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,Continue reading “It’s Finally Here – the 2026 LJMU MA Short Film Festival is Live Now!”
Tag Archives: MA Students
Closing Awards Ceremony This Evening – Get Your Free Tickets Now!
All good things must come to an end, and the LJMU MA Short Film Festival is no exception, but fear not – there’s still time for our Awards Ceremony! Tomorrow marks the closing day of the festival, and there’s no better time to celebrate the efforts of all of the student filmmakers we’ve featured inContinue reading “Closing Awards Ceremony This Evening – Get Your Free Tickets Now!”
Experimental Screening and Q&A Tonight!
Last night, we showcased an incredible selection of Fiction films, and tonight we have our final live screening: Experimental! We have 10 incredible examples of cinema which will challenge, intrigue, and push the boundaries of filmmaking. If you missed our screening last night, you can check out the rerun on our YouTube channel. Grab YourContinue reading “Experimental Screening and Q&A Tonight!”
Fiction Screening and Q&A Tonight!
We’re past the midpoint of this year’s LJMU MA Short Film Festival, and tonight, it’s time for our Fiction filmmakers to shine! Our free Fiction Screening will showcase 6 of the most entertaining, challenging, and thought-provoking examples of emergent student filmmaking talent, so it’s an event not to be missed. As always, we’ll be followingContinue reading “Fiction Screening and Q&A Tonight!”
Tonight’s Animation Screening & Q&A
Last night was a celebration of some incredible documentary filmmaking, with our audience being treated to the full Documentary strand from this year’s programme. We were also fortunate enough to be joined by the directors of Roots, Swim Higher, Dear Valerie, To Kill or Be Killed, and 64 Reasons Why Everything Went Wrong, who gaveContinue reading “Tonight’s Animation Screening & Q&A”
Tonight’s Documentary Screening and Q&A
With the festival now well underway, tonight marks the first of our live screening and filmmaker Q&As, and we’re beginning with a full screening of our Documentary programme. From 6PM at LJMUs Redmonds Building, you’ll be able to catch all 9 incredible Documentary films in full, followed by a Q&A session with some of theContinue reading “Tonight’s Documentary Screening and Q&A”
Episode 2 of our Fifth Edition Official Podcast Available Now on Spotify & YouTube!
Catch up with all the news from this year’s LJMU MA Short Film Festival by listening to the second episode of the Official 2025 Edition Festival Podcast. Hosts Devan and Max are joined by fellow MA students Leo and Bridget, as they discuss the highs and lows of this year’s Oscars, creating the 2025 festivalContinue reading “Episode 2 of our Fifth Edition Official Podcast Available Now on Spotify & YouTube!”
It’s Here! The Official 2025 Festival Trailer
If you’ve been following our social media lately, you’ll have seen that the campaign for our 5th edition is well and truly underway. The exciting news for today is that we have released the Official 2025 Festival Trailer! Each year, we task the MA students with crafting 10 trailers in total; 2 for each ofContinue reading “It’s Here! The Official 2025 Festival Trailer”
5, 4, 3, 2, 1… We’re Coming Back!
Things have been quiet since we closed our call for entries back in November of 2024, but today marks the start of our social media campaign for the 5th edition of the LJMU MA Short Film Festival! If you follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, or any other social media platforms, you’ll no doubt haveContinue reading “5, 4, 3, 2, 1… We’re Coming Back!”
Keep Your Eyes Peeled for This Year’s Poster
Submissions for the 2025 LJMU MA Short Film Festival have closed, but preparations continue with exciting updates to follow, including introductions to MA students and juries. A record number of global entries are competing for the Paper Bird Awards. The festival poster, created by MA students, will be revealed soon.
Still Time to Submit Your Films for our 5th Edition
It’s been just over 4 weeks since we opened submissions for our 5th edition and the response so far has been incredible. Here at the festival, we pride ourselves in being a truly international event, and so far, we’ve received entries from a hugely diverse range of countries including Macao, Guatemala, Jamaica, Peru, and Uganda.Continue reading “Still Time to Submit Your Films for our 5th Edition”
2024 Paper Bird Winners & Special Mentions
Now that the 4th edition of the LJMU MA Short Film Festival has come to a close, it’s time to reveal which films were awarded the coveted Paper Bird Awards at our ceremony this past week. The event was a celebration of not only the films featured in this year’s programme, but also the hardContinue reading “2024 Paper Bird Winners & Special Mentions”
Final Chance to Watch this Year’s Films/Celebrate the Festival Close
All good things must come to and end, and this year’s edition of the LJMU MA Short Film Festival is no exception. We’d love to be able to give you even more time to watch our excellent programme of Fiction, Documentary, Animation, and Experimental films, but the window for doing so closes this evening atContinue reading “Final Chance to Watch this Year’s Films/Celebrate the Festival Close”
2024 Fiction Trailer Reveal
As we draw ever close to the launch of this year’s LJMU MA Short Film Festival, today marks the release of our Fiction trailer, featuring 6 stunning films hand-picked from almost 1400 entries. This year’s selection of films features explores the consequences of childhood curiosity, poverty and loneliness in the elderly, and individuals being pushedContinue reading “2024 Fiction Trailer Reveal”
2023 Winners & Final Day
The juries have spoken and this years winners of the Paper Bird Awards can now be revealed. The level of competition this year was extremely high, but the juries were in unanimous agreement that the following films were worthy of being crowned the best in their category. 2023 Paper Bird Award for Fiction Rue (DirectedContinue reading “2023 Winners & Final Day”
2023 Awards Ceremony 4PM (BST) Today!
It’s time for the big one! Live on Youtube at 4 PM (BST) today, we’ll be revealing which films will be taking home the Paper Bird awards for Fiction, Experimental, Animation, and Documentary. This is one you won’t want to miss – our jury members will be joining us to share their insights into theContinue reading “2023 Awards Ceremony 4PM (BST) Today!”
Animation Q&A Today 4PM (BST)
We’ve already heard some fascinating insights from our Documentary, Fiction, and Experimental Directors over the last few days and today promises to be no different. Join us over at our YouTube channel at 4 PM (BST) when the filmmakers from this year’s Animation strand will reveal more about their inspirations, creative processes, and how theyContinue reading “Animation Q&A Today 4PM (BST)”
Festival Goes Live and Documentary Q&A Tomorrow!
We’re Live! Important news about the festival and Documentary Q&A!
Behind The Scenes
With less than a week until the launch of the 2023 edition, we thought we’d give you a look at what’s been taking place behind the scenes of this year’s LJMU MA Short Film Festival, beginning with the design of our festival poster. Back in November 2022, we gave the students the opportunity to proposeContinue reading “Behind The Scenes”
Introducing This Year’s Jury
With just over a week left until this year’s festival begins, it’s time to introduce the individuals that will be selecting the winning films: the 2023 jury. The jury has been compiled from a range of academic & industry backgrounds, along with former recipients of the Paper Bird and final-year film & creative writing studentsContinue reading “Introducing This Year’s Jury”