Announcing the BIFA 2026 Longlist for Best British Short Film
Directors Notes’ heart and soul has always been short film, so partnering with the British Independent Film Awards to announce the 15 longlisted films vying for the Best British Short Film award at the 29th edition of the BIFAs is a true honour. As we’ve consistently seen over our 20 years, the short form has long been a space where filmmakers take risks, find their voice and announce themselves to the world. This longlist is proof of how fearless, inventive and wonderfully varied that work continues to be. Discover the 15 longlisted films and their directors below, and keep an eye on DN as we’ll be continuing our BIFA interview series as the awards journey unfolds.
Mark your calendars: This year’s BIFA nominees will be revealed on Tuesday, 3rd November, with the 2026 awards ceremony returning to Camden’s Roundhouse on Sunday, 6th December.
Allies in Exile
Hasan Kattan
For fourteen years, Syrian filmmakers Hasan Kattan and Fadi Al-Halabi have documented war, revolution and each other. Now, confined to a UK asylum hotel, they turn their cameras inward.
The Animals
Calvin Demba
After another man is hailed as a hero, an insecure boyfriend becomes determined to prove that he, too, can protect the woman he loves.
Coyotes
Said Zagha
A Palestinian surgeon drives home after a long night shift, but little does she know that a commute through a desolate West Bank road will change her forever.
Every Time I See A Yellow Car
Matt Chandler
After a violent act shatters the lives of two brothers, Olly attempts to articulate a fractured and repressed truth, whilst his older brother Liam spirals between guilt and revenge. Every Time I See A Yellow Car is a haunting meditation on sexual assault, silence, and the cyclical nature of memory.
Forgotten Spaceman
Elham Ehsas
In 1988, Afghanistan sent its only astronaut into space, a journey that proved home can be farther than the stars.
Free Lyric
Cherish “Chez” Oteka
Set against the rise of social media, Free Lyric revisits one of rap culture’s earliest viral moments: the public shaming of a 17-year-old female rapper after a sexual confession spreads online. Through Niki’s story, the film explores gender, consent, and the early roots of online call-out culture.
One woman’s quest for love and meaning in a hellscape of waning fertility, dating apps and the rotten stench of the patriarchy. In a world where being yourself makes you monstrous, what is the cost of compromise and repressing your authentic self?
i have a
Rory Waudby-Tolley
A man lists the things he has.
Maybe Tomorrow
Waad al-Kateab
& Wafa Mustafa
Activist Wafa Mustafa searches for the truth about her father’s disappearance under Assad’s regime in Syria, in this story of hope, memory and resilience.
A Pint of Bitter
Conor Kehelly
You are trying to enjoy a quiet pint in the pub, but a patron and his son seemingly have a problem with your demeanour…
Unauthorised Absence
Georgia Parris
A single mother fighting for support for her autistic daughter is fined, threatened and pushed to breaking point by an education system that wasn’t built for them.
Untitled Woman
Camille Summers-Valli
Dawn is invisible to those around her in a world that favours youth. She fights back to be seen in the most unexpected of ways.
Vote Gavin Lyle
Aneil Karia
Gavin Lyle, a proud flag-waving and full English breakfast-eating Brit, seeks to help his country overcome its deep-rooted problems, problems he blames squarely on immigration.
Wonderwall
Róisín Burns
Liverpool, 1995, the dockers are on strike. Nine-year-old Siobhan has only one thing on her mind: to see if Oasis will win the pop duel against Blur. But an argument breaks out with her older brother Rory, leading the little girl to run away at nightfall. As she wanders, the decaying city takes on an unreal allure.
Yellow Bucket
Simon Brooke
When gay teenager Connor and his family realise they are able to decide his younger brother’s sexuality at his upcoming birthday party, it causes a breakdown in communication.
