Here at Sunrise things behind the scenes are already busy, with yet another uplift in submissions (which we are really grateful for 💕).

This week we crossed the line (no, we’re not doing any marathons) but surpassed over 1,000 submissions this week, and it’s safe to say it took us by surprise.

We never thought, as such a young festival still, that we’d be saying we’ve received that many submissions but yes… this week it happened. 🥺2026 truly is going to be our biggest festival yet, and we want to see you there, so open those 2026 diaries and your best biro and save the dates 20 - 23 August for the 5th edition of Sunrise Film Festival.

We've made your life a little easier, if you don't normally use filmfreeway for you to submit your work via simple short form, just provide us with your contact details and link to watch your Short Film or Music Video and we'll do the rest.

Your work will be considered and reviewed in exactly the same way, and if selected for the 2026 festival be considered for any award nominations with the rest of our 5th edition selection.

Any film or music video made by Suffolk or Norfolk creatives/filmmakers are accepted via this form, if you're a student or not, no age restrictions apply.

Please note only submissions that have been made and/or produced in Norfolk or Suffolk will be accepted via this form, standard conditions apply for films made elsewhere to be submitted via Filmfreeway.

This form will close for submissions on 28th December 2025 at midnight.

Submit your Short Film or Music Video by clicking here

In 2026 Caris Rianne, behind Rianne Pictures, and the dedicated team of festival volunteers mark their 7th year of the UK's leading BIFA accredited women's film festival, Women X Film Festival in Darlington.

Similarly to us for 2026, they’re also welcoming submissions for feature films. It’s important to note every film submitted to them, is given thoughtful consideration by their experienced programming team, ensuring fairness and curiosity guide what is showcased at the festival, steering away from pigeon holes and industry bias - which us one of the many reasons why we love Women X.

They also recently gained a spot in the highly regarded Filmfreeway Top 100 festival’s, so what’s not to love?

Find out more about Women X here

As we look ahead to 2026, we’d love to know your thoughts, we want to really bolster our programming of events beyond screenings next year, and take forwards what’s worked and try out new things we’ve never done.

But we’d love to know what you think? Is there anything missing you’ve been thinking you’d really love to see at Sunrise, maybe it’s a particular hands on workshop, inspirational talks from leading industry speakers, or maybe something a little out of the ordinary…

Just simply reply to this newsletter or email [email protected], we want to make the 5th edition of Sunrise a festival that far expands quality screenings and Q&As.

Still haven't submitted your short film, feature film, music video or VR creation to our 5th anniversary edition.

What are you waiting for, make sure you submit your film or work before the 19th December, this is your last chance to have your film considered for our 2026 festival.

View our submission categories today

We hope you all have a lovely festive period and look forward to marking our 5th Birthday with you all in 2026! 💛🧡🩷

Sunrise Festival Committee Team x

P.S.

New here? Check out our Website to get a taste of what Sunrise is all about.