Walthamstow International Film Festival

17/06/2026

🙏🏽 A massive thank you to our panel of judges—Barry Bliss, Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu, Janet Awe, Marc Isaacs, Trish Meehan, and Ryan Simpson—who spent today reviewing this year’s incredible submissions!

🎬 Barry, Gökçe, Janet, Marc, Ryan, and Trish: thank you so much for coming to the judging today. Your insightful comments, expertise in storytelling, and deep knowledge of film festival planning, drama, and documentary have brought so much value to this year’s lineup.

🍿 We also want to say a huge thank you to our volunteers who have worked tirelessly screening our films over the last few weeks: Arabella, Chelsea, Josh, and Ryan.

🌳A further shoutout goes to our event volunteers, Irina and Rudy, for all their hard work behind the scenes, and to the team at Forest Cinema Walthamstow for hosting us.

🏆 We will be officially announcing the category and overall winners this Sunday 21 June at our Shortlist Screening, and we’ll share the news right here on our page immediately after the event.

🎟️Ticket Update: The Shortlist Screening is now completely sold out, but you can still grab free tickets for our Full Programme Screening on Sunday 28 June at the Trades Hall.

🔗Link in bio! A Reminder of the WIFF 2026

⭐️ Animation
⭐️ Dobrina by Hannes Rall UK
⭐️ Beacon by Alicia Brown UK
⭐️ The Urban Fox by Maggie Nightingale UK

🎭Drama
🎭 Gumball by James Murray UK
🎭My Golden Body by John Renney UK
🎭Chro by Hamed Bahrami Iran

🌀Experimental
🌀A Poem by Vasilios Papaioannu USA/Greece
🌀Street Corner Society by Shahid Bashir
🌀Explant / Implant by Josh Weissbach USA

📹Documentary
📹 My Paper Bag Life by Charlotte Bracegirdle 📹Touch of Rhythms by Rosa Stella Renzi
📹The Great British Yarn by Xaymaca Awoyungbo UK

🌿Young Emerging Talent (Ages 18–25)
🌿The Cameraman of Caracas
by Matias Gonzalez UK
🌿My Friend Harri by Peadair Duggan UK
🌿Water Under the Bridge by Hope Burbridge

📷 Photo credit: Fletch Fletcher

16/06/2026

Shouting out the next generation of storytellers—huge congratulations to the filmmakers shortlisted in our Young Persons category (for filmmakers aged 18 to 25) for the Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026! 🚀🎬

Here are this year's finalists:

✨ The Cameraman of Caracas by Matias Gonzalez
✨ My Friend Harri by Peadair Duggan
✨ Water Under the Bridge by Hope Burbridge

Our panel of judges—Barry Bliss, Janet Awe, Marc Isaacs, Ryan Simpson, Trish Meehan and Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu—are looking at these incredible films, and the category and overall winners will be announced at our shortlist screening this Sunday 21 June at Forest Cinema.

🎟️ Ticket Update:
This Sunday's event at Forest Cinema is now completely sold out.

You can still support these brilliant young filmmakers by booking free tickets for our Full Programme Main Festival Event the following weekend, which features an incredible line-up of local and international independent cinema.

🗓️ Full Programme Screening:

When: Sunday 28 June, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Where: Walthamstow Trades Hall, Tower Hamlets Road, E17 4RQ

Spaces are filling up fast, so do secure your free spot in advance. Link in bio or book here: ticketlab.app/event/38126 #/

16/06/2026

Next up, a big congratulations to the filmmakers shortlisted in our Experimental category for the Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026!

Here are the finalists pushing the boundaries of short film this year:

🎬 A Poem by Vasilios Papaioannu
🎬 Street Corner Society by Shahid Bashir
🎬 Explant / Implant by Josh Weissbach

Our judging panel—Barry Bliss, Janet Awe, Marc Isaacs, Ryan Simpson, and Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu—will be choosing the category and overall winners, with the results being revealed at our shortlist screening this Sunday 21 June at Forest Cinema.

