Short film competition - "what's important to me?"
Calling all young film makers in Harpenden!
If you enjoy making short videos, have a passion for writing, music or filmmaking, or are a member of a club or group that you love, then this is for you. Perhaps you have an interesting family story to tell, your band has written a new song, or you and your friends would love to see yourselves on the big screen.
Harpenden Town Council, together with the Harpenden Arts & Culture Forum, invite young people from the local community to get creative and enter our short film competition.
The winning films will be premiered at a grand awards ceremony to a specially-invited audience, including dignitaries and industry supporters, on Friday 17th April 2026. Judging will be carried out by a team from the University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Film Office, who are kindly supporting the competition.
Film theme: “What’s important to me?”
Length: No more than 5 minutes
Closing date: 13th March 2026
Winners announced: Awards ceremony on 17th April 2026
Age group categories
Category 1: 13 and under (download flyer here)
Category 2: 14-18 years (download flyer here)
Category 3: 19-25 years (download flyer here)
Entries may be made by individuals, pairs, teams or groups. Where more than one person is entering, all individuals must be within the age group category as at 31st August 2026.
All individuals under the age of 18 must have permission from a parent or guardian to participate.
Awards categories
Prizes will be awarded for the following categories in each age group:
- Best soundtrack
- Best script
- Best group entry
- Best film
Judging
A team of industry professionals from the University of Hertfordshire and Hertfordshire Film Office will be judging, alongside the Town Mayor of Harpenden, Councillor Beth Fisher, and other Town Councillors.
Prizes
The following prizes will be awarded in each of the categories.
The prize for the Best Group in each age category will be awarded to the school/club/team the group is representing.
Under 13 years category
- Best soundtrack - £50 Amazon voucher
- Best writing - £50 Amazon voucher
- Best group - £150 Amazon voucher
- Best film - £150 Amazon voucher
14-18 years category
- Best soundtrack - £50 Amazon voucher
- Best writing - £50 Amazon voucher
- Best group - £150 Amazon voucher
- Best film - £150 Amazon voucher
19-25 years category
- Best soundtrack - £100 Amazon voucher
- Best writing - £100 Amazon voucher
- Best group - £500 Amazon voucher
- Best film - £500 Amazon voucher
Submission requirements
- The film theme should be "What's Important to Me?"
- All entries must be original and created by amateurs
- All entries must have been created by individuals up to the age of 25 (as at 31st August 2026) who are residents of Harpenden or are currently studying at a school in Harpenden
- Films must be no longer than 5 minutes
- Submissions should be in .mp4 or .mov format
- Submitted files should be less than 1GB
- Entries must be received by 11.59pm on Friday 13th March 2026
- Applicants must declare any familial or close personal relationship with Harpenden Town Council employees or elected members
Terms & Conditions
All terms and conditions of this competition can be found here.
Entry form
Submit your entries before 11.59pm on Friday, 13th March 2026 here.
