Archives: CIFF Years

The 2025 Chester International Film Festival ran from 21st March to 3rd April 2025 at Storyhouse. It was produced in partnership with the University of Chester and Storyhouse. Opening and closing receptions with thanks to VAIN.

The films featured were:

• La Cocina
• From Hilde, With Love
• Holy Cow
• Solo
• Last Swim
• Happyend
• When the Light Breaks and
• Four Mothers (*Audience Award*)

The 2025 CIFF also included the 11th Chester Animation Festival for which the Audience Award went to The Pearl (Let’s Make Peace) by Abdollah Alimorad from Iran.

For more information, including details of the Documentary Section and other film events during the Festival, click here to go to the Storyhouse web page.

The 2026 Festival took place at Storyhouse between Friday 13th March to Sunday 22nd March 2026 and incorporated the 12th Chester Animation Festival 2026.

The films featured, and audience scores, were:

• DJ Ahmet (8.45)
• Rose of Nevada (7.09)
• Primavera (8.73)
• La Grazia (8.26)
• The Stranger (7.10)
• Orphan (6.63)
• Romería ( 7.25)
• Orwell 2+2=5 (8.21)
• Miroirs No. 3 ( 7.71)
• The Blue Trail (7.04)
• Exit 8 (7.73)
• Our Land (7.52)
• Colours of Time (9.22 *Audience Award*) and
• Father Mother Sister Brother (6.57)

In the Animation Festival, the Leaping Boar Award for best short animation was won jointly by:

• Cell Buddies by Studio Brute Beesten (Netherlands) and
• Small Hours by Oscar Wyndham Lewis (UK).

For more details, click here to go to the Storyhouse web page.