You can’t stay stationary for long. After the excitement of our 11th edition, the team took a few days to catch their breath and reflect on what we had achieved. But this week we are very much back to business. There is a huge amount of work involved in wrapping up a festival. Travelling across London collecting banners, hard drives, posters, memorabilia and various bits of tech that have been left at venues. We have awards and certificates to post to filmmakers who couldn’t join us in person, emails to answer, bills to pay and various loose ends to tie up. We also have our festival wrap meal to organise, an opportunity to bring everyone together and properly thank the brilliant volunteers who gave so generously of their time.
Feedback so far has been great. Filmmakers, venues and audiences have been incredibly generous with their comments, its been wonderful to hear how much people enjoyed this year’s programme (reminder filmmakers please add a short review of your experiences on filmfreeway). We had a multitude of sold-out events across the five days, something we are enormously proud of, particularly given the breadth and variety of what we were screening. In the coming weeks we will take the time to look at the numbers and understand what they tell us about the festival’s continued growth. Our annual post-festival review is an important part of the process, where we look in detail at what worked, what didn’t, what we could improve and what we might do differently next year. Some of those changes are already taking shape.
A full house at the Ritzy for Miss Jobson with Director and producer Tammy Hart
One of the real success stories of this year’s festival was our inaugural 19–25 Young Adult Filmmaking Competition to bridge the gap between our younger filmmakers and those entering the wider short film competitions. The screening was packed (I had to stand on the stairs), and we could quite easily have sold it out twice over. So, for 2027 we are expanding the competition into three separate categories: documentary, fiction and animation. We will also need to find ourselves a larger screen!
Our 19-25 judges with the winner of the Silver Breeze: The Witches of Pool Bottom Dir. Ava Bounds
Another significant change concerns our submission dates. We intend to open submissions for the 12th Breeze on Saturday, giving filmmakers the opportunity to start sending us their work almost immediately. We are also bringing our closing date forward by a month to the end of June 2027. those extra weeks will make an enormous difference to our programming team. With thousands of films to consider, having more time to watch and shortlist will give us a little more breathing room when it comes to planning screenings and putting together the events that sit alongside the films themselves. You can enter from Saturday by clicking here.
Our ambitions extend well beyond the five days of the main festival. Breeze has never been just an annual event, and some of our most rewarding screenings and collaborations have taken place outside October so audiences can discover independent cinema and connect with each other and the industry. We are also looking forward to taking Breeze on Tour again, bringing some of the wonderful films and filmmakers we champion to audiences beyond London. In fact, we are already back on the road this Friday, 6th November, Breeze heads to Birmingham for a special partnership screening of DELUPI at the Soul City Arts Festival. Following its UK premiere at our festival it will be screened there with members of the Breeze team in attendance.
We are also looking carefully at how we can expand and strengthen our team. One thing that became apparent during this year’s festival was just how much we were asking of certain individuals, with some members of the team carrying an enormous workload. Their commitment was extraordinary, and much of what we achieved simply wouldn’t have been possible without them. We cannot expect the festival to continue growing without ensuring that the right support is in place, particularly in those areas where the pressure is greatest. Part of our post-festival review will therefore be about identifying where additional resources, expertise and people are needed, and making sure that we build a structure that supports the wellbeing of our team as well as the ambitions of the festival. Our greatest asset has always been the people behind Breeze, and looking after them must be as much of a priority as growing the festival itself.
The Dream Team 2026
As an independent film festival, securing sufficient financial support is a constant challenge. We have achieved an enormous amount with relatively limited resources, thanks in no small part to the extraordinary commitment of our team, volunteers and partners. But ambition needs to be matched by investment. If we are to continue expanding our programme, supporting emerging filmmakers, creating accessible events and developing the opportunities we offer, we need to bring in considerably more funding and sponsorship. This will be one of our biggest priorities over the coming year, and increasingly where I see my own role as Executive Director.
Meanwhile, I’ve gone straight back into a new term of teaching, one of the busiest of the academic year. One welcome development over the past week has been the return of something resembling a normal sleeping pattern. During the final weeks of the festival, I had become accustomed to working late into the night, only to wake again in the early hours mentally adding to a list of jobs that needed doing.
There is something rather satisfying about the cyclical nature of a film festival. Every year we finish exhausted but full of ideas about how to make the next edition even better. Speaking of getting back on the bike, following my crash just before the festival, i’m looking forward to cycling again, and as we begin preparations for our 12th edition, in many ways its time to get back in the saddle.
The Director’s Cut has a new home!
After nine months of weekly reflections on life behind the scenes at London Breeze Film Festival, I’ve decided to give The Director’s Cut its own home on Substack. I’ll continue sharing all the fun of running a festival and the people who make it so special. It’s completely free to subscribe, and I’d love you to join me.
Subscribe to The Director’s Cut on Substack
Sam Cullis.
