WELCOME TO CARDIFF

Cardiff International Film Festival

Cardiff International Film Festival is an international event which is supported by the Welsh Assembly and Cardiff Council. In 2020, 2021 and 2022 we were unable to hold a physical festival in our usual venue which is the historical Pierhead Building in the heart of Cardiff Bay, Wales. In 2023 we will return to a physical festival.

Cardiff is a vibrant and cosmopolitan city with a rich history and architecture. People visiting Wales's capital city will be able to experience some spectacular sights all within easy reach of wonderful restaurants, bars, hotels and shopping. Cardiff also has a seafront area which is not immediately apparent when visiting this great city. Like many places in Wales, it also boasts a spectacular medieval castle which also plays host to Bute Park which is often said is Cardiff's answer to New York's Central Park.

Wales is rapidly becoming a Mecca for filmmakers with the advent of new film studios and an ever-growing popularity of film locations in unique areas of outstanding natural beauty. This is coupled with a fertile and highly skilled cinematic and TV workforce.

Cardiff International Film Festival offers a warm welcome to filmmakers and invites submissions from across the Globe.

The Festival

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The Festival was created in 2016 by Founder Members Rahil Abbas Sayed, Andrea Moignard and Cheryl Ingram.

The Festival patrons are Michael Sheen (Hollywood Actor - Frost/Nixon, Underworld, The Queen), Matthew Rhys (Hollywood Actor - The Post, The Americans), Marc Zicree (Writer/Producer - Star Trek- TNG, Babylon 5, Space Command), Emraan Hashmi (Bollywood Actor - Once Upon a Time in Mumbaai, The Dirty Picture) and Jaqueline Fernandez (Bollywood Actress - Race 3, Drive, A Gentleman)

Our Festival Jury and supporters include Anurag Kashyap, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Professor Florence Aiyisi, John Altman, Bethan Jenkins (Former Welsh AM), Joe Ferrera, Divyanka Tripathi Dahiya, Kimberley Nixon, Jonny Owen, Maria Pride, Kai Owen and Matthew Rhys.

In 2018 Dame Sian Philips received the Lifetime achievement award and Marc Zicree was presented with the Golden Dragon Award for individual excellence from Sir Dafydd Elis Thomas, Deputy Minister for Culture, Sport and Tourism.

In 2019, the Golden Dragon Award for individual excellence was awarded to Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Dame Judi Dench received the Lifetime achievement award. We also championed Welsh talent by awarding Welsh-born West End director and actor Sean Mathias the award for 'Welsh Contribution To International Cinema And Theatre'. Thaer Al-Shayei was recognised with the award for 'Welsh Rising Star'.

In 2020, 2021 we held a digital festival and once again, in 2022 Cardiff International Film Festival was an online digital festival due to the Pandemic and world travel restrictions.