SET Film Festival 2026 - Open Call
Submissions are now open for the 2026 edition of SET Film Festival, an independent platform for contemporary, artist and archival film run by SET, a London-based contemporary arts organisation and registered charity.
Founded in 2023 and curated by Amina Ali, Ellie Dobbs and Verity Monroe, the festival presents experimental practices and emerging voices outside conventional exhibition and distribution contexts.
Held each November at SET Social, SET’s arts and social club in Peckham, the festival unfolds across a month of weekly film nights. Screenings take place in relaxed, convivial settings that encourage shared viewing and conversation around film.
Each edition is shaped through the works submitted via the open call, bringing documentary, narrative and artists’ moving-image practices into dialogue. Alongside our a curated short film programme, the festival presents a selection of international features, with a particular focus on Pan-African and experimental cinema.
A free archival film and performance night also forms part of the programme, exploring moving-image history through community participation and solidarity. Previous programmes have examined themes such as collective voice, activism and local cultural histories, foregrounding cinema’s capacity to re-enchant us with the world around us and to enact change.
What began as a locally rooted initiative within SET’s wider arts and community programme has grown to welcome an increasingly international community of filmmakers and artists. The festival remains artist-focused at its core, and we are deeply grateful to the filmmakers who trust us with their work and help shape it each year.
Supported by Goldsmiths Exhibition Hub, SET Film Festival is committed to affordability, accessibility and collective exchange.
This year, the festival will run from 5 November to 3 December at SET Social in Peckham.
For more information on the festival, including our past editions, visit: www.setspace.uk/set-film-festival or follow us on instagram at @set.filmfestival
ABOUT THE OPEN CALL
As we enter the fourth edition of the festival, we’re inviting filmmakers and artists from around the world to submit short films for the programme.
We welcome short films of all genres, including but not limited to animation, documentary, drama, experimental cinema, essay film and artists’ moving image.
While rooted in Peckham, SET Film Festival has always been international in outlook, welcoming submissions from across different territories, disciplines and ways of working.
The 2026 edition marks an evolution in how the programme is shared, with plans to extend beyond Peckham through partnerships and screenings across London and potentially further afield.
ELIGIBILITY
Submissions are FREE and open internationally.
• Runtime: no longer than 30 minutes
• Completion date: after 1 January 2023
• One submission per artist
Deadline: 23:59pm Sunday 7 June 2026 (BST)
Founded in 2023 and curated by Amina Ali, Ellie Dobbs and Verity Monroe, the festival presents experimental practices and emerging voices outside conventional exhibition and distribution contexts.
Held each November at SET Social, SET’s arts and social club in Peckham, the festival unfolds across a month of weekly film nights. Screenings take place in relaxed, convivial settings that encourage shared viewing and conversation around film.
Each edition is shaped through the works submitted via the open call, bringing documentary, narrative and artists’ moving-image practices into dialogue. Alongside our a curated short film programme, the festival presents a selection of international features, with a particular focus on Pan-African and experimental cinema.
A free archival film and performance night also forms part of the programme, exploring moving-image history through community participation and solidarity. Previous programmes have examined themes such as collective voice, activism and local cultural histories, foregrounding cinema’s capacity to re-enchant us with the world around us and to enact change.
What began as a locally rooted initiative within SET’s wider arts and community programme has grown to welcome an increasingly international community of filmmakers and artists. The festival remains artist-focused at its core, and we are deeply grateful to the filmmakers who trust us with their work and help shape it each year.
Supported by Goldsmiths Exhibition Hub, SET Film Festival is committed to affordability, accessibility and collective exchange.
This year, the festival will run from 5 November to 3 December at SET Social in Peckham.
For more information on the festival, including our past editions, visit: www.setspace.uk/set-film-festival or follow us on instagram at @set.filmfestival
ABOUT THE OPEN CALL
As we enter the fourth edition of the festival, we’re inviting filmmakers and artists from around the world to submit short films for the programme.
We welcome short films of all genres, including but not limited to animation, documentary, drama, experimental cinema, essay film and artists’ moving image.
While rooted in Peckham, SET Film Festival has always been international in outlook, welcoming submissions from across different territories, disciplines and ways of working.
The 2026 edition marks an evolution in how the programme is shared, with plans to extend beyond Peckham through partnerships and screenings across London and potentially further afield.
ELIGIBILITY
Submissions are FREE and open internationally.
• Runtime: no longer than 30 minutes
• Completion date: after 1 January 2023
• One submission per artist
Deadline: 23:59pm Sunday 7 June 2026 (BST)