S.O.U.L. Fest x ABFF London S.O.U.L. Fest — Screening Our Unseen Lives
5–13 September 2026 Newcastle · Birmingham · London

BAFTA and BIFA qualifying · Eighth edition

Curtain up in

The festival opens at Tyneside Cinema, Newcastle — Saturday 5 September, 1pm.

S.O.U.L. Fest 2026 · Eighth edition

Thank you

Nine days across Newcastle, Birmingham and London. A UK first look at footage from Gina Prince-Bythewood’s Children of Blood and Bone, to a sold-out NFT1. Yemi Bamiro’s Black Is Beautiful: The Kwame Brathwaite Story in all three cities. Bradley Banton’s debut feature More Life for one night in Brixton. Eight competition shorts, industry panels and four evenings of online sessions.

To the filmmakers, the guests, the venues and everyone who bought a ticket: none of it happens without you. See you for the ninth.

Nine days, three cities

  • Sat 5 September Newcastle Tyneside Cinema — opening day
  • Sun 6 September Birmingham MAC Birmingham — third year
  • Mon 7 – Thu 10 September Online Four evenings of industry sessions
  • Thu 10 – Sun 13 September London The Ritzy, Brixton, then BFI Southbank — closing weekend and the Awards

S.O.U.L. Cast

Can’t get enough S.O.U.L.?

The festival is nine days. Our podcast runs the other 356 — long, unhurried conversations with Black British filmmakers about how they actually built their own way in. On Apple, Spotify, YouTube and Acast.

First to hear about 2027

The dates for the ninth edition, the first films and the first guests go to our mailing list before they go anywhere else.