# Glowflare Short Film Festival

Glowflare Short Film Festival is an independent short film festival founded in 2024 by Daniel Smales. The festival aims to celebrate the art of short filmmaking, offering a platform for independent filmmakers from the UK and abroad to showcase their work. The festival is set to take place in Beverley, United Kingdom. The inaugural event is hosted at Parkway Cinemas an independent cinema known for its modern facilities and support for independent film events.
The festival welcomes short film entities of all genres that are under 40 minutes. Submissions are managed through FilmFreeway, a platform that simplifies the process for filmmakers to submit their works to festivals.

## History

Founded in 2024, submissions for the inaugural event were opened exclusively through FilmFreeway on 11 August 2024. Filmmakers were invited to submit their short films in genres such as narrative, animation, documentary, music video and experimental works. The festival was announced publicly by Daniel Smales, the festival director, in October 2024. In November, it was announced that its inaugural event would be held on 25 January 2025 at Parkway Cinemas. Tickets for the first festival were made available through the Parkway Cinemas website on 11 November 2024. A final call for submissions was issued in early December 2024, with submissions closing on 13 December 2024. Submissions have included works from both local and international filmmakers, with entries from the United States, Canada, and Europe, highlighting the festival’s openness to international participation. The official line-up was announced on 30 December 2024. Selections were announced on 20 December, with award nominations announced on 6 January 2025.
Submissions opened for its 2026 season on 1 January 2025, reflecting its intention to become a recurring event on the film festival calendar.

## Official Selection

The following is the list of films selected for the inaugural Glowflare Short Film Festival in 2025:
Official Selection :
| Project | Director(s) | Runtime | Type | Country |
| The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China | Bill Callahan, Kieran Hanson | 22:59 | Documentary | United Kingdom |
| Yen For Zen | James Pyle | 1:00 | Animation | United Kingdom |
| Meeting | Martin Keady | 14:00 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| RCA Let The Artist Talk Sam Modder | Carlos Patrick Haney | 5:00 | Documentary | United Kingdom |
| Like, Comment, Share | Nick Noyes | 10:11 | Narrative | United States |
| Bruised | Lou Burns, Aaron Burns | 19:58 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| The Barber, The Astronaut and The Golf Ball | Jonathan Richards | 25:00 | Documentary | United Kingdom |
| Roundabout | Patrick Sheard | 18:00 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Der Hof | Pete Mason | 10:10 | Animation | United Kingdom |
| Novablood Biblical | Clive Tonge | 4:25 | Music Video | United Kingdom |
| The Westwood Cows | Matthew McCloud | 2:48 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| Cry Like a Guy | Anthony Rubinstein | 4:30 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| Turn Over | Rick Endacott | 13:18 | Narrative | United States |
| Fahrenheit 2051 | Hadrien Genest | 2:30 | Experimental | France |
| The Appliance of Science | Martin Cooper | 2:07 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| Crashlanding the Persian Mothership | Martin Cooper | 29:59 | Documentary | United Kingdom |
| Homeless Tobez | Thomas Loone | 36:25 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| In the Matter of Brian Franks | Lauren Patrice Nadler | 13:50 | Narrative | United States |
| Te Amo Papá | Dave Brown, Jake Zieman | 7:45 | Narrative | United States |
| Takeaway | Lou Sumray | 5:18 | Animation | United Kingdom |
| Reception | Lou Sumray | 2:25 | Animation | United Kingdom |
| Trigger-ed | Tyson Green | 11:12 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Beholden | Leon Lopez | 13:56 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Gretchen | Dean Addison | 18:19 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Bo Jacquo | Mikaël FITOUSSI, Grégory FITOUSSI | 18:40 | Experimental | France |
| The Devil's Symphony | Andy Winward | 14:36 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Speaker | Alan Hamwan | 6:57 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Hunter Loading | Sasa Numic | 7:59 | Narrative | United States |
| Where Have I Gone? | Georgina May Haley, Elizabeth Bell | 25:25 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Echoes | Christina Araujo | 9:15 | Animation | United States |
| The Visit | Parmjit Kaur Gill | 10:55 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| As We Fall Silent | Brian Quintero | 20:00 | Narrative | Canada |
| Still Here / Immerdar | John Graham | 10:24 | Narrative | Canada |
| The Dating Game | Keith Murphy | 10:58 | Experimental | Canada |
| Girl in the Shadows | Herty Owusu | 15:00 | Narrative | United Kingdom |
| Pee Fright | Matt Colin Evans | 6:23 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| Stationary | Robin Harvey | 7:38 | Experimental | United Kingdom |
| In Half | Jorge Morais Valle | 24:00 | Animation | Spain |
| Confession | De Ville | 3:00 | Experimental | United States |

