After weeks of anticipation, it gives me great pleasure to finally announce that the 2026 edition of the LJMU MA Short Film Festival is now live. For the next 7 days, you can watch 41 of the best in student Fiction, Documentary, Animation, and Experimental Filmmaking. Out of the 2281 submissions we received this year, our MA Film class of 25/26 have chosen an incredible selection of films that are sure to move, excite, and stimulate audiences.
Watch the 2026 Edition Here!
Join Us and Watch the Programme Live!
Do you like short films? Are you in the Liverpool area over the course of the next week? If you’ve answered yes to both of these questions, then why not join us in person for one of our live screenings at LJMUs Redmonds Building? For the whole of next week, we’ll be screening our strands in full and following this with a live filmmaker Q&A, where you can put your questions to some of this year’s featured filmmakers. This is a great opportunity to meet the team behind the festival and really be a part of this year’s festivities.
Our live screenings begin this coming Monday (23rd March), where we’ll be screening our Documentary strand in full, and we’ll follow this with Animation on Tuesday (24th), Experimental on Wednesday (25th), and Fiction on Thursday (26th). All screenings take place at LJMUs Redmonds building, and you can grab your free tickets here. Doors open at 6 PM, so make sure you act now and be part of this year’s edition.
As well as being the final day of the festival, Friday 27th March marks the date of our closing awards ceremony, and we’re returning once again to Scale, in the heart of Liverpool’s Fabric District. Grab your free tickets now, and come celebrate the climax of this year’s edition, where we’ll be revealing the winners of this year’s Paper Bird Awards. With a bar, music, and lots of great discussion to be had, it promises to be a fantastic evening. We’ll also be revealing which film has received the most audience votes and will take home our Audience Paper Bird Award. Speaking of which…
Vote for This Year’s Paper Bird Audience Award!
As well as the main competition awards, the 41 films featured in this year’s festival will also be vying for the public’s vote for the all-important Audience Paper Bird Award, decided solely by visitors to our website and live events. This is a great opportunity to show this year’s filmmakers your appreciation for their hard work and talent, so when you’ve watched a film, make sure you hit the ‘thumbs up’ button directly below the video player. Remember, you can vote for as many films as you like, but only once per film.