Folkestone documentary festival – watch, develop, explore 

The Folkestone Documentary Festival returns on 22nd to 25th October 2026. The programme has been announced and includes eight premieres and films from ten different countries.  Screenings are at the Silver Screen Cinema and Quarterhouse, with workshops, Q+A sessions and parties happening in Folkestone Museum, Docker Taproom, Roni and Rita’s and SD Projects. There is also the return of the ever popular, and useful Industry Day. The calibre of films showing is, as usual, very high.  Co-Director Charlie Phillips took Folkelife through the programme.

Charlie: “There are three of us on the team; James Collie who set up the screenings of documentaries back in the day before the Festival existed, Cheryl Pierce and myself.  James had done monthly screenings called Doc Club at Quarterhouse.  These were a selection of really great documentaries and it started to build an audience of people.  Documentaries are a rather neglected form of art; visual arts and culture get a lot of support but film tends to be forgotten rather.   As Folkestone is such a supportive place for creatives in different art forms, we thought it would be good to have a Documentary Festival to fill that little gap.”

Year on Year

Charlie:  “We’re now in our sixth year and have seen the Festival grow year on year. This year’s programme goes far – an epic bike ride from India to Sweden in the name of love, a questionable trip to the Amazon in the name of discovery, around the UK to find its unique traditions and rituals, into the depths of dodgy things in the River Tees, on the wings of a giant owl running free in Central Park, and to the heart of disruptive environmental activism. Take a risk on a subject and a filmmaker you might not know – that’s what Folkestone Documentary Festival is all about. We know and love our community and we programme for you!”

UK Premieres

“The UK premieres this year include ‘Wild Inside’, fresh from a sold-out premiere in New York’s Central Park, and ‘First They Came For My College’ (True/False Film Festival, 2026). The Audience Award returns again this year supported by new sponsors Club Folkestone, and the Best Short Film Award is supported again by The Whickers. Last year’s Audience Award winner, Blue Has No Borders, went on to tour the country in a successful Q&A tour.

“With a history of uncovering future award-winners, this year’s programme showcases more discoveries from our open submission than ever before, with eight outstanding short films and for the first time a feature handpicked from 210 entries worldwide.”  

The Cycle of Love

Charlie: “Our opening film for this year is the latest film from Academy Award-winning director Orlando von Einsiedel. The Cycle of Love

“In 1977, PK, a 23-year-old Delhi street artist from a poor, ‘untouchable’ family, picked up a handful of paintbrushes and a second-hand bicycle and set off on a 6,000-mile journey to find Lotta, the Swedish woman who had captured his heart. A love story like no other, The Cycle of Love is a heart-warming true story and an epic adventure about courage, self-belief and risking everything to follow what your heart tells you.

“The screening will be followed by an in-person Q&A with Director Orlando von Einsiedel, who has said of this film: “I hope the film reminds us that everyone deserves love and that any societal forces that tell us differently need to be interrogated and challenged.””

all rivers spill their stories to the sea

“Taking a leaf out of Mr Bates and his fight with the Post Office, Teeside veteran fisherman, Stan Rennie, becomes an unlikely environmental activist.  Seeing dead and dying crabs and lobsters appearing on beaches across his home turf, he decides to take on the authorities.  His fisherman’s gallows humour is irresistible as he navigates a post-Brexit world of grief and change.  This is Jeanie Finlay’s tenth film, and she’s also from Teeside.

The Archivist

“David “Doc” Rowe has spent 60 years documenting Britain’s vibrant folk traditions, songs, dances and creatures. Now he needs a proper home for all the material he’s accumulated before it disappears. Told through the wheel of a year of folk happenings across the country, this is a celebration of a man who is as unique as the traditions he’s dedicated to preserving.  

“There will be a workshop about this film at Folkestone Museum at 1pm on Saturday 24th October, and then we’re adding a folk procession from Folkestone Museum through the town centre. There will be Morris dancers and other creatures, and everyone is welcome to join in.  The film will then be shown at Silver Screen at 4.30pm. 

“We try to pair our films and create double bills.  This afternoon’s double includes Tŷ Unnos.  This is a film by Lily Tiger and Nina Allmoslecher and set in rural Wales.  A cottage, built in one night, stands still in time. Beneath its thatched roof is the story of two women beloved by an entire village. Tŷ Unnos is a fairytale documentary told through the eyes of the children who once visited. The past flickers back to life through memories of Penrhos and the legacy of its last owners.”

ukraine and Gaza

“We have long had good relationships with film-makers keeping the stories alive from Gaza and Ukraine.  And this year is no exception. Director Poh Si Teng has followed three American doctors, volunteering in the overwhelmed hospitals in Gaza.  This humanitarian crisis worsens every day, and the medical staff have now become targets too.  In the face of intense pressure to stay neutral and silent, doctors become political and media voices, reporting on the carnage they have been exposed to.

“Another premiere on our list is ‘hands, trees, heads, scars’ from Italian directors Alberto Gottardo and Francesca Sironi.  This film tells the story of a massage therapy session for amputated Ukranian soldiers in the largest rehabilitation centre in Lviv.  Sergei and his fellow soldiers have their scars carefully looked after, but they aren’t just the physical scars we see.  This intimate portrait of the relationship between patient and therapist in wartime goes more than skin deep.”

doc club

“As well as the films and the parties, we do have a communal sea swim too, and we’re excited for the first town procession this year.  But, this isn’t just a festival in October.  Doc Club has been running for years, and it’s really useful to continue our festival all year round.  There are loads of films we wanted to show but weren’t able to due to release dates. So Doc Club makes it easier to show films at other times of the year. It keeps our community growing.”

To buy tickets for the Folkestone Documentary Club visit their page or CreativeFolkestone.org.