £10.85 to £25.44, listed below.
- Book: online or at the Cinema City box office. The festival says tickets “may also be available on the door” where a screening has not sold out.
What the festival says
The festival is BAFTA-qualifying and BIFA-recognised, according to its release. Its director, Rachel Prendergast, said:
“Norwich punches well above its weight as a creative city, and Norwich Film Festival is proof of the effervescent talent in this region. For ten days in November, filmmakers from Kazakhstan to Kings Lynn share a screen at Cinema City as we screen 136 short films, multiple features and inspiring events. Come for the love of film, and leave having found something completely new and exciting!”
The festival’s patron, Stephen Fry, gave this advice to new filmmakers:
“Only tell a story that only you can tell. Because they come from who you are, what you’ve seen and lived through, what you hope for, what you crazily imagine.”
He praised Norfolk’s “terrific energy and talent”, and added:
“Norwich has a creative spirit that we should all celebrate and be proud of, and Norwich Film Festival and Cinema City have a not insignificant part to play in that.”
The feature films and special events
Times, venues and prices below come from the festival’s feature films and special events page, checked on 26 October.
- Don’t Look Now (35mm) with a Q&A, Wednesday 28 October, 8pm, Cinema City, £17.50 (£16.50 students and seniors). Nicolas Roeg’s 1973 film, shown from a 35mm print, then a discussion with Matthew Holness, creator of Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace and writer-director of Possum, and Mike Muncer, who hosts the podcast The Evolution of Horror. Book at Picturehouse.
- The Cabinet of Dr Caligari with MINIMA, Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm, Norwich Playhouse, from £25.44. Robert Wiene’s 1920 silent film with a live score from the Bristol four-piece MINIMA. Certificate U, 1 hour 20 minutes with no interval. Book at Norwich Theatre.
- Ghost in the Shell (35mm), Monday 9 November, 6pm, Cinema City, £17.50 (£16.50 students and seniors). Mamoru Oshii’s 1995 anime, 82 minutes, certificate 15. Book at Picturehouse.
- Fjord, Tuesday 10 November, 8pm, Cinema City, £10.99. Cristian Mungiu’s new drama with Renate Reinsve and Sebastian Stan, about a Norwegian woman and her devout Romanian husband who move to a remote coastal town with their five children. 146 minutes, certificate to be confirmed. Booking is through the festival’s page.
- Ali Plumb’s Untitled Film Quiz Project, Sunday 15 November, 7.30pm, Cinema City, £10.85. The film critic and broadcaster, who has hosted the festival’s awards, runs a big-screen quiz with visual rounds, music and prizes. Teams of up to five; it runs 180 minutes. Book at Picturehouse.
All 21 short film screenings
Every screening is at Cinema City and costs £8, or £6 for concessions. The festival rates all of them 18 except the Family Friendly Shorts, which are PG. Some include a Q&A with the filmmakers. Listings from the festival’s events page, read on 26 October.
| Date | Time | Screening |
|---|---|---|
| Fri 6 Nov | 8.30pm | Comedy Shorts |
| Sat 7 Nov | 1pm | Family Friendly Shorts (PG, £5 price also listed) |
| Sat 7 Nov | 2.30pm | The Mix Tape Vol. 1 |
| Sat 7 Nov | 4.30pm | Emerging Talent, films by students |
| Sun 8 Nov | 1pm | Sci-Fi Stories |
| Sun 8 Nov | 3pm | East Anglian Student Showcase + Q&A, new this year, seven films |
| Sun 8 Nov | 5pm | East Anglian Shorts |
| Tue 10 Nov | 6pm | LGBTQ+ Shorts + Q&A |
| Wed 11 Nov | 6pm | Documentary Shorts + Q&A |
| Thu 12 Nov | 6pm | Women in Film + Q&A |
| Fri 13 Nov | 1pm | Shorts for the Planet |
| Fri 13 Nov | 2.45pm | The Recollection Collection |
| Fri 13 Nov | 4.30pm | Something Completely Different |
| Fri 13 Nov | 7pm | Right Here, Right Now, new this year |
| Fri 13 Nov | 9pm | Late Night Shorts, horror and dark comedy |
| Sat 14 Nov | 1pm | The Mix Tape Vol. 2 |
| Sat 14 Nov | 2.45pm | Animated Shorts |
| Sat 14 Nov | 4.30pm | International Mix |
| Sun 15 Nov | 1pm | The Mix Tape Vol. 3 |
| Sun 15 Nov | 3pm | British Mix |
| Sun 15 Nov | 5pm | Award Winners Showcase, the seven winning films |
The award nominees from East Anglia
The festival has named nominees in seven categories: British, International, Animation, Documentary, Student, East Anglian, and a new East Anglian Student award. Winners are announced at the Festival Awards at Cinema City on Saturday 14 November at 6pm, and the seven winning films are screened together the next day at 5pm. The full list is on the award nominees page.
The East Anglian Short Film nominees, for films connected to Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex, are DUST, Where to Find Foxes, Bruised Sky, Friend of Mine, Love in Three Acts and You Told Us To Talk About the Weather.
The first East Anglian Student Short Film nominees are Ember Notes, In the hands of time, Monster, Bad Habit, The Six Seconds, Taking A Chance and Pearl and Pomegranate.
Creative Futures for students and new filmmakers
The festival’s careers programme, Creative Futures, runs two days at Norwich University of the Arts.
- Wednesday 4 November, Schools and Colleges Day, for KS4, sixth form and FE students: sessions from Digital Orchard, Arch Model Studio, Girls in Film and Aardman, from 9.30am registration to 3.15pm. Schools enquire at creativefutures@norwichfilmfestival.co.uk.
- Friday 13 November, Film Makers and Creatives, for undergraduates, graduates and new filmmakers, 1pm to 8pm: a session on the making of Chicken Town, an East Anglia professionals panel, a panel on high-end TV and features, then networking from 6pm. Tickets are booked through the festival’s education page.
What it means for you
If you want one evening that shows what the festival is, the Mix Tape screenings are its own pick-and-mix of the selection, and the Award Winners Showcase on 15 November at 5pm puts the seven winners on one bill for £8. For local work, Sunday 8 November has the East Anglian student films at 3pm and the East Anglian Shorts at 5pm. Most screenings are rated 18, so the Family Friendly Shorts at 1pm on 7 November is the one to take children to.
The festival recommends booking ahead online or at the Cinema City box office. The full programme is at norwichfilmfestival.co.uk. More going on in the city is in our what’s on in Norwich listings.
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