To help us to build on the success of our wonderful festival we are seeking partners who share our love of cinema and who wish to support the arts while gaining valuable exposure and recognition.
Whether you are an individual or a business there are many ways you can support us including becoming a partner, supporting a programme strand or individual films and advertising in our brochure. For more information visit our Support Us page
We are now accepting entries for the 2027 Osprey Short Film Awards. Once again we are looking for new short films, under 15 minutes with a link to Cumbira. A selection of the best films will be shown at the Film Festival in March. For full details on how to enter please visit our Shorts page.
The votes have been tallied, and we are thrilled to reveal the final audience scores for the 2026 Festival as determined by our audience ratings.
Once again documentaries have scored highly with Put Your Soul On Your Hand And Walk coming out on top with 90.9% and All And Nothing not far behind with 89.7%. When Life Gives You Lemons...Everyone's Everest and Common Ground both scored 82% and The Shepherd And The Bear 79%.
Our family films went down well with everybody who saw them, resulting in big scores for Kangaroo (90.4%), Bugsy Malone (87%) and Happy Feet (80.9%). The students from Carlisle College picked highly rated modern classics giving There Will Be Blood 90% and Waves 87.9%.
Of the new non-documentaries Sirāt scored the highest with 87.3% followed by The Last Viking (80.6%), DJ Ahmet (80.3%), A Private Life (79.9%) and The President's Cake (79%)
You can see all of the scores on our website.
Congratulations to all of the short films that were screened at the Theatre By The Lake on Saturday afternoon. What a wonderful selection of shorts showcasing amazing Cumbrian talent spanning genres, themes and styles.
Many thanks to Anwen, Lady Hurt for joining us and presenting the inaugural John Hurt Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking to Dougal Vecqueray for MRI as voted for by the audience. BLACKPOOL by Stephen Gallacher got the second highest number of votes followed by DEAR HEART by Emily Barnard & Sara Barnes.
The judges prize in the Open Category went to MEAT RAFFLE by Stuart Armstrong, building on his success of winning the Audience Award last year for Lay-By.
The Student Prize was awarded to MRI by Dougal Vecqueray, a wonderful animation made at the Aardman Academy based on his own hospital experiences dealing with a heart condition.
MRI will be screened before the sold out closing film at the Festival on Sunday evening.
Thanks to the team at the Theatre By The Lake for all their hard word getting the films on the big screen.
Missed a highly rated film? Couldn’t get a ticket? Here is your second chance to see the best of the fest, highly rated or sold out screenings. All showing in Alhambra screen 2.
Check out the Ticket Updates for the latest on ticket availability to other titles.
Our opening and closing films are now SOLD OUT but don't forget there is a second screening of The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford on Saturday morning at 10:30am. Many other screenings are filling up now, so don't leave it too late to get your tickets. Check the Ticket Updates to find out what is selling fast and this is where we'll also announce what will be filling the Second Chance slots.
We've changed how tickets work this year so please look at the Your Visit page to ensure you have an enjoyable time.
Don't forget about the free Fringe Festival, other offers and the Osprey Short Film Awards.
1976 was a pivotal year in cinema culture. It brought us some unforgettable films. Those of us lucky enough to watch them in cinemas when they first came out know the silent effect they had on cinema’s legacy. We could have chosen Network, All the President’s Men, The Killing of a Chinese Bookie, Small Change, Carrie or even Rocky to represent the sea change in approach to filmmaking.
However, we think the films chosen are representative. The New Hollywood movement produced Taxi Driver and Cria Cuervos epitomised Spanish cinema at the start of the democratic era. Alan Parker turned from commercials to Bugsy Malone and the world was (nearly) ready for Roeg's kaleidoscopic metaphysical mindbender The Man Who Fell to Earth.
We are delighted to announce that Anwen, widow of KFF Patron the late Sir John Hurt, will be the guest of honour at this year’s Festival when she presents the Osprey Short Film Awards at the ceremony on Saturday 21 March.
Lady Hurt will present the inaugural John Hurt Award for Excellence in Short Filmmaking along with the Open and Student Awards. Formerly the Audience Award, the John Hurt Award will continue to be voted for by the enthusiastic audience of filmmakers and festival-goers at the ceremony.
Lady Hurt commented: “With a long and varied career, John was a strong advocate for independent film. It’s a personal delight to present the newly named Award in honour of John, a fitting way to remember his passion for helping and inspiring the next generation.”
Ten films have been shortlisted in the 2026 Open and Student categories and feature a diverse array of genres, from charming stop-motion animations and documentaries to bold queer cinema and surrealist student work. The selection takes us on a journey from the delicate ecosystems of the Duddon Estuary to the neon-lit chaos of Blackpool. We see the world through the eyes of red squirrels, young skaters, and even a reanimated postman.
