Award Nominees | Norwich Film Festival

Meet the Norwich Film Festival 2026 Award Nominees

From 1,399 short films submitted to Norwich Film Festival 2026, our programming team selected 136 outstanding films for this year’s programme. Now, we’re delighted to reveal our 2026 Award Nominees!

Celebrating exceptional storytelling from East Anglia, the UK and around the world, this year’s nominations showcase an exciting mix of emerging and established filmmaking talent.

New for 2026, our East Anglian Student award recognises the next generation of local filmmakers.

Explore the nominees below and join us as we announce the winners at the Festival Awards on Saturday 14 November. Then catch the winning films on the big screen at our Award Winners Showcase on Sunday 15 November at 5pm.

1,399

Films submitted

136

Shortlisted films

14 Nov

Awards ceremony

15 Nov

Winners Showcase, 5pm

British Short Film

Celebrating exceptional short filmmaking talent from across the UK.

STUCK!

Dr. Atkins, the hospital’s expert in removing “foreign objects”, finds himself in a bind when he forgets to get a present for his big wedding anniversary. When the perfect gift presents itself inside a patient, will he be willing to risk it all for love?
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He Woke Up To Deflating News

An elderly man’s life is turned upside down when he discovers he is to be transformed into a high-street coffee shop.
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Giants

Drifting through his post-industrial town scavenging for scrap, isolated teenager Sandy finds unexpected purpose after meeting conspiracy theorist Don, who tasks him with destroying a local wind farm
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Green Grass

On the southern English coast, a disengaged student and a Deaf eco-activist are thrown together for a university project. Amid clashing ideals, the shoreline becomes a place for unexpected friendship, secrets and change.
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Falcon Eyes

Fourteen-year-old June struggles with face blindness, a condition that makes it impossible for her to recognise people’s faces. As she tries to remember her deceased mother’s face, June also uncovers a secret kept by her father.
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DIRT

Following the outbreak of war, an elderly Ukrainian refugee gets stopped by Customs while trying to bring a jar of Ukrainian soil into the UK.
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International Short Film

Recognising distinctive storytelling and creative voices from around the world.

Loreto

Loreto, a devout young girl, sparks family tension after becoming obsessed with a virgin statue inherited from her grandmother.
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Jasmine. Home. Mother.

On a surreal game show where stories are currency, a woman battles a system that censors her every word, fighting to reclaim the memory of her family, her homeland, and the jasmine that once bloomed there.
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Sofiane

After her son Sofiane dies in a scooter accident, Zoléra is told his blood type proves he was intoxicated. But she knows his blood type was different, and begins to question what really happened.
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Barber of the Gods

A young barber inherits his father’s supernatural gift: restoring hair at the cost of years of life. As myth and reality collide, he discovers that every miracle demands a price.
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When I Was Little, I Wasn’t Afraid

A boy chasing dreams meets his older self, who returns to
guard his last days of innocence.
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NAUSEA

In the desolate landscapes of New Zealand’s South Island, two isolated strangers unknowingly become each other’s only chance at salvation.
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Animated Short Film

Celebrating the artistry, imagination and storytelling possibilities of animation.

Tuna Tartare

In a karaoke bar in post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, an expired can of tuna fish and a fake Louis Vuitton purse encourage each other to believe in their artistic voices even if the world sees them as trash.
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Trading Cards

The past, present and future collide when a mysterious man confronts his younger self over a game of trading cards.
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Into the forest

At the heart of an animation studio, three young orangutans join forces to recreate a jungle born of imagination.
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A Little Death

Death’s patience is tested when his sweet and gentle apprentice appears incapable of the task, leading him to seek professional help from the most unlikely of places.
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Julka

Eight-year-old Julka’s carefree friendship is shattered when a fascist regime bans her Slovenian language. After a teacher punishes her for speaking it, childhood becomes a battleground for identity and belonging.
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Beasts of Death

Devastated Claudia wants her dear, departed mother back from the other side, and she’s willing to gamble her own soul to make that happen. Three trials await her in the underworld…
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Documentary Short Film

Recognising compelling real-life stories, fresh perspectives and outstanding documentary filmmaking.

Apocalypse

Deep in Hellfest, gigantic metal festival, music gradually takes possession of metalheads.
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Now That’s What I Call Dock Pudding

In flood-scarred Mytholmroyd, Yorkshire, the fiercely contested World Dock Pudding Championships celebrate a beloved local tradition as changing landscapes and generations threaten its survival.
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Miles of Life

After falling short of his athletic dreams, a once-promising Ugandan runner rediscovers purpose – using the power of sport to rebuild his broken community and to honour his trainer’s life.
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Among the Smoke

A grandmother recounts her childhood experiences living in wartime London.
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Kim: The long way home

British Red Cross Picture editor Kim retraces her family’s harrowing escape from war-torn Vietnam to 1980s Britain, a country gripped by recession and anti-immigration rhetoric.
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Body of Our Own

Debut directors Rahemur Rahman and Lily Vetch offer a uniquely intimate portrait of three Hijra – Momo, Neshi and Jannat – as they explore social freedom, transgender identity and radical love in a world that seeks to erase them.
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Student Short Film

Championing the next generation of filmmakers and the creative talent emerging from education.

