Every single person, from the films and filmmakers whose talent filled the event, the countless children filling our weekend with smiles and high-fives, the fantastic audiences (many sold out), the brilliant performers and everyone at Epsom Picturehouse, Epsom Square and GoEpsom helped make this an absolutely knockout event.

We can’t wait to do it again bigger and better than ever! But most importantly, this was about celebrating the very best films from our entire history!

The end of the festival saw our first ever Best of Fest award being presented to the filmmaker that had been judged to have provided the most bravura piece of work at Satisfied Eye, a filmmaker whose mastery is clear in every moment, every perfect frame, in each crackling piece of dialogue and every hard-earned silence; a director who manages the multi-faceted challenges.

Out of thousands of films, hundreds of hours, it was incredibly, incredibly, close (two films were neck and neck but there could be only one winner at the end). A film that is near-flawless, that balances humour and pathos in a perfect juggling act, filled with unforgettable sequences and heart-warming moments, a wonderful script, perfectly judged performances and frames that are beautiful enough you could hang them in a gallery.

We are excited to announce the winner of Satisfied Eye’s Best of Fest 2024 for filmmaking excellence.

Massive congratulations to Nima Mohaghegh whose film A Kiss delighted our audiences and judging panel alike.

The post BEST OF FEST WINNER! first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

This year’s special Best of Fest edition showcases the very best films from all our festivals since we launched back in 2018. Don’t miss out on this incredible event!  From shorts, to documentaries, to animation, there’s guaranteed to be something for everyone.

Step into a world where stories come alive, emotions run wild, and dreams take flight. The festival offers an unforgettable cinematic experience right in the heart of our community.

From Oscar winners and Sundance favourites to emerging filmmakers just starting their incredible journeys, come along and make the most of everything our festival has to offer!

Tickets £5 per screening or £30 for a festival pass (only available in person at the box office).  You can see our full programme and book tickets at www.picturehouses.com/seiff

We can’t wait to see you there!

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The post SATISFIED EYE RETURNS! first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

But this isn’t the only big change!  As we move into our new home, Satisfied Eye will be relaunching itself as a charity and providing a year round programme of events, for filmmakers, for cinephiles and for the wider community.

We’ll soon be announcing a whole host of events for the coming year but for the time being, watch this space!

And if you want to be the first to hear about updates, don’t forget to join our mailing list by clicking on the following link https://satisfiedeye.com/mailing-list/

The post BIG NEWS! first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

With the quality of submissions and the quality of those films screened becoming increasingly competitive each year, this was quite possibly the highest quality programme in our history and whether a nominee or a winner, every film deserved all the plaudits it received.

Audience feedback was overflowing with praise this year at the superlative programme of screenings and those who came to the screenings debated long into the night which films they thought deserved the big prizes.

So, without further ado, here are the winners for 2023!  A huge congratulations to all the winners and nominees!

People’s Choice – The Censor of Dreams

Emily Davison Award – Marine Herve (A Travers)

Best British Film – An Irish Goodbye

Best International Short – Scrap

Best Comedy – Archibald’s Syndrome

Best Documentary – Still Working 9 to 5

Best Animated Film – Bestia

Best Director – Babak Mostafavi (The Pylon)

Outstanding Lead Performance – Jim Donovan & Lewis Brophy (Scrap)

Outstanding Supporting Performance – Isak Ferriz (17 Minutes with Nora)

Best Production Design – Marco Puig (The Censor of Dreams)

Best Costume Design – Emilie Monchovet & Jessica McEvoy (All Blood Runs Red)

Best Editing – Kurt Schneider (Portrait)

Jury Prize – Finding Her Beat

Rising Star – Damiana Acuna (Lux Noctis)

Best Original Screenplay – 17 Minutes with Nora

Best Foreign Language Film – Same Old

Best Cinematography – Khalid Mohtaseb (The Censor of Dreams)

Best Sound Design – Hossein Ghoorchian (The Pylon)

The post 2023 AWARDS first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

The festival, which included three days of fantastic films – as well as the chance to meet the likes of Johnny 5, ED209 and Spiderman or sit in the Iron Throne or Back to the Future DeLorean – saw record attendances for Satisfied Eye.

Following the festival’s final screening – the UK premiere of documentary Finding Her Beat – Aber Taiko and Gongming came together and performed (having never met before!) a flawless and sensational show that literally made the building shake!

Those fortunate enough to have booked the sold-out taiko workshop afterwards got a chance to learn this amazing musical skill before the festival closed its doors for another year, with everyone still buzzing with excitement!

Here’s to SEIFF #5!

The post OUT WITH A BANG first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

With the judging panel choosing from some of the cream of independent cinema’s shorts, documentaries and animation from over 50 countries, the line up includes UK and European premieres, a host of Oscar nominees (and this year’s winner) and familiar faces ranging from Jane Fonda to Oscar Isaac!

