The Discover Film Awards – March & October, 2020
About the film festival
The Discover Film Awards, a London film festival, is one of the biggest short film festivals in the world.
- It is consistently voted in the top 50 film festivals globally out of over 7,000 by filmmakers on FilmFreeway.
- The film festival has the biggest short film cash prize fund of $50,000, including the prestigious Craghoppers Film Prize.
- There are over 5,000 submissions annually from 100+ countries.
- Films are screened to cinema audiences in 100 minute “tutti frutti” packages with a diverse mix of short films such as an animation, a documentary, an action film, a sci-fi, a drama and a comedy.
- The festival has global premiers in London’s Leicester square with packed cinema audiences, filmmaker parties, red carpet events, script-pitching round tables and funding available for new projects.
We bring together filmmakers, producers, TV execs, media professionals, brand ambassadors, corporations, high net worth individuals and social influencers.
Schedule of events for The Discover Film Awards
Spread over eight days (Thursday 26th March to Sunday 29th March 2020 and from Thursday 1st October to Sunday 4th October 2020), The Discover Film Awards involve public screenings at the Prince Charles cinema in London’s Leicester Square and the Odeon Cinema in Covent Garden. Quentin Tarantino describes The Prince Charles as his favourite cinema in London saying it is “everything an independent movie theatre should be”.
It’s best to buy tickets in advance to avoid disappointment as the events fill up quickly.
Craghoppers Film Prize
A major supporting partner of the film festival is Craghoppers, the global travel clothing brand. Craghoppers are providing one of the largest short film festival cash prize funds in the world (totalling £34,000 – the equivalent of $50,000).
The Craghoppers Film Prize is awarded as part of The Discover Film Awards. At the October film festival in London there is a winning prize of £20,000 in cash for the best short film and a second prize of £5,000. There is also an award of £5,000 for the best social impact film. Furthermore, there are two student prizes of £1,000 awarded to UK and International students in March and October 2020.
These awards are made to the best films as selected by our judging panel from all of the short films submitted to both the March and October events.
Craghoppers Film Prize judging panel
The judging panel for the Craghoppers film prize is chaired by Jaine Green, a documentary and short film maker. Additional members of the judging team are:
- Katie Bailiff, Founder & Creative Director, Century Films.
- Robert Emms, Actor, Chernobyl, Jurassic Park & Broadchurch
- Alex Sutherland, executive producer of the Channel 4 series The Secret Life of the Zoo.
- Richard Furness, Managing Director, Consumer Revenues & Publishing, Guardian News & Media.
More short film festival supporting partners
- Conker Spirit – a producer of innovative spirits, handcrafted in Dorset’s first gin distillery.
- h Club – a private members’ club in the heart of Covent Garden for the creative industries.
- Beazley Insurance – a provider of insurance for tv & film.
Film festival sponsorship opportunities
By partnering with Discover.film and our London film festival you will reach a number of demographics. You will get your brand in front of social influencers, high net worth individuals, student filmmakers and key decision makers in TV and film. Find out more about the options for film festival sponsorship.
What makes a good short film?
The festival film selection team are looking for the best short films: stories that share a glimpse of filmmakers lives. This could be what bothers them or makes them laugh. Or films about injustices, of unsung heroes, of the serious, the bizarre, the funny. Alternatively, they could just be films about where filmmakers’ imaginations take them.
To get an idea of what they are looking for, watch a sample of the best short films online. Alternatively read this guide to what makes a great short film by the Chair of Judges, Jaine Green. All types of short films are welcome to enter the awards. Everything from action, drama, sci-fi, docs, horror, comedy, experimental and all the movie genres in between. All films must be under 45 minutes.
Get tickets for the film festival
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- Each of the 5 screenings – £10.50 each
- VIP drinks reception Thursday – £50
- Filmmaker Drinks Friday – £25
- Filmmaker Drinks Saturday – £25
- Awards Ceremony and Party – £50
- All Access VIP Pass – £100
What people are saying about The Discover Film Awards
“The Discover Film Awards show that the Phoenix is not just a cinema with a great past, but one which has an important part to play in the future of filmmaking.”
“I had such a great time. What a wonderful festival!”
Film festival submissions
Entries for the 9th edition of the film festival are now open. You can use any of the platforms below to submit your short film.
Film festival venues
The Prince Charles Cinema
The Discover Film Awards takes place at the Prince Charles Cinema. The Prince Charles is a repertory cinema located just off Leicester Square in London’s West End. Quentin Tarantino describes it as his favourite cinema in London.
Somerset House
Discover.film is based in Somerset House, a large Neoclassical building overlooking the Thames built in 1776. Somerset House offers a diverse range of contemporary arts and culture which has made it one of London’s most spectacular and visited spaces.
The ‘h Club’
h Club is a private members club in London for people in the creative industries. It houses a television studio, screening room, live performance space, restaurant, lounges and gallery over seven floors
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