Film & Media Arts Production, BA (Hons) students attended Encounters Film Festival 2025 at Watershed in Bristol.
Some highlights included:
Wild Dog (Australia) Director: Chelsea Ingram. In rural Queensland, fourteen-year-old Sam wrestles with a crush on Matt, his sister Bianca’s boyfriend. With their father away, the teens spend a weekend pushing boundaries and tension builds to a confrontation.
An Ongoing List of Things Found in the Library Book Drop Usually Being Used as Bookmarks (USA) Director: Kayla Abuda Galang. Library worker Daniel catalogs an assortment of forgotten objects left in returned books.
There Will Come Soft Rains (UK) Director: Elham Ehsas. Haunted by rising sea levels, a daughter digs up her father’s grave to move his body to higher ground. (Winner of the Encounters 2025 Best of British Live Action award!)
From Studio Shoots to Street Scenes: Supporting Filming in Bristol | Encounters Film Festival 2025 - A UNESCO City of Film since 2017 and winner of the 2023 Global Production City of Film Award, Bristol is one of the most film-friendly cities in the world. From studio space at The Bottle Yard to location assistance from the Film Office, the city provides tailored support for filmmakers creating content across a range of genres, budgets and formats. Join The Bottle Yard Studios and Bristol Film Office – part of Bristol City Council’s Film Services - to learn more about practical support on offer and their future priorities for enabling sustainable sector growth. Hear examples of how their collaborative work with productions is helping improve industry sustainability, support entry-level talent behind the camera via All Set West, and increase local benefits of filming activity.
Brief Encounters 6 | Encounters Film Festival 2025
Revert (Scotland, UK) Director: Miranda Stern. A newly single dad struggles to quiet his baby to pray. Losing faith in his ability to raise her alone, he drives north to leave her with his mother. As old habits and traumas resurface, he must confront his faith and redefine what fatherhood means.
Nora Can't Score (Scotland, UK) Director:Joséfa Celestin. An amateur basketball player faces mounting pressure to score, both on and off the court.
Genealogy of Violence (France) Director:Mohamed Bourouissa. A young couple sits in a car when two policemen pull up to command a routine identity check. They ask the man to get out and proceed methodically with a pat-down, as he stands in front of the car, watched by his dismayed girlfriend. (Drama, Experimental, Art)
Artist Masterclass: Jay Clarke on storyboarding for Wes Anderson | Encounters Film Festival 2025
Filmmaker Masterclass: Havana Marking | Encounters Film Festival 2025
Filmmaker and documentarian Havana Marking (Undercover: Exposing the Far Right, Afghan Star) discussed risk-taking and her filmmaking career in this masterclass delivered in association with the Documentary Film Council and the Bristol Doc Club, hosted by DFC Co-CEO and Senior Lecturer in Film and Television at the University of Bristol, Steve Presence.
Marking is known for finding the human stories behind the headlines, personal journeys that reflect the wider geopolitics. Her latest film, BAFTA-nominated Undercover: Exposing The Far Right, followed an undercover journalist infiltrating a global far right network in the build up to 2024’s riots.
Filmography includes: Afghan Star (2009), winner of two awards at Sundance, a Grierson and the Prix Italia; Smash & Grab (2011), gaining access to the world’s most successful diamond thieves and; The Kleptocrats (2018), a gripping story of financial fraud, stretching from the parliament of Malaysia to the studios of Hollywood.
In addition, Marking has worked as an EP / Senior Producer on premium docs and series inc Welcome to Earth, Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, and To Hell and Back Again which garnered an Academy Award nomination and several Emmy and Sundance awards.
Watch Undercover: Exposing the Far Right | Stream free on Channel 4