About Us

Sunrise Film Festival occurs annually in Lowestoft, Britain’s most easterly town. Across the festival, we bring together independent filmmakers and celebrate all things film and the industry as a whole in a Summer coastal setting.

We’re passionate about creating a platform for filmmakers that are yet to be discovered (or picked up by the bigger film festival circuit), whilst also championing filmmaking and the arts across East Anglia including year-round activity across our local region, whilst remaining to stick with our routes as Lowestoft stays at our core.

Sunrise Film Festival is co-produced by Sunrise Studios, a local community production company based in the UK’s most easterly town, which is run by young creatives and filmmakers from Lowestoft.

Despite the challenges facing the film industry, we’re dedicated to creating a vibrant platform for emerging filmmakers and making independent cinema accessible to new audiences in often overlooked communities.

Since our inception, we’ve proudly screened over 420 indie films and presented 44 awards, becoming a BFI Film Audience Network-backed and BIFA-qualifying festival for British Short Films. Our mission is to uplift undiscovered talent and bring fresh, diverse stories to the big screen.

Here’s what Holly Donoghue, a 2024 festival attendee, had to say: “Sunrise Film Festival was a fantastic experience! I had a wonderful day and so much hard work goes into making it so great – excited to see where things are going for Sunrise.”