Watersprite Film Festival

Watersprite Film Festival returns for the 15th edition of the world's largest student film festival.

Friday 1st March - Sunday 3rd March 2024, online and live in Cambridge.

Watersprite 2024 will host thousands of young creatives for a weekend of free events, screenings and networking opportunities in Cambridge and online. Out of 1,700 submissions from 90 countries, professional juries selected 46 nominees from 5 continents. With the support of Amazon MGM Studios, these filmmakers will be brought to the UK to see their work screened and to access career defining opportunities. Watersprite is the only student film festival in the world to offer travel and accommodation support to all nominated filmmakers and the entire weekend is free, improving access into the industry for all.

Watersprite was founded 15 years ago by several students, including now Head of Creative at Film4, Farhana Bhula. Chaired by the first female chair of BAFTA, Hilary Bevan Jones, Watersprite has grown into the largest student film festival in the world. With industry friends including Bray Film Studios, David Yates’ Wychwood Media, United Agents, and Neil Gaiman - Watersprite forges a bridge between emerging filmmakers and industry professionals, creating a community that embraces talent and innovation from any and all backgrounds.

“The atmosphere was electric with creative energy, and the connections I formed with fellow filmmakers have been invaluable”- Antonin Niclass, BAFTA-winning director

Watersprite 2024 will see a weekend of free events and screenings - including an access day for aspiring filmmakers. Targeting those who fall between the gaps of existing training schemes, Watersprite Hubs will provide free training with BAFTA-winning facilitators including Christina Moore (production designer of One Life and Game of Thrones), Brian Woods (Sixth-Commandment), Anne Morrison (The Missing Children), and producer Helen Simmons (Hoard).

The festival weekend is open to the public, with a packed schedule of events and community-building sessions. Taking place online and in person in Cambridge, UK, audiences will gather across the weekend to support better accessibility into the industry and awareness of all it has to offer. Events include: “Poor Things: Building the Surreal”, a masterclass with BAFTA-winning Simon Hughes (Poor Things, All of us Strangers), a panel on “Finding Your First Job in Film” with entry-level filmmakers, “Reimagining the Film Set: Access as the new norm” with Casarotto Ramsay’s Julie Fernandez and actor Connor Curren (Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime”. Also hear from Aardman’s animator Lucy Izzard, composer Natalie Holt (Paddington, Loki) and leading film marketers and PR specialists behind Bridgerton, All of Us Strangers, Scrapper and Anatomy of a Fall.

At the heart of the weekend will be the large-scale Watersprite Awards Ceremony with Amazon MGM Studios. This event, and all other events and screenings, will be available to attend in person and online. All nominated films will also be available to watch for free from 23rd February until 8th March 2024 live and on demand. The majority of events are BSL interpreted. Tickets are now available here.

About Watersprite

Watersprite Film Festival is a charity supporting emerging filmmakers from around the world. Founded in 2009 and chaired by Hilary Bevan Jones, over the last 15 years it has championed young, diverse voices in film by screening their films and offering meaningful and practical prizes from equipment to mentorships. As an entirely free festival it is free to enter and free to attend, and travel bursaries and accommodation are offered to all nominated filmmakers. Taking place in Cambridge every March, the festival is primarily run by a team of 70 students from Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Cambridge - and is the only organisation to bring the two universities together in the region. As of 2024 the Watersprite team has expanded to include representatives from Bristol, Edinburgh, UCL and Aberystwyth. The students are guided by a Board of Trustees including: Hilary Bevan Jones (multi-award winning producer and first female chair of BAFTA), Farhana Bhula (Head of Creative at Film4), Femi Ladeinde (Director of Finance and Operations at Red Arrow Studios), Brian Woods (multi-BAFTA winning Documentary maker), Dorothy Byrne (previous Head of News and Current Affairs at Channel 4, current president of Murray Edwards College Cambridge) and Bernadette Schramm (Founding and Managing Partner of Malao). It also has a steering committee including Watersprite alumni and BIFA star of tomorrow Helen Simmons.