We’re deep in festival curation mode, and our festival programming is led by our dedicated and talented programming lead, Chloe Beale and supported by our programming curators for 2026 - Char Snell, Dylan Greenwood, Audrey Chan, Aysila Kose, Ashliegh Henry, Jenny Hong, Geordia Smithies and Immie Roberts are all hard at work, as we finalise our longlist for our 5th edition and start to compile our final shortlist.

All being well, we’re hoping, as a festival committee, to have most of our, or at least our full, programme finalised to go live and on sale for June 2026.

Personally, I also wanted to share a personal thank you to Becca Medley, who helps with the scenes of Sunrise year-round, from helping with creating the graphics to shape our screenings at the festival to helping manage our festival stewards during the festival.

Finally, as you may now know, change has come to Sunrise Film Festival in the form of a newly formed independent organisation to take the festival forward, so we can still be here talking about Sunrise in 25 years (wouldn’t that be lovely).

More updates on Sunrise Film Festival CIC and our Rise Again Campaign are in this newsletter.

Founder & Chair of Sunrise Film Festival CIC

Joshua Freemantle

Sunrise Film Festival began in 2021 with a simple belief that a coastal town like Lowestoft deserves access to inspiring cinema, creative opportunities, and a platform for new voices. For 5 years, the festival had been operating as an unincorporated social enterprise part of a regional charity.

In February 2026, the regional charity went into administration, and to secure the future of our annual festival and year-round activity, we worked hard to provide and want to further expand in Lowestoft and across East Anglia. We’ve been working hard to establish an independent non-profit Community Interest Company (Sunrise Film Festival CIC).

This is an extremely exciting opportunity for the future of our festival, but it also presents challenges at this early stage. Although we’re 5 years in, we are also reestablishing ourselves to ‘rise’ once again.

We’re launching our fundraising campaign, Support Sunrise To ‘Rise’ Again, so we can still be here talking about the amazing work we’re doing in our community and other underserved communities in East Anglia in 25 years’ time.

What began as a grassroots idea has grown into Suffolk’s largest film festival, celebrating diverse stories and underrepresented filmmakers not just from our region but also from across the UK and internationally, leading to UK-wide and international attendance at our annual festivals.

To support our work and this year’s festival, which is being brought forward as a newly established organisation, we need your support to demonstrate that our work is valued and to show other funders in good faith that we have funds to support our new direction.

For our most recent edition, which is set to take place from 20-23 August 2026, we received over 1,100 film submissions from across the UK and internationally, demonstrating just how Sunrise has become a trusted platform for emerging talent.

Sunrise has always been powered by incredible people passionate about inclusive cinema and independent film.

The festival is supported by an incredible volunteer network who help review films, programme events and welcome audiences every year. Over the years, we have worked with more than 500 volunteer film reviewers and programmers, alongside festival stewards and community volunteers who help bring the event to life.

We believe everyone should have the chance to experience powerful cinema and creative opportunities, no matter their background or where they live.

Lowestoft is a town full of creativity and untold stories, yet opportunities to access film and creative industries can often still feel limited. Sunrise exists to change that.

We want Sunrise to remain a festival our town can be proud of, and one where everyone feels welcome.

There are many ways you can support Sunrise To ‘Rise’ Again. You can:

If you’re interested in supporting us in other ways, you can reach out to us on [email protected]

Please share the word about what we’re doing and our Crowdfunder campaign below, or repost one of our social media posts.

We’re on TikTok @sunrisefilmfest, Instagram @SunriseFilmFest, and Facebook – Sunrise Film Festival – Lowestoft.

You can also download assets to share on social media here, with a suggested social media caption – Social Media Assets

Together, we can continue to empower more creative voices and expand inclusive cinema, which has had massive benefits for audience members’ wellbeing locally.

You can view our full fundraising campaign on Crowdunder below.

View our submission categories today

For our 5th edition, along with the return of our popular festival passes, we’ve introduced a pass for local creatives, press (or film bloggers) or for those of you who work in the industry, so you can have the same access to our 2026 festival as our filmmakers with screening films will have.

Think of it as that VIP experience, so you’ll be able to attend invite-only events like our filmmaker's only networking events.

Get A Sunrise Industry Pass

The Easter Deadline for Women X runs until 5 April, so while you’re indulging in some mini eggs, make the most of the easter deadline.

Find out more about Women X here

Over in Norfolk, the regular deadline for BAFTA-qualifying Norwich Film Festival runs until 24 May.

Find out more about Nowich Film Festival here

Suffolk Shorts is looking for East Anglian short films for East X East.

Find out more about Suffolk Shorts here

If you’re 18+ and living in Suffolk, you can now apply for a FREE two‑day training programme delivered by FilmFixer and East Suffolk Council.

Apply by 15th March

Find out more here

As we look ahead to 2026, we’d love to know your thoughts. We want to really bolster our programming beyond screenings next year, take forward 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…

We also know how popular our family-friendly outdoor cinemas are, which will return throughout the 2026 festival in the Marina Yard. If there’s a particular film you think we should consider, don’t be afraid to let us know.

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

We’re counting down the days.

Join us in Lowestoft from 20-23 August 2026 💛🧡🩷

Sunrise Festival Committee Team x

P.S.

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