Encounters Film Festival, a sorely missed cornerstone of the UK’s film landscape, returns for its landmark 30th edition, and DN are thrilled to be returning to our coverage of our most anticipated films of the festival from filmmakers known to us and brand new to our pages. From September 24th-28th, Bristol will hum with creative energy, hosting a packed programme of the most exciting new short films, features, and industry talks. It’s a vital and eagerly awaited celebration for filmmakers and film lovers alike, with a captivating array of short programmes from the Weird & Wonderful to a deep focus on animation and plenty of Brief Encounters in between. As ever, we would be amiss not to highlight some of the DN alums whose films are screening this week, along with filmmakers we’ve spotted who have previously appeared in our Best of Fest collections. It’s also a delight to see some of the heavy Awards hitters of the past year, such as Wild Summon | Adiós | Stomach Bug | The Flowers Stand Silently, Witnessing | Incident, and BIFA/BAFTA winner Wander to Wonder. We know there are more fabulous alums in there, but no one likes an ever-expanding list! We also have to highlight how excited we are for one of our earliest alums, Mark Jenkin’s new short, I Saw the Face of God in the Jet Wash, legends Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry appearing in conversation together on the opening night hosted by the magnificent Anna Higgs and frankly, too much more to mention. Directors Notes is going to be in attendance and trying to pack our schedules with as much as possible, so we hope to see you there!
Wild Dog – Chelsea Ingram
Australian short films have got a grip on me, and I am here for it. Wild Dogs from writer/director Chelsea Ingram simmers with the palpable tension of latent rural Queensland. The film observes a quiet infatuation during a teenager’s boundary-pushing weekend. Ingram builds unease with remarkable nuance and grace, crafting a portrait of adolescent desire that culminates in a powerfully resonant and beautifully understated confrontation.
Frater – Valentin Guiod
I all too often find myself drawn to coming-of-age films—those moments which mark the end of childhood, innocence and naivety. Valentin Guiod’s Frater—set in the sun-kissed, laughter-filled days as a family moves out of their home, is a quiet but poignant example of that often imperceptible shift, and with truly gorgeous cinematography and minimal dialogue, Frater is awash with stilted, repressed memories whose realities smash open a young boy’s simple notion of his family.
Radix – Anne Breymann
Having first highlighted the surreal work of Berlin based artist, illustrator and animator Anne Breymann back in 2019 with her stylistic dark piece Nocturne, we were glad to see her in this year’s Encounters line up with stunning stop-motion short Radix, which explores intimacy and origin through two tentative, tree-born creatures. I found myself captivated by their whispering, unfolding connection, only amplified by the film’s textures, where every surface feels profoundly tangible. This tactile warmth deepens a mysterious tale of what grows within when beings truly open—be it new life, shared emotion, or a quiet acceptance of time’s inevitable roots.
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Cottage Cheese – Liina Luomajoki, Lena Metzger, Janina Müller & Alice Kunz
A graduation film from a group of students at HSLU, Cottage Cheese embodies two things I love: first, talking about all facets of womanhood, and second, the limitless potential of exploration offered by animation. A woman’s surprising discovery launches a wildly hilarious, gross and weird imaginative journey into the ultimate inner space: her own vagina. Brilliant on so many levels.
The Man That I Wave At – Ben S. Hyland
No stranger to DN, fresh off his Best Film win at Exit 6 film festival last week and taking the festival circuit by storm is Ben S. Hyland’s existential nightmare, The Man That I Wave At. Enjoy his very wry dive into this search for the identity of an overly familiar stranger and leave just as perplexed as the man who gets waved at.
Pen Mari – Siôn Marshall-Waters
Marking its UK premiere, Welsh/Cornish short Pen Mari from director Siôn Marshall-Waters is a genre-bending descent into obscure folklore. A man’s desperate search for a ceremonial horse’s skull pulls him into a sinister black market for animal remains. The film’s experimental texture and masterfully unsettling sound design craft an atmosphere of profound dread, joyfully prioritising visceral unease over straightforward narrative.
Follow Me Wherever I Go – Max Defalco
Max Defalco’s Follow Me Wherever I Go is a magnificent and intensely unsettling film where fervent religious belief, a desire to escape and a complete lack of self-awareness twist into dangerous and insane obsession. A single mother fixates on her son’s best friend with a shocking, believable resolve. Defalco has created a brilliantly shocking character study of a woman unhinged that is unlike anything I have seen lately—and I loved it.
Revert – Miranda Stern
Miranda Stern is a filmmaker whose career we cannot wait to see more of and whose deeply introspective graduation documentary milk swept three wins at the WeAreDN Awards 2025. Her new film Revert viscerally plunges into crisis, a newly single father is tormented by his crying infant. His frantic drive north to find some help and peace unleashes a torrent of traumatic memories. With violent, fast-paced editing and a keen intuition of just how much to give the audience, Stern charts his harrowing journey with lush precision.
Blackout – Chris Urch
Blackout, the debut short from award-winning playwright and screenwriter Chris Urch, is a raw and unflinching dissection of a relationship’s fragile facade. Urch very simply but painfully accurately reveals how a single event can expose violence that was lurking within all along. Perfectly illustrating the tragic fact that those who are suffering can often be blind to its insidious ways.
Existential Greg – Will Anderson
I was drawn in by the title, imagining a cat called Greg and his existential crisis and have now found my new favourite short film by Will Anderson, which is no mean feat given the level of love that has sustained here at DN for over a decade for his endearing BAFTA-winning film Monkey Love Experiments, co-directed with Ainslie Henderson. Existential Greg proves that sometimes you just need to indulge in nine minutes of an outstandingly animated cat who you think has been tragically abandoned and is righteously heading towards a supposed land of enlightenment.
You can find more unmissable DN film festival favourites in our Best of Fest collections.