🎟️ Ticket Update:
Please note that this Sunday's screening at Forest Cinema is now sold out.

You can, however, still book free tickets for our Full Programme Main Festival Event the following weekend to catch a fantastic afternoon of local and international independent cinema.

🗓️ Full Programme Screening:

When: Sunday 28 June, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Where: Walthamstow Trades Hall, Tower Hamlets Road, E17 4RQ

Make sure to secure your free spot ahead of time. Link in bio or book via Ticketlab: ticketlab.app/event/38126 #/

16/06/2026

Huge well done to the filmmakers who have been shortlisted in the Drama category for the Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026! 🎭

Here are this year's Drama finalists:

🎬 Gumball by James Murray
🎬 My Golden Body by John Renney
🎬 Chro by Hamed Bahrami

Our panel of judges—Barry Bliss, Janet Awe, Marc Isaacs, Ryan Simpson, Trish Meehan and Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu—have the tough job of choosing the category and overall winners. All the big announcements are happening at our shortlist screening this Sunday 21 June at Forest Cinema.

🎟️ Important Ticket Update:
The screening at Forest Cinema this Sunday is now completely sold out.

If you missed out, don't worry! You can still book free tickets for our Full Programme Main Festival Event the following week, which features a brilliant lineup of independent storytelling from local and international talent.

🗓️ Full Programme Screening:

When: Sunday 28 June, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Where: Walthamstow Trades Hall, Tower Hamlets Road, E17 4RQ

Spaces are limited, so please secure your free spot in advance. Link in bio or book here: ticketlab.app/event/38126 #/

16/06/2026

🎉 Congratulations to the animators who have made the shortlist for the Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026!

Here are the finalists in our Animation category:

🎬 Dobrina by Hannes Rall
🎬 Beacon by Alicia Brown
🎬 The Urban Fox by Maggie Nightingale

These films will be watched and evaluated by our panel of judges: Barry Bliss, Janet Awe, Marc Isaacs, Ryan Simpson, Trish Meehan and Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu. The category winners and overall festival winners will be announced at our shortlist screening this Sunday 21 June at Forest Cinema.

🎟️ Ticket Update:
This Sunday's screening at Forest Cinema is now completely sold out.

However, you can still grab free tickets for our Full Programme Main Festival Event, where you can see the wider selection of incredible short films.

🗓️ Full Programme Screening:

When: Sunday 28 June, 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Where: Walthamstow Trades Hall, Tower Hamlets Road, E17 4RQ

Spaces are filling up quickly, so please do book ahead. Link in bio or register here: ticketlab.app/event/38126 #/

16/06/2026

Hoş geldiniz! A big Walthamstow Welcome!

Introducing one of the judges on our panel for the Walthamstow International Film Festival 2026: Gökçe Pehlivanoğlu.

Gökçe is a London-based filmmaker, video editor, producer, and festival producer with over 20 years of experience across film production and cultural programming. She has directed and produced six award-winning short films that have screened internationally, bringing a wealth of practical expertise to this year's judging process.

With an MFA in Film and Drama, Gökçe has taught cinematography, photography, and music video production. Since relocating to London in 2016, she has run her own production company, Lunaroom Film, specialising in films, documentaries, and branded content. She is also the co-founder and Festival Director of the CineMediterra Film Festival.

With her deep background in both independent filmmaking and festival programming, Gökçe is a fantastic asset to our panel as we look at work from first-time filmmakers, local students, and international creatives alike.

Come and see the final selection of short films at our main event later this month.

🗓️ The Main Event:

What: WIFF 2026 Full Programme Screening

When: Sunday 28 June

Where: Walthamstow Trades Hall, Tower Hamlets Road, E17 4RQ

🎟️ Tickets are free, but please book ahead to help us manage numbers at the venue. Link in bio or visit: ticketlab.app/event/38126 #/

15/06/2026

Congratulations JD Films

"The Dream Of Happiness" my music video collaboration with the UK artist MOWIE will be screening at the Walthamstow International Film Festival in London on June 28th. This will be the premier for this music video hopefully with several more to come.