225 Film Club Festival

"Championing female excellence in direction, the 225 Film Club is on a mission to support, promote and celebrate women in film." - FORBES. 

Created in 2018 to promote female excellence in film direction, we are back for our 8th edition! We screen narrative and documentary short film work by women, non-binary and gender expansive filmmakers, and support our screening directors through facilitating introductions to successful producers and other seasoned industry members.

Screening at the iconic British Film Institute (BFI) Southbank on one of the best screens in the UK, 95% of our screening programme is selected from open submissions.

We screen drama, documentary, action, animation, comedy, fantasy, horror, sci-fi, thriller and more. 

All submissions are viewed at least twice.

The Extended Submissions deadline is August 15 2026.

Founded by Filmmaker Rita Osei who served as Jury Chair for the 75th, 76th and 77th BAFTA British Short Film Award, this is a festival from filmmakers for filmmakers and audiences alike.

AWARDS JURY - Our winners are chosen by an outstanding jury of Industry professionals. 

Our previous jurors include Line Langebek, Writer of 2025 Oscar nominated feature film "The Girl With The Needle", Sire Ramos, Head of Development at Lipsync, Simon Young, Vice President EMEA Acquisitions Shorts TV and Shorts International, TriBeca Winning Writer/Director Abraham Adeyemi and Brenda Gilbert Vice Chair BANFF World Media Festival, Board Member at Film Independent and Producer of The Willoughbys.

"Every December, the teams behind the shortlist come together to watch the movies, mingle, meet, make connections and enjoy their moment in the limelight. For many of the directors and producers this is the first time they’ll have work shown in the iconic BFI." - FORBES.

225 Film Club Festival is supported by the BFI.

225 Film Club is a member of BFI Film Audience Network.

225 Film Club is a member of Film Festival Alliance (FFA) and Association of Independent Film Festivals (AIFF).