UK-based B2B esports and media company Esports Insider (ESI) has announced key info about the first esports and gaming short film festival, the ESI Film Festival.
It will be take place as part of ESI’s flagship event ESI London 2023 on Friday October 20th at London’s historic venue, BAFTA 195 Piccadilly.
The inaugural film festival aims to showcase ‘the positive difference video games and esports can make to people’s lives via the medium of film’, and offers a cash prize pool of £10,000 provided by non-profit partner ESG Gaming.
Submissions are now open for the ESI Film Festival, which calls for filmmakers to shine a spotlight on the talent behind the screens, and illustrate the meaningful difference video games and esports have had in people’s lives.
The festival’s themes this year are digital inequality, diversity and mental health.
Update: The ESI Film Festival shortlist has been announced:
The deadline for entry is September 15th 2023, with the winners announced at the film festival on the evening of Friday October 20th, where the top three placed films will be showcased for the first time.
The £10,000 prize pool, courtesy of non-profit partner ESG Gaming, is split as follows:
- 1st Place – £5,000
- 2nd Place – £3,000
- 3rd Place – £2,000
The advisory board will include Gina Jackson OBE, who has extensive experience helping to solve the talent crisis in the games industry. ESG Gaming is a confirmed non-profit partner for the ESI Film Festival event, and is ‘committed to working alongside the digital entertainment sectors to ensure the experience is open, inclusive and positive for all consumers and stakeholders’.
A full list of judges, advisory board members and partners will be confirmed at a later date.
All those interested in applying for judge, advisory board or partner positions can fill out this form, and tickets for ESI London 2023 can be bought here.
How to submit an entry for the ESI Film Festival
Submissions can be from individuals, groups (e.g. university societies, friends, colleagues), or companies, and all lead participants must be aged 18 or over.
All submissions must have a maximum run time of 20 minutes, and can be any style or film type (e.g. documentary, animation, comedy, action).
Films will be judged on originality, creativity, plot, pacing, structure, characters, cinematography and entertainment value as well as on effectiveness of the message and the ability of the film maker to reach an audience.
Further submission information and criteria, including submission specs, can be found here, and submissions can be made via the ESI Film Festival entry form here.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