## Awards

The festival recognises the achievements of filmmakers in variety of the following awards.
* Best Film
* Best Documentary
* Best Animation
* Best Director
* Best Screenplay
* Best Actor
* Best Actress
* Best Supporting Actor
* Best Supporting Actress
* Best Cinematography
* Best Editing
* Best Original Score
* Best Low Budget (Under £1000)
* Audience Choice Award(s)
Key :
* Award Nomination
* Award Winner
2025 Season Nominations & Award Winners :
| Award | Nominee / Award Winner |
| Best Film | As We Fall Silent (Directed by Brian Quintero) |
| Best Film | Bruised (Directed by Lou and Aaron Burns) |
| Best Film | Cry Like A Guy (Directed by Anthony Rubinstein) |
| Best Film | Gretchen (Directed by Dean Addison) |
| Best Film | Homeless Tobez (Directed by Thomas Loone) |
| Best Film | In Half (Directed by Jorge Morais Valle) |
| Best Documentary | Crashlanding the Persian Mothership (Directed by Martin Cooper) |
| Best Documentary | RCA Let The Artist Talk (Directed by Carlos Patrick Haney) |
| Best Documentary | The Barber, The Astronaut and The Golf Ball (Directed by Jonathan Richards) |
| Best Documentary | The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China (Directed by Bill Callahan and Kieran Hanson) |
| Best Director | Anthony Rubinstein (Cry Like A Guy) |
| Best Director | Brian Quintero (As We Fall Silent) |
| Best Director | Dean Addison (Gretchen) |
| Best Director | Jorge Morais Valle (In Half) |
| Best Director | Lou and Aaron Burns (Bruised) |
| Best Director | Thomas Loone (Homeless Tobez) |
| Best Animation | Der Hof (Directed by Pete Mason) |
| Best Animation | Echoes (Directed by Christina Araujo) |
| Best Animation | In Half (Directed by Jorge Morais Valle) |
| Best Animation | Reception (Directed by Lou Sumray) |
| Best Animation | Take Away (Directed by Lou Sumray) |
| Best Animation | Yen For Zen (Directed by James Pyle) |
| Best Screenplay | As We Fall Silent (Lauren Wagner and Rachel Salsberg) |
| Best Screenplay | Bruised (Lou Burns) |
| Best Screenplay | Echoes (Christina Araujo) |
| Best Screenplay | Homeless Tobez (Thomas Loone) |
| Best Screenplay | In The Matter of Brian Franks (J.N. Gould) |
| Best Screenplay | The Visit (Parmjit Kaur Gill) |
| Best Actor | Anto Sharp (Gretchen) |
| Best Actor | Calvin Chervinko (Turn Over) |
| Best Actor | Hans Gurbig (Still Here) |
| Best Actor | Kieran Bew (Cry Like a Guy) |
| Best Actor | Mikaël Fitoussi (Bo Jacquo) |
| Best Actor | Thomas Loone (Homeless Tobez) |
| Best Actress | Amy Lucas (Gretchen) |
| Best Actress | Aria Bryan (Like, Comment and Share) |
| Best Actress | Becky Lindsey (Bruised) |
| Best Actress | Eva Bjornholt (Still Here) |
| Best Actress | Harriet Mardlin (Meeting) |
| Best Actress | Lauren Wagner (As We Fall Silent) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Bill Picard (Bruised) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Eric Moyer (Turn Over) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Jason Adam (Homeless Tobez) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Mitchell Anthony (As We Fall Silent) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Nick Sowma (In The Matter of Brian Franks) |
| Best Supporting Actor | Patrick Broderick (The Devil's Symphony) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Alex Kapila (The Visit) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Hadeesa Ramjee (Where Have I Gone) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Hayley Mitchell (Homeless Tobez) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Laura Fitzpatrick (Girl in the Shadows) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Louise Munro (Beholden) |
| Best Supporting Actress | Lucy Mynard (Roundabout) |
| Best Cinematography | As We Fall Silent (Justin Arjune) |
| Best Cinematography | Bo Jacquo (Antoine Carpentier) |
| Best Cinematography | Confession (Steeven Petitteville) |
| Best Cinematography | Cry Like A Guy (Thomas English) |
| Best Cinematography | Fahrenheit 2051 (Camille Barbé) |
| Best Cinematography | Still Here (Jonas Jehle) |
| Best Editing | Confession (Fernando Raigoxa and Jean-Marc Demmer) |
| Best Editing | Cry Like a Guy (Anthony Rubinstein) |
| Best Editing | Fahrenheit 2051 (Hadrien Genest) |
| Best Editing | Gretchen (Shaun Hodson and Dean Addison) |
| Best Editing | In Half (Jorge Morais Valle) |
| Best Editing | Speaker (Miran Omer) |
| Best Score | As We Fall Silent (Andrés Galindo Arteaga and Erik Arnesen) |
| Best Score | Confession (Fred Falke) |
| Best Score | Gretchen (Shaun Hodson) |
| Best Score | In Half (Juan Manuel Cameán) |
| Best Score | Still Here (Christopher Schlechte-Bond) |
| Best Score | The Visit (TBA) |
| Best Low Budget | Der Hof (Directed by Pete Mason) |
| Best Low Budget | Gretchen (Directed by Dean Addison) |
| Best Low Budget | Novablood Biblical (Directed by Clive Tonge) |
| Best Low Budget | Roundabout (Directed by Patrick Sheard) |
| Best Low Budget | Takeaway (Directed by Lou Sumray) |
| Best Low Budget | The Devil's Symphony (Directed by Andy Winward) |
| Audience Choice | Homeless Tobez (Best Film) |
| Audience Choice | Echoes (Best Animation) |
| Audience Choice | The Nose Knows: Foreignness and Fortune in China (Best Documentary) |
| Audience Choice | Thomas Loone (Best Director) |
| Audience Choice | Thomas Loone (Best Actor) |
| Audience Choice | Amy Lucas (Best Actress) |