Talks, panels and masterclasses

Talks, panels and masterclasses

Every year Encounters brings filmmakers, artists and audiences together in the same rooms. Our talks programme is where the conversations happen: practical masterclasses, honest panel discussions, works in progress and plenty of chances to meet people. Browse everything on the schedule.

Wednesday 23 September: South West and Wales

Wednesday puts the spotlight on the South West and Wales, celebrating local talent, breakthrough filmmakers and the stories being told on our doorstep. A day to connect, collaborate and build on the region's creative momentum.

We open with Blak Wave in Focus. Blak Wave is the Bristol production company founded by filmmakers Michael Jenkins and Dr Mena Fombo, and the only recipient outside London of Channel 4's brand new Creative Equity Drama IP Fund, the first initiative of its kind in the UK, designed to help independent production companies option and secure the rights to books, plays and web series that champion diverse voices. Hear what the fund has made possible and what Blak Wave are developing right now.

Next, BAFTA and Emmy award-winning Bristol VFX studio Lux Aeterna decode how they made their suspenseful sci-fi short RENO in RENO: The Humans Behind The Machine, and how making it shapes their work for clients like Netflix. Then Bad Wolf return to Encounters. Emma Obank, Director of Commercial Editorial and Business Development sharew what goes into making hit high-end TV at Wolf Studios in Cardiff.

In the afternoon, script consultant and screenwriter Justine Hart of The Script Factory offers practical guidance on narrative structure for your short film in Story Structure for Shorts. That's followed by a discussion in partnership with Bristol Film School, Where Do Short Films Sit in 2026? hosted by filmmaker and academic Freya Billington with candid insights from Alice Cabanas, Head of BFI NETWORK, the Bristol based Director and Creative, Elle Dimond, Founder of comedy ad platform Dirty Jack, Hayden Brown and animator and director Mark Simon Hewis from the Aardman Academy.
We round off the day at the Arnolfini with a conversation and meet-up presented with Bristol Creative Industries.

Thursday 24 September: Animated Encounters

Animated Encounters returns with a future-gazing day of conversations, workshops and masterclasses celebrating all things animation and beyond. These sessions explore how story and narrative are shaped in animation, with a proud emphasis on the diversity and range of voices driving the artform forward.

We begin with a keynote from Lucy Stone, Founder and Executive Director of Climate Spring, a global organisation working to shift our cultural response to the climate crisis by transforming how it is represented in film, TV and popular culture. Lucy explores how storytelling can connect big ideas about technology and climate to human experience and illuminate what a fairer future could look like.

Then Wes Anderson's lead storyboard artist Jay Clarke leads a masterclass, How to Show AND Tell, bringing visual storytelling in film and animation to life. Jay's credits include The Phoenician Scheme, The French Dispatch and The Grand Budapest Hotel.

In Animation Spotlight: BFI NETWORK, 12 writers from across the UK present their early stage projects. After that, Aardman Academy present Wrong on Purpose: The Aardman Academy on the Power of the Human Made. Expect a lively discussion and a surprise screening.

Then, in the early afternoon, film strategist and awards consultant Benoit Berthe-Siward demystifies exactly how successful awards campaigns are run for the Academy Awards and BAFTAs in How to Boost the Visibility of your Short.
Around the talks and screenings we're running fringe activity throughout the day, including guided tours of Bristol's harbourside, artist studios and interactive workshops.

Friday 25 September: Signals

Adapt and thrive. Friday explores the future of film and where the next generation of filmmakers is coming from: the vertical content boom, the creator-to-filmmaker pipeline and alternative models of distribution, alongside headline masterclasses with BAFTA and Academy Award-winning filmmakers.

We kick off with vertical drama, how it's built and what the format tells us about how we consume stories now. Jen Cooper, Founder of Vertical Drama Love, leads the discussion with Marina Elderton, Executive Producer and Founder of the UK's first vertical app Tattle TV, Noel Goodwin, filmmaker and creator of the vertical series Skate Dads, and Samantha Huiming, producer of indie verticals at Black Swan Productions.

Next, The Invisible Ad asks why brands are commissioning short form content designed to feel nothing like an ad. Scott O'Donnell, BAFTA-winning film producer and exec at Somesuch, is joined by director Fenn O'Meally, Bethany Thomson from vertical drama company Sea Star Productions and the creators of the US viral series Roomies, Cyrus Ferguson and Brooke Brazer, to unpack what's driving the shift, what it means for filmmakers, and where the line between story and strategy sits.

Then discover the secrets of casting with BAFTA-winning casting director Isabella Odoffin in her Casting Masterclass, where she talks through her creative process and collaborations with visionary filmmakers including Encounters alumni Rungano Nyoni and Molly Manning Walker.
In the afternoon, Mandy Chang, new CEO of the Documentary Film Council, joins us in conversation about building a more sustainable and ambitious documentary industry in the UK, followed by a session on alternative distribution in documentary and narrative filmmaking with filmmakers and impact producers working across shorts and features.

We then get three perspectives on moving from phone screen to cinema screen through the creator pipeline. Award-winning filmmaker and creator Wesley Wang built an audience of millions online before the industry caught up. He's joined by Dave Levy, MD and Founder of FiveFold Studios, and HaZ, a transmedia creator building out the world of his video game Astro Burn across animation and live action.

To close, we're thrilled to welcome Academy Award-winning director Aneil Karia back to Encounters for his Masterclass. With his newest short Vote Gavin Lyle screening in competition, Aneil talks to BAFTA-winning writer-director Nida Manzoor about the journey from multi award-winning shorts to features, and his long-form work on hit shows like Top Boy.