As fate would have it, we met as students in Liverpool John Moores MA Film course in 2020. Our online classes taught us all we could about building and operating a successful film festival. And successful it was. LJMU's first film festival received critical acclaim from everyone who attended, which was the starting point for the SFF.
Upon graduation, we flew the coop and began building the Starling Film Festival to create and grow our own little murmuration in the world of film festivals. With so many people's help and hard work, we brought SFF to the film festival track.
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Now with our second edition under our belts, we hope that the next festival and those to come are bigger and better than its predecessor.
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The Third Edition of the Starling Film Festival will take place from Monday 28th October - Sunday 3rd November 2024, online and in-person.​
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OUR CATEGORIES
FICTION (MAX 15 MINUTES)
Fiction's capabilities are as endless as a piece of string.
DOCUMENTARY (MAX 15 MINUTES)
Everyone and everything has a story to tell. How will you tell your story?
ANIMATION (MAX 15 MINUTES)
Your imagination is limitless in the world of animation.
STUDENT (MAX 15 MINUTES)
Calling all students, here is your moment to shine. Come and show us the best films you have made.
HORROR GENRE (INTERPRETARI MAX 15 MINUTES)
This is our particular category. Each year we have a different topic for filmmakers to interpret. This year's topic is based on 'Horror'.
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What is your first thought when thinking of the word 'Horror'?
Well, tell us. You get full creative reign with this particular category. Showcase your best interpretation of what Horror means to you.
SHORT FEATURE FILM (20-45 MINUTES)
Our short feature film category allows films of all genres to be submitted as long as they are minimum 20 minutes with a maximum of 45 minutes (this includes end credits).
AWARDS
What's a film festival without awards? Here are the awards for the films chosen by our panel of judges:
Best Animation
Best Student
Best Fiction
Best Documentary
Best Horror
Best Short Feature Film
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​The Murmuration Award: this is our audience prize! We will be asking our online audience to vote for their favourite film. The one with the most votes wins!
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The Aviary Audience Award will be awarded to one of the 15 films selected to be screened at our in person event in November. The winner for this award will be selected by those who attend on the night.
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And finally, the very exciting Golden Feather Award for excellence in film, sponsored by Mad As Birds Films. The winner will receive a trophy, a small cash prize, and a free mentor session with Mad As Birds Films!
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*In the event that a participating filmmaker wins one of our awards, SSFF will send the award to the filmmaker at an address provided by the winning filmmaker. Postage and shipping will need to be covered by the filmmaker if they wish to receive their award, and rates will vary depending on travel distance.