Bad weather, gray skies: January in Berlin is not usually the most active month of the year. But instead of just watching series at home, at least we can do just that outside. The British Short Film Festival is taking place in Berlin for the 19th time! It’s one of the city’s most charming and vibrant short film festivals. Every year in January, it brings the creative diversity of the British and Irish film world to the capital’s cinemas. From January 22 to 28, 2026, you shouldn’t miss the following highlights.
What is the British Short Film Festival?
The festival is organized by the Lichtspielklub association and is considered the largest showcase for British and Irish short film outside the British Isles. All films are shown in their original language (English). With its very relaxed, personal atmosphere, you can come into direct contact with the filmmakers.
The festival shows over 150 short films from a wide variety of genres. A typical evening consists of several short films that are grouped into blocks (e.g. “Drama”, “Comedy” or “Horror”). From Oscar-winning productions to quirky low-budget experiments, everything is included – animations, documentaries, music videos, sci-fi and the legendary “Midnight Movies”. In addition to the films, there are often live concerts (e.g. Neoangin/Jim Avignon), parties, an art exhibition, specialist lectures and a free film workshop with a 48-hour challenge.
It’s worth taking a look at the exact program on the homepage!
Prices, tickets and locations
The festival is spread across some of the city’s most beautiful arthouse cinemas. No matter where you live, one of the cinemas is located in your neighborhood: Sputnik Kino (Kreuzberg – the “headquarters” in the courtyards), City Kino Wedding, Acudkino (Mitte), Kino Intimes (Friedrichshain), Xenon Kino (Schöneberg), Klick Kino (Charlottenburg) and Filmrauschpalast (Moabit).
Two main prizes will be awarded at the end of the festival: The Jury Award will be presented by an expert jury of film professionals. But you can also become active yourself. The Audience Award is decided by the audience via voting cards after the screenings. The Jury Award is usually presented on Sunday (25.01.) and the Audience Award on the last evening of the festival (28.01.).
By the way, it pays to be quick here too: Individual screenings often sell out quickly, so it’s worth getting your tickets early online or at the box office. Tickets are already available on the respective websites of the cinemas or the film festival itself.