The Film Programme

At the heart of our Festival is an incredible film programme, which we curate from entries into our international film competition screening everything from film premieres featuring the world’s greatest athletes to new voices entering the outdoor sphere.

The Film Programme at the Festival honours excellence in adventure storytelling and filmmaking by presenting a diverse array of entries that showcase a rich tapestry of stories highlighting the beauty, challenges, and triumphs of the human spirit in the great outdoors.

Jacqui Scott, CEO, Kendal Mountain Festival, shared:"With an incredible array of film submissions each year, it’s genuinely heartwarming to know that we’re helping lift up this vibrant community of filmmakers, each driven by the shared mission to bring powerful outdoor stories to life."

Explore the 2025 films and more

2026 INTERNATIONAL Film Competition

Each year we hold a world-renowned film competition with hundreds of submissions from across the globe.

Our team carefully watch every entry and whittle these down to a varied programme of approximately 150 films, which we screen in insightfully curated collections alongside stand alone features in the Festival cinemas each November. Some of these films are chosen to be part of our UK Tour and many go on to be screened year round on the Kendal Mountain Player.The films are viewed by our panel of judges who select the award winners which are presented at our prestigious ‘Kendal’ awards at a lively ceremony on Saturday night. Our Festival audience are also invited to nominate their favourite film to win the ‘People’s Choice Award’.

We are always keen to support and welcome submissions of short, uplifting adventure films to balance the hard-hitting but incredibly important films that focus on climate, and economic and humanitarian issues.

Submissions for the 2026 Festival are open! Entries are via the platform Film Freeway - visit our Film Freeway page for full rules and other information.

Feature Films and Premieres

Each year we gain exclusive access to the world's greatest outdoor feature films. We have become renowned as a launchpad and international showcase for mountain and outdoor film, premiering or screening such classics as The Bat and the Wicked, Five Days One Summer, Hard Grit, Touching The Void, Free Solo and 14 Peaks: Nothing is Impossible.

2025 features

Film Collections

Each film collection features a carefully curated selection of short outdoor films that will take your breath away and boost your sense of adventure! 

Take a look

Film Awards

Our International Film Competition is a prestigious and globally recognised set of awards that celebrates the finest in adventure storytelling and filmmaking. Through this competition, we champion the art of filmmaking and inspire audiences.

Prize categories include Best Short, Best Creative, Best Adventure & Exploration, Best Sport, Change Maker Award, Best Environment, Community & Culture, Best Climbing, Best Mountain, Judges Special Prize, People’s Choice Award and The Grand Prize.

2025 Film Award Winners

Accessibility - Shifting the Culture in Sports and Adventure Filmmaking

Sports and adventure filmmaking is a thriving and creative culture with many film festivals and a large online audience; however, this vibrant culture is rarely accessible for disabledaudiences. This open-source document created by Danielle Sellwood (Find It Film) and Coldhouse Collective aims to provide all the tools you need to start making your films and content accessible. This is an ever-changing area, and this document will be updated as required. This project has been kindly supported by Berghaus.

This year, we are proud to share that our programme includes:

  • The award-winning feature film, Champions of the Golden Valley, with audio description and closed captions
  • A 90 minute film collection with audio description and closed captions
  • An accessibility-focused workshop for filmmakers, fostering discussion and learning around inclusive filmmaking practices. 
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