Entries open for 2026 Straight 8 filmmaking competition
The annual Super 8mm film competition challenges creatives to shoot and edit entirely in-camera, without post-production.
Aspiring filmmakers, take note: entries are now open for the 2026 edition of Straight 8, the Super 8mm film competition. The challenge remains the same: shoot a short film on a single cartridge of Super 8, edit entirely in-camera, and submit without seeing the final result. If selected, your film could be screened at Cannes – and at London’s BFI IMAX.
For one previous winner, that screening marked the fulfilment of a personal promise. In 2024, Nihar Palwe attended a 70mm anniversary screening of Interstellar at BFI IMAX and left with a quiet vow: “One day a film I direct will be screened on that same big screen.”
Months later, he discovered Straight 8 through Edgar Wright’s early short Forced Hilarity (2001), and the possibility of screening at BFI IMAX suddenly felt tangible. “From that moment, I went all in. I watched way too many Straight 8 films, to understand the medium and to gain some insights. Then, I worked on different stories until I locked in on one, and then we went all in and shot the film in a day. After submitting, I even booked my favourite centre seats at BFI IMAX, weeks before the results were even out.”
His winning short, The Storm, the Calm, the Madness, the Magic, was screened at both Cannes and BFI IMAX. “A few weeks later, I was inside the same theatre where I had once sat as a dreamer, watching my own film on that gigantic screen.”
Entries for Straight 8 2026 are now open on the Straight 8 website. Whether you’re a seasoned director or a first-time filmmaker, this is your chance to create something unforgettable – and maybe even see it light up the biggest screen in the UK.