Callout: Filming East & CAN Short Film Award


We are delighted to launch the Short Film Callout for the 2019 Filming East & CAN Festival. Organised by both Filming East Festival and Chinese Arts Now, the Short Film Competition is part of the ‘British Chinese Film Day’ of CAN’s festival in January and early February 2019, which aims to support and encourage UK-based Chinese filmmakers to engage a wide range of audiences through their short films.
We welcome submissions for short films of any genre that are:
1. Mainly produced by Chinese (ethnicity) filmmakers based in the UK;
2. Including Chinese culture related subject matter.
Official Callout 29th August 2018
Due Date 5th November 2018
Result Announcement December 2018
Official Screening Date 27th January 2019
Screening Venue Central London Cinemas
Length No less than 1 minute, no more than 40 minutes
Language English dialogue or Chinese language dialogue with English subtitles
Submission Method Email or Post Submission Form to the festival office:

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E: submission@filmingeast.com
A: Filming East Festival, 342 Linen Hall,162-168 Regent Street, London, England, W1B 5TD

Submission Fees Early Bird (submission before 24th September 2018): £15
Standard (submission before 5th November 2018): £20
Payment Method Bank Transfer
Please fill out the submission form and email it back to submission@filmingeast.com. When the submission form is received, an invoice of submission fee including bank details will be replied via email.
Competition ‘Filming East Star Award’ winners will receive:

  1. Award Certificate
  2. Travel expense cover up to £50 per film (if not based in London)
  3. Screening at central London cinemas and Q&A with the audience
  4. Filming East / CAN 2019 Pass
  5. Recommendation and referral to other international festivals
  6. Online distribution agent service
Screening Format
  • Screeners for preview: We accept films on Vimeo, YouTube, or similar streaming platforms (with passwords)
  • Final Screening: We currently accept MOV. Other formats are TBC. If your film is selected to be screened at the Film Festival, the films must be in .MOV or MPEG in 1080p. Due to increasingly high standards of screening specifications in mainstream cinemas, we cannot accept or screen films that are not 1080p.

About us

The Filming East Festival (est. 2007) is a registered film exhibition organisation in the UK, which aims to promote Chinese language film in the UK and in the West, whilst providing a platform for Sino-Western what does communications and collaboration in the film industries.

Chinese Arts Now (CAN) is a platform for British Chinese artists, which encourages transnational collaborations and to support and inspire a new generation of aspiring Chinese artists to pursue careers in the arts. CAN produces and curates high quality art that is imaginative, diverse, vibrant and accessible, and which reflects Chinese stories and elements in contemporary and innovative ways. It is the go to organisation for experimentation rooted in the classical tradition.

In 2019, Filming East Festival and Chinese Arts Now will collaborate to screen a series of Chinese language films in cinemas around central London, plus Q&A and workshops.

Filming East

Founded in 2007 and sponsored by the UK Film Council, the first Filming East Festival took place in Oxford, England. The Lord Mayor of Oxford opened the festival, and Ms Yixi Sun was appointed as the festival director. In 2009, the Filming East Festival partnered with the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) and co-presented the “Focus on China” programme of film premieres and forum discussions.

Since 2012, the Filming East Festival has become a long-term partner of the British Film Institute (BFI), raising awareness of Chinese cinema to the British and international audiences.

The Filming East Festival screens films that reflect the cultural richness and diversity of Chinese speaking regions. To date, the festival has screened hundreds of feature films in the UK and has gained an ever-increasing audience, with partners in the film industry and in the press extending across cities in the UK, supporting its successful delivery of film showcase and forums.

In 2018, the festival expands the services to provide international PR for Chinese language films and PR consultancy for foreign cinema to enter the Chinese market.

Chinese Arts Now

Originally founded in 2005 as a not-for- profit arts organisation (formerly Chinese/Chinatown Arts Space) to develop and commission excellent contemporary British Chinese performing and visual artists, and to create a bridge for collaborations with artists of Chinese and East Asian origin, CAN is the first National Portfolio Organisation supported by the Arts Council England representing British Chinese artists. There is a fantastic pool of talent of British Chinese artists making innovative work. There is not yet a platform for that talent to be represented. CAN aims to be that platform.

In the past CAN has built an extensive network of partner organisations interested in Chinese talent, for example Southbank Centre, Linbury Studio, Tamasha, Yellow Earth, Dance Umbrella, The Place, PRS Foundation, Asia House and Chopsticks Club. CAN also has a close relationship with regional companies such as Pagoda Arts and the Centre for Chinese Contemporary Arts in North West England.