Established in September 2024, Sustain Film Festival’s mission is to tell powerful stories of people and planet. With environmental overtones, we are also open to your interpretation of our theme, showcasing stories of ‘sustaining’ in health, relationships, wildlife, community and much more.
We are a small but passionate team of filmmakers based in the Cathedral town of Guildford in Surrey, UK. We are determined to use the power of storytelling to make the world a more conscious, connected, caring and creative, for all its inhabitants.
Our inaugural festival edition took place across multiple venues in Guildford, 11 months after our founding and following numerous build-up screenings. Our first 12 months featured more than 50 events, including screenings, panels, Q&As, workshops and socials.
Our next festival edition will be taking place on in March 2026! (Exact dates TBC)
At our inaugural festival featured over 30 events across the festival weekend – screenings, Q&As, workshops and socials. Plenty to chat about with friends; and plenty of friends to be made!
We will update our website as these are announced!
View our ‘What’s On‘ page for a quick snapshot of the catalogue of films we’ve been screening this past year, including nominees and award winners.
Once this year’s selection is confirmed, new titles will appear here.
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Students and NHS workers get 20% off tickets using the codes displayed on our tickets page when they become available.
We do not currently accept cash payments.
Sustain Film Festival only accepts submissions via our FilmFreeway page here.
We will screen films at a minimum resolution of 1080p, and up to 4K.
Lower exceptions may be made for lower resolutions, such as historical works or child filmmakers, though this decision is at the discretion of the festival team.
Higher resolution screenings are not guaranteed, but may be included as part of an upcoming screening.
Waivers and discounts are as shown on FilmFreeway. We have significantly overhauled our submissions process this year, making it more affordable for disadvantaged and student filmmakers, including our Humanitarian Fee Waiver. This also means this year we are receiving more submissions than previously, which take a great deal of time and care for our team to review.
Each paid submission not only supports the festival, but also the showcasing of stories by disadvantaged filmmakers who cannot pay.
As such, we do not provide waiver codes on request or review films before submission.
CONGRATULATIONS! We’re so happy to have your project be a part of our catalogue!
Sustain Film Festival screens films at multiple events throughout the year; for these smaller events, we will typically use your film file straight from FilmFreeway. This is a good way for us to test your film amongst audiences. If your film status remains unchanged, we will be showing your film at the main festival
Please ensure your FilmFreeway submission file is up to date; if you update your film, please do not email it it to us. We will only use files on your FilmFreeway project – this prevents the chaos of compiling various files from multiple cloud services.
Your FilmFreeway project should be MP4, minimum 1080p quality, at 24fps.
“Honourable Mention” status means that we have not found a place for your film in our events, but wish to recognise its message, artistry and/or production value. It is nominated for potential screenings in future, though this is no guarantee.
English subtitles are necessary if your project is not in English. If your project is in English, please consider making subtitles in English with closed captions, as this helps people with impaired hearing and anyone else who may wish to use them.
To make sure your subtitles are up to an accessible standard, we suggest following these guides:
On FilmFreeway, update your film to provide the following helps us promote your brilliant film and its screening:
Abso-blimming-lutely! Tickets for attending filmmakers will be 25%, and the same for a friend, should you wish to bring one!
Yes; Sustain Film Festival laurels can be found on FilmFreeway. If they do not appear for you, please email us at info@sustainfilmfest.org and we will send them ASAP!
Films that are nominated for an award will be informed at least 1 week prior to the festival.
Awarded films will be announced at the festival in person, and posted online at a later date.
Sustain Film Festival is based in Guildford, surrounded by Surrey Hills National Landscape. Situated 30 miles south-west of London, the town features strong rail and bus connections to nearby hubs, including two of the world’s busiest airports.
Of course, in the name of sustainability, we encourage the use of public transport such as trains and buses wherever possible. Should you require other modes of transport, taxis, ride-hailing services and vehicle rental services are available within the Guildford.
If you are travelling to Guildford station by train, from most of the UK you are likely to do so via London Waterloo or Reading station. This is in the centre of the town, and is just a few minutes walk from our main venues. Buses are also available from surrounding locations, most terminating at the Friary Bus Station, also in the town centre and close to our venues.
The A3 runs directly through Guildford and is close to other major roads, including the M25 which circles London. Parking is available across the town centre, though this can get busy during rush hour and around weekends; you may find more availability at some of the larger car parks on the edge of the town centre, which are a short walk from our venues.
From Europe, travel from the mainland to the UK is possible via the Eurostar into London St Pancras, or on water via ferry.
From St Pancras International, you can walk to Euston and take the Underground’s Northern line to London Waterloo, then catch a direct train to Guildford, all in less than 1h30m.
Most ferries are from France, and land at either Dover or Portsmouth.
Earliest Service | Latest Service | Changes | Frequency | Journey Time | Cost | |
BUSES to Guildford | ~4am | ~11:30pm | 0 | Every ~20 mins (during day) | Up to 1h30m | From ~£10 |
TRAINS to Guildford | ~4am | ~10:30pm | 2 | Every ~20-30 mins | Up to | From ~£29 |
Buses from Heathrow to Guildford (RailAir RA2 Coach) run approximately every 20 minutes; the earliest and latest departures are 04:20 and 23:41 respectively. Journey times are typically up to 1h30m.
If you plan on travelling directly to Guildford, trains require you to travel into London and the journey time is usually longer and requires more changes. Buses are also more affordable.
If you plan on staying in London, you can travel via bus or Underground service to London Waterloo train station, where trains travel directly to Guildford.
Earliest Service | Latest Service | Changes | Frequency | Journey Time | Cost | |
BUSES to Guildford | ~4am | ~11:30pm | 0 | Infrequent | Up to 1h30m | From ~£14 |
TRAINS to Guildford | ~5am | ~11pm | 0 | Frequent | ~45 mins | From ~£6 |
From Heathrow to Guildford, train journeys are around 45 mins.
Services are more frequent than buses, and often cheaper.
There are plenty of hotels and other forms of short-term accommodation bookable within a short walking distance of the town centre. If you plan on staying further from the town centre, frequent bus services are available across much of the town, as well as bike-hire services.
Various small grocery and convenience shops are dotted across the town, such as Co-op Food, Marks & Spencer (M&S), Sainsbury’s Local and Tesco Express; larger supermarkets such as Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Lidl and Aldi further from the centre.
Despite improving standards of accessibility across much of the South East, there are still some significant shortfalls on public transport. As much of the UK rail network was built prior to such considerations, some Underground stations do not have lift access. Overground trains are not level with most platforms; for wheelchair users, train guards should be available to assist with a ramp for helping on and off. Some buses from the airport are coach varieties and may not be wheelchair accessible.
You can find more information in the sources below.
– UK Government Info: Transport Support Services
Guildford is very architecturally mixed, and can be an interesting place to stroll around – with centuries old churches, sun-soaked parks and a quaint cobbled high street passed by a peaceful river, sidled up against brutalist and glossier modern structures. From both the train and bus station, access to the town centre and our venues is accessible. Bike hire and buses are available across much of the town.
As of our previous festival, all of our venues were accessible. We will work to ensure our next festival is just as accessible; more details nearer the time.