The South London Film Festival returns to Picturehouse Ritzy, Brixton from 12–27 September 2026 for its sixth edition, bringing together independent filmmakers, established screen talent and audiences for three weekends of screenings, awards, filmmaker conversations and networking. This year’s programme features three UK premieres and a World premiere, alongside work from Academy Award and BAFTA-winning filmmakers and films backed by some of the most recognisable names working across British and international cinema. Tickets for The South London Film Festival 2026 are now on sale at www.southlondonfilmfest.co.uk.
Highlights include the UK Premieres of the chilling horror short film Spilled Milk, written and directed by Jared Leaf, executive produced by Jordan Peele and developed through the Monkeypaw Productions and TIFF “No Drama” initiative; Echoes, directed by Alex Lanipekun and starring Ashley Walters and Nathalie Emmanuel about male friendship, mental health, and childhood trauma; and Vultures, written and directed by Dian Weys, following a hot-headed and desperate tow-truck driver whose determination to protect his tow sends an already volatile situation spiralling out of control.
The festival will also present the World premiere of An Ode to Joy, a heartfelt short directed by Ashleigh Ashley and starring Rudolph Walker, exploring mature love, family and grief.
The festival opens with The South London Film Festival Official Awards Showcase 2026, presenting 15 award-winning and selected short films from this year’s programme, including The Pigs Underneath, directed by Charlie Dennis, executive produced by Jordan Peele and Monkeypaw Productions, and starring Josh Tedeku and Vinette Robinson; Vote Gavin Lyle, written and directed by Academy Award winner Aneil Karia and starring Jack Lowden; and BAFTA-winning animated short Two Black Boys in Paradise, based on the poem by Dean Atta and narrated by Jordan Stephens; Rule, Britannia, directed by Max Fisher; Starboy, starring Malcolm Kamulete, Michael Salami and Akai Coleman; Plastic Surgery, starring Anna Popplewell and Daniel Ings; and Beloved Bermondsey, a documentary portrait of a South London community navigating change and regeneration.
The programme also includes the music video for The Boy Who Played the Harp from BRIT and Mercury Prize-winning artist Dave, directed by Edem Wornoo, alongside work from Mykea Fairweather Perry, Ben S. Hyland, Dian Weys, Olly Ginelli, Josephine Lohoar Self and King She.
The showcase will be followed by a live filmmaker Q&A and awards ceremony and will mark the launch of the inaugural South London Icon Award, recognising an individual who has made a meaningful contribution to film, culture and the creative industries.
The festival will also present its Behind the Smile strand, in collaboration with The Film and TV Charity, bringing together ten films exploring mental health, grief, vulnerability, identity and the pressures shaping contemporary life.
The programme includes The Intimacy Coordinator, directed by Louisa Connolly-Burnham; How Black Men Lose Their Smile, featuring Ashley “Bashy” Thomas; and Bobby, directed by Isabella Webber and narrated by Sir Michael Caine.
Also screening are Far From the Plains, starring Adolescence actor Amari Bacchus alongside BRIT-nominated artist Kojey Radical and Faith Alabi; The Wolf, written by and starring Kellie Shirley; Black Cab, directed by James Arden; The Proudest Rose, directed by Giorgia Young and starring Florence Bell; and The Snip, directed by Ben S. Hyland.
Following the screening, filmmakers will join The South London Film Festival Managing Director Kyriakos Georgiou and Marcus Ryder, CEO of The Film and TV Charity, for a discussion exploring the films, their relationship to mental health and how the screen industries can work towards a more mentally healthy environment.
The festival closes with She Owns the Scene Vol. 2, a programme amplifying women both in front of and behind the camera.
The line-up includes How to Hide It, directed by professional boxer and Olympian Ramla Ali and Richard A. Moore and executive produced by Idris Elba and Sabrina Elba; MANGO, written and directed by Joan Iyiola and executive produced by BAFTA-winning actor Wunmi Mosaku; and BIFA-longlisted Leaving Ikorodu in 1999, directed by Rashida Seriki and featuring Sheila Atim, Tobi Bakre and Tomi Ojo.
The closing programme also features Candy Bar, directed by Nash Edgerton and starring Damon Herriman; Young Director Award winner With You Always, directed by Florence Poppy Deary; When She Sings, directed by Paul Holbrook and starring Garrick Hagon and Laura Bayston; Gan Canny from Lou Burns and Aaron Burns; A Hundred and Fifteen Times Yes! from Juliette Rose Mercier; We Are Here, Still from Ava Bounds; and Sculpted from Hannah Collins.
Kyriakos Georgiou, Founder and Managing Director of The South London Film Festival, said: “The South London Film Festival was founded on the principle: ‘Don’t give people a rulebook. Give them a platform.’
“Film has a unique ability to bring audiences together, inspire people and make an impact, and we’re proud to be championing those voices. Six years in, we’re incredibly proud of how the festival is growing – not just in the calibre and range of films being submitted, but in the conversations and connections happening around them.
“Each year, we see how film reflects the mood and voices of the world around us. This year’s programme holds up a powerful mirror to many of the feelings and experiences echoing through society. We’re proud to bring established names together with emerging filmmakers at the beginning of their careers, but what excites us most is the work itself: great films, excellent storytelling and human voices from filmmakers with something to say.
“We want The South London Film Festival to be somewhere both filmmakers and audiences can feel seen and inspired – a place where the industry can meet audiences and everyone can feel part of a creative community.”
The 2026 edition follows a standout year for the festival, which in 2025 hosted the World premiere of Highway to the Moon, the directorial debut of Letitia Wright. The film went on to win Best Experimental Short, with the festival later joining forces with the project to take the film into schools across London and extend its impact beyond the cinema.
Receiving thousands of submissions each year, The South London Film Festival has grown into a platform for filmmakers from across the UK and internationally, with this year’s programme spanning narrative film, animation, documentary, music video, commercial filmmaking and work tackling some of the most pressing social and cultural conversations of the moment.
The 2026 edition comes as the festival continues to develop its ambitions beyond exhibition, strengthening opportunities for filmmaker conversations, networking, industry engagement and career development, while remaining rooted in the communities and creative culture of South London.
For more information and events programme, please visit their website.
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