The event opens with our traditional industry networking event at 6.30pm on Friday 26 May and runs until the evening of Sunday 28 May when we’ll be announcing the winners of the big awards throughout the festival. Anyone wishing to attend the networking event should email [email protected] to be added to the attendee list (as numbers are strictly limited).

To see the full programme go to www.satisfiedeye.com/tickets

The festival trailer giving a taster of what’s in store this year can be watched at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1_L0f-_MJ8

The post 2023 PROGRAMME ANNOUNCED first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

Set in Epsom, made in Epsom and called (you guessed it!) “Epsom” this series intended for online and festival distribution is a completely unique collaboration which brings together industry professionals, those just starting out in the industry and local educational facilities – as well as local people who want to get involved in a thrilling creative project.

The first two episodes will film back to back at the end of February/beginning of March 2023 and we’ll be looking for as many local people as possible to get involved, from crew to background artists (we’ll need around 100!) With the festival renowned for having one of the most consistently high quality programmes, the benchmark is high and this is intended to be something that shows the very best of the borough and sits proudly within the rest of our films.

For further information or to get involved message [email protected]

The post LOOKING FOR CAST AND CREW first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

It’s been a challenging time for film festivals and the industry as a whole, so it’s with great excitement that we can confirm that the Satisfied Eye International Film Festival returns in 2023.

With a number of delays in the completion of our new shiny venue at Picturehouse Epsom, we’ve had plenty of opportunities to look at how to improve and refine the festival experience as we enter our 4th season. SEIFF continues to be an in-person event and is looking forward to welcoming audiences new and old.

We’ll be returning with a bang from 19-21 May 2023 and while there will be all the favourites, like our People’s Choice screenings and red carpet awards ceremony, there will be some new exciting editions. Our move from an autumn to spring event will be a permanent change, allowing us to include more outdoor events (and hopefully seeing some sunshine!)

Our judging panel are currently screening all of this year’s submissions, with our programme due for announcement in February/May, so watch this space for further information on what you can expect at SEIFF 4.

If you would like to get involved in the festival in any capacity, contact the Artistic Director at [email protected]

The post SATISFIED EYE IS BACK! first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.

Despite the extra obstacles provided by the pandemic, we screened more films, more award winners, from more countries – with more sold out events than ever before.

One of the prime objectives of SEIFF is to introduce the incredible world of independent film to new audiences. This is more important than ever before with every facet of the industry enduring difficult times – something that could be tempered by more opportunity and appetite for independent film. Consequently, we were adamant that the Satisfied Eye International Film Festival would only ever be a live event and while it was touch-and-go whether or not we would be able to remain true to this, fortune favoured the brave and we were able to screen our programme in a live cinema setting.

The response from audiences was incredible and emphatic and while we were unable to hold a live closing awards ceremony this year, we ran an online event which included our first ever Jaguar D’or. The festival also saw the release of our first ever Satisfied Eye Magazine (which went to all sales agents and distributors in the UK) as well as numerous Zoom Q&As and talks.

The full list of winners can be seen below.

ONE TO WATCH – ALBIN WILDNER (DOGWATCH)
COMEDY SHORT – BLOCKS
SCREENPLAY – DAVID HAY (HOT CHOCOLATE)
CINEMATOGRAPHY – LUCIA VENERO (REPLICA)
DOCUMENTARY – UNDERAGE ENGINEERS
JURY PRIZE – IGNACY REJMAK (UNDERAGE ENGINEERS)
VIRTUAL REALITY – SWING
PLATINUM AWARD – WHEN ALL THAT’S LEFT IS LOVE
DIRECTOR – OSKAR LEHEMAA (BAD HAIR)
RISING STAR – LENIE B DESROSIERS (ANGEL & ALIEN)
VISIONARY AWARD – BLOOD RULE
SUPPORTING ACTOR – SIGURD SELE (RUBBISH ROBBERS)
FEMALE DIRECTOR – TATIANA FEDOROVSKAYA (MUM’S HAIRPINS)
ACTOR – RAINER WOSS (DOGWATCH)
SOUND – BAD HAIR
ANIMATED FILM – QUIDQUID LATINE DICTUM SIT ALTUM VIDETUR
ACTRESS – JOKE EMMERS (LIEVE)
SUPPORTING ACTRESS – SISSAL DREWS HJALTALIN (NO ILL WILL)
UK SHORT – BULLDOG
SCORE – LIEVE
PEOPLE’S CHOICE – ALINA
JAGUAR D’OR – 1971
SURREY FILM – CHOKER

The post 2020 WINNERS first appeared on Satisfied Eye International Film Festival.