In celebration of International Women’s Day, Women in Film & Television (WFTV) has announced that submissions are open for the 2026 WFTV Festival following the inaugural event earlier this year.
Returning in March 2026, the festival created by and for WFTV members will launch at Garden Cinema in London before embarking on a month-long tour across the UK with events in Cardiff, Belfast, Manchester, and Glasgow.
The WFTV Festival will showcase its members’ outstanding work, creativity, and talent across the programme run. WFTV members can submit TV or film projects that they have worked on, either short or long form and see them featured on the big screen.
The London event will once again feature a lineup of Q&As, industry talks, and speed networking sessions, with the addition of an extra screen and space for networking this year to showcase more of the members work and encourage collaboration across the festival. Additional events are planned as the festival makes its way to other cities across the nation.
Submissions are open to WFTV members free of charge and may include both film and TV projects. For the London event, submissions can be either short or long-form, while entries for other cities are to be short-form content.
To qualify, members must have held a role in the creation of their submitted project and agree to have it screened during the festival. Eligible content must have been produced within 24 months of the festival’s start date on Thursday, 5th March 2026 and will undergo selection by a dedicated WFTV committee.
Katie Bailiff, CEO of WFTV, commented: “The first WFTV Festival was outstanding. Celebrating the fantastic work of our members from across the country was a joy, and being able to come together to support female filmmakers around International Women’s Day is such a privilege. We are excited to bring the festival back next year, bigger and better than before and look forward to seeing what our member network has been working on.”
After last year’s WFTV Festival, Motherboard (dir: Victoria Mapplebeck) has since gone on to receive both BIFA and Grierson nominations. Short film Calico (co-written and produced by former WFTV Mentee Sarah Mavity) is now being used in schools across the UK as an educational resource. A selection of films from the festival also had the opportunity to screen at the London Independent Film Festival.
Applications are now open. Submit a project for the 2026 WFTV Festival online at https://www.wftv.org.uk/festival . Applications will only be considered if submitted before Thursday, 8th January 2026, 18:00 (GMT). The WFTV Festival 2026 will kick off with a drinks reception in London on Thursday, 5th March 2026. The festival programme will begin on Friday, 6th March 2026.
Only members of Women in Film and TV can submit work and take part in the WFTV Festival.
Jon Creamer
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