Our Secrets

In early spring in Guangzhou, a teenage girl experiences a quiet awakening of desire, while an unsettling encounter with a young doctor exposes the unspoken distance between her and her mother.
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Ban Dal (Half-Moon)

Annette travels to Korea with her adopted son to meet his birth mother and realises that a mother’s love can be shared.
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From State Lines

After receiving a call about her father’s health, Kat, a small-town Arkansan work-staying at a hostel in Northern California, is forced to finally ask herself if this is where she’s meant to be.
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We Used To Be Fun

Jonas turns thirty and brings his closest friends to a remote cabin in the woods. Martin and Heather, who have always been the group’s mum and dad, arrive hiding a secret. They’ve just broken up.
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Latcho Drom (Good Road)

As Sonnyboy, a young Romani man, struggles to come to terms with his father’s passing, a series of events threaten the family and their way of life.
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Pickled

All Eddie has ever known is her Granny’s world, where they pickle everything around them, preserving their family history forever. But when Granny joins their ancestors, Edie has to decide if she’ll continue their tradition.
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East Anglian Short Film

Celebrating the filmmakers and stories connected to Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Essex.

DUST

A horsewoman unpicks her memories and regrets.
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Where to Find Foxes

A new mother, kept awake by the sound of foxes prowling outside her home, ventures into the night to scare them off only to find herself a part of a strange and feral ritual.
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Bruised Sky

In 1970s Essex, sixteen-year-old Tommy follows a new friend to the home of an eccentric former cameraman for a night of drink, drugs and magic. As the evening unfolds, a growing sense of unease begins to replace the excitement.
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Friend of Mine

A child’s imaginary friend is a constant companion, until the day growing up causes the magic of childhood to slowly fade away.
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Love in Three Acts

An intimate autobiographical film weaving together years of analogue photographs, self-portraits, and moving image. What began as a private act of preservation unfolds into a quiet meditation on bipolar disorder, love, family, and everyday memory.
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You Told Us To Talk About the Weather

A child’s climate anxiety exposes the silence beneath Britain’s obsession with small talk, asking what it takes to turn everyday conversation into meaningful action.
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East Anglian Student Short Film: New for 2026

A brand-new award recognising emerging student filmmaking talent from East Anglia and supporting the region’s next generation of storytellers.

Ember Notes

A saxophonist struggling with burnout loses his passion for music, until unexpected connections offer a new way to rediscover his spark.
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In the hands of time

Suffering from Alzheimer’s, a man watches a Super 8 home movie from the 1970’s at his son’s request. The images of holidays at his grandparents’ house awaken buried sensations, the gentleness of the wind, the warmth of the sun, the tranquility of childhood.
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Monster

Consumed by grief, a disfigured anti-hero embarks on a series of desperate attempts to relive his past – but it’s not the same.
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Bad Habit

A medieval convent is thrown into chaos when one of their nuns mysteriously disappears.
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The Six Seconds

The father of two siblings is in a coma, now terminally ill. With the chance of having six final seconds with his conscious dad, an awkward brother tries to contemplate what he might say before the end…
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Taking A Chance

Across three generations, a family’s life in racing unfolds through memories, archival footage and intimate interviews, revealing the highs, lows and triumphs behind a family-run passion.
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Pearl and Pomegranate

A young woman journeys on a quest to retrieve Neptune’s lost oyster shell, exploring the ocean, ruins and underworld. She faces mythical monsters that challenge the strength of her loyalties and faces her own mortality.
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The countdown to the Festival Awards begins!

Our jury now has the difficult task of choosing this year’s winners, to be revealed at the Norwich Film Festival Awards on Saturday 14 November.

Discover the nominated films throughout the Festival at Cinema City from 6-15 November, then join us for our Award Winners Showcase on Sunday 15 November at 5pm, bringing this year’s winning films together on the big screen.

Explore all Short Film Events Award Winners Showcase

1,399

136

14 Nov

15 Nov

British Short Film

STUCK!

He Woke Up To Deflating News

Giants

Green Grass

Falcon Eyes

DIRT

International Short Film

Loreto

Jasmine. Home. Mother.

Sofiane

Barber of the Gods

When I Was Little, I Wasn’t Afraid

NAUSEA

Animated Short Film

Tuna Tartare

Trading Cards

Into the forest

A Little Death

Julka

Beasts of Death

Documentary Short Film

Apocalypse

Now That’s What I Call Dock Pudding

Miles of Life

Among the Smoke

Kim: The long way home

Body of Our Own

Student Short Film

Our Secrets

Ban Dal (Half-Moon)

From State Lines

We Used To Be Fun

Latcho Drom (Good Road)

Pickled

East Anglian Short Film

DUST

Where to Find Foxes

Bruised Sky

Friend of Mine

Love in Three Acts

You Told Us To Talk About the Weather

East Anglian Student Short Film: New for 2026

Ember Notes

In the hands of time

Monster

Bad Habit

The Six Seconds

Taking A Chance

Pearl and Pomegranate

The countdown to the Festival Awards begins!

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