Everybody can now buy tickets for individual films at the Festival. Please book now to avoid disappointment as many films are already selling fast.
If you want to see multiple films our Festival Passes are a great option but these are only available until Monday 16 March.
See the Passes and Tickets page for full details including changes to how passes and tickets work this year.
All you smart people who have already bought a Pass to the Festival are in for several treats as we secure additional benefits exclusively for you.
As a Passholder you already enjoy
We are now pleased to offer 10% off purchases at Brewery Hub, Keswick’s brand new beer emporium located opposite the Bank Tavern and Fat Face on Main Street. For the duration of the Festival, just show your Festival Pass to get your 10% discount on local bottled craft beer.
We're thrilled to announce the KFF26 Opening Film will be The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford
This new British feature will be the highlight of our Gala Festival Opening evening at the Alhambra Cinema on Thursday 19th March. A dark comedy, The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford stars Peter Mullan as a tour guide whose world is upended when a big-budget fantasy TV show begins filming in his remote Scottish village. We hope to welcome the Director and members of the cast to introduce the film and host a Q&A .
We may be the Keswick Film Festival and we enjoy two lovely venues in town – our Festival HQ at the Alhambra Cinema and Theatre by the Lake. But we also show Festival films at the giant Screen 1 at Rheged, located just a short drive or bus ride from Keswick and Penrith.
Our exciting 2026 programme - KFF @ Rheged - showcases hand-picked films to give an immersive experience on this massive 60 ft screen. This year we have the UK Gala Premiere of All And Nothing, The Shepherd and the Bear, The North, Sirât and a special event with Terry Abraham looking at his filmmaking work in the Lake District over the years.
The first themed strand of KFF26 is our Jodie Foster Retrospective.
This leading American performer and filmmaker started her career as a child actor before establishing herself in diverse adult roles, and becoming a film director of note. She has received several accolades including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award. Foster also was awarded with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2013 and the Honorary Palme d'Or in 2021.
We could have filled an entire Festival with films in which Foster has appeared! Out of over 48 feature films we have chosen two from early in her career – both from 1976 but starkly contrasting in content and nature – Alan Parker’s Bugsy Malone and Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, alongside her most recent feature film A Private Life.
The Full KFF26 programme will be announced on 19 January
Tickets and Passes will be on sale from 22 January with an exclusive 3-week Priority Booking window for Festival Pass holders and Keswick Film Club Members (you can join KFC here)
Individual Festival Tickets for non Keswick Film Club members will go on sale on 12 February
Keswick Film Festival is run entirely by volunteers. The dedication and enthusiasm of our volunteers is what makes the Festival a success and a wonderful experience for those attending every year.
We could always do with more people to help us and will be delighted if you want to join our friendly team and help us to make the Festival a sensational event.
There are many different roles available, so we are sure there will be something you will enjoy. You can find more information on our Volunteering page.
To help us to build on the success of our wonderful festival we are seeking multiple partners who share our love of cinema and the inspirational setting of the Lake District.
Your support for our film festival means we are able to bring you the very best of international and independent cinema and provide the opportunity to see exceptional films many of which will never make it into commercial cinemas in the UK.
View our Sponsorship page to find out the ways you or your business can support the Festival
We are delighted to reveal that the dates of the 2026 Festival will be
19 - 22 March!
Our new KFF Director Julia Vickers says: “In usual Keswick Film Festival style, we’ll be showing a fabulous selection of films from across the world in our favourite places – the Alhambra Cinema, Theatre by the Lake and Rheged. Save those dates!”
That was quite an Anniversary!
Thank you to all of you who came to Keswick last weekend to make it such an enjoyable weekend. It is always lovely to see people renewing acquaintanceships 12 months on – and to welcome so many new faces to KFF.
There was an incredible range of films on offer, which made it hard to choose at times – and the scores reflected the quality of the films in the programme.
Eventually, it was The Marching Band that took the audience award – the third consecutive year that a film at Rheged has taken the prize. The Monk and the Gun wasn’t far behind. You can see the Top 15 films here on the website.
The Ospreys continue to amaze with their demonstration of film-making prowess. The selection gets better each year – and what a treat to have Ian Picken, KFF’s first Festival Director, to announce the Audience Award was won by Stuart Armstrong for Lay-by. Harvey Greenfield director Jonnie Howard presented the Student Award to Asa Pegler for It Get's Better and the Open Award went to Juliet Klottrup for Travelling Home, which if you missed can now be seen on the Nowness platform.
