East Anglia’s Sunrise Film Festival, which has started a new chapter as a Community Interest Company, unveils the most ambitious programme yet, today. Lead Programmer Chloe Beale explains more
Sunrise Film Festival, East Anglia’s weekend-long film festival, has officially unveiled the programme for its highly anticipated fifth edition. Running from 20–23 August, the festival returns to its home at the Marina Theatre in Lowestoft, expanding into a town-wide celebration of diverse stories, underrepresented filmmakers, and immersive community experiences. As a BIFA (British Independent Film Awards) and Grierson qualifying festival, Sunrise has solidified its status as a major force in the UK film industry. Made possible with the support of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), awarding funds from the National Lottery, this year’s festival is set to bring world-class independent cinema to wider audiences than ever before.
The 2026 edition marks a historic milestone for Sunrise, which received a staggering 1,136 submissions from East Anglia, the wider UK, and around the world, equating to just over 305 hours of viewing. From this highly competitive pool, volunteer curators built a bold, enlightening programme featuring 263 films across 52 separate curated programmes.
The line-up boasts 37 world premieres and spans 34 countries, striking a masterful balance between homegrown talent and global perspectives:
- 31 Local Films showcasing the distinct creative voices of East Anglia.
- 97 National Films from across the United Kingdom.
- 122 International Films representing Ireland, the United States, France, Canada, and beyond.
Sunrise continues to grow as the UK’s largest four-day celebration of underrepresented filmmakers. Demonstrating a fierce commitment to gender equity, an incredible 68% of the 2026 programme is F-Rated, meaning the films are directed, produced, or written by women, or feature significant female characters on screen.
“With this spike in submissions came longer films, greater diversity in themes, and fresh takes on familiar styles and stories,” says Chloe Beale, Lead Programmer. “We’ve expanded our drama strand to explore ideas of home, the ties that bind us, crime, and power. We’ve similarly split romance into a traditional, heartfelt strand and a brand-new Twisted Romance strand. For the first time, we are also giving sci-fi its own dedicated 90-minute spotlight. The films you’ll see at Sunrise this year are bold, enlightening, and vital.”
Sunrise is transforming Lowestoft into a vibrant cultural hub. Screenings and events will spill out from the traditional auditorium into the Marina Yard and across the Marina Road in the town centre.
New for this year is ‘B-Roll on Marina Road’, a street-wide takeover encompassing an array of stalls from local makers and artists, alongside free interactive activities for the public. Film lovers can also experience film in new forms at the Marina Studio with a dedicated Virtual Reality showcase (New Ways of Seeing) and the ultra-short Pocket Cinema microshorts.
Families are heavily catered to with 9 Family Friendly Outdoor Cinema screenings powered by silent-disco style headsets in the Marina Yard. Highlights include the Academy Award-winning Flow, classic favourites like Jurassic Park (1993) and Chicken Run, and a completely free outdoor screening of The Wild Robot on closing day of the festival to celebrate the national year of reading.
Festival Highlights & Local Spotlights:
- Opening Day Local Talent: The festival kicks off on Thursday, August 20, with East Coast Film, celebrating low-budget shorts from Norfolk and Suffolk, followed by Local Connections, a compelling documentary showcase of regional life.
- Homegrown Features: Special presentations include The Creature From Scroby Sands, a Norfolk cult horror-comedy, and Breakwater, the acclaimed debut feature from Suffolk filmmaker Max Morgan.
- Lowestoft Pride: Lowestoft-born filmmaker Matthew Simpson returns home for a special screening and live Q&A of his psychological thriller, Disremember, a unique film created entirely by himself.
- Industry & Dialogue: The festival features industry discussions, including Festival on Festival, a special live panel between Sunrise Director Joshua Freemantle and Caris Rianne (Women X Film Festival) exploring how to build a festival from scratch, and an insider look at festival curation with Festival Formula.
As Sunrise celebrates five years, the festival enters its most stable and exciting phase yet, operating under its own dedicated Community Interest Company (CIC) to ensure its long-term impact on the region.
“It’s vital that a platform like Sunrise continues to exist, and we’re incredibly excited for the future,” says Joshua Freemantle, Chair and Festival Director. “We continue to grow into the UK’s largest celebration of diverse stories across just four days. This festival simply wouldn’t be possible without the continued, dedicated support of our incredible team of volunteers, from our online screening committee to our programming curators, and the vital support from our grant funders BFI Film Audience Network and Lowestoft Town Council who believe in the power of independent film.”
Sunrise Festival takes place from August 20-23, 2026, at the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft, Suffolk (including Marina Yard, Marina Lounge, and Marina Studio); and Britten Centre (hosting the unique One Bum Cinema Club installation). Tickets and full schedule are available via the Sunrise Film Festival website sunrisefilmfestival.co.uk and Marina Theatre Box Office.
Featured image of Chloe Beale – supplied
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