jpegfilmfestival.com · est. 2026 · sponsored by PXLD
Shoot anywhere. Set it anywhere else.
The zero-budget festival for short films shot in the real world and set inside still images. Free to enter. £1,000 for the best film. One night on a big screen in York.
REEL 02 · the-idea.jpg · 15KB
In 1902, Georges Méliès built the Moon out of paint and cardboard. You have something better: every image ever made.
The JPEG Film Festival is for short films where every background is a still image. Shoot a scene on your phone in the kitchen, then set it on Mars with a single JPEG. You don't need a set, a permit or a budget.
A still image is all the set you need.
Try it: pick a clip, pick a world, or drop in your own JPEG. On this page it's a simple blend. PXLD's tools go much further, matching light, grain and colour, and they're free for every entrant.
REEL 03 · how-it-works.jpg · 12KB
Film anything on anything. A phone counts as a camera and a kitchen counts as a location. If you can hang a bedsheet, you have a green screen.
Every background in your film is a still image: a photo, a painting, a render, something found on an old hard drive. That is the one rule of the festival.
Use PXLD's tools, free for every entrant, to match the light, grain and colour of your footage to the world it now lives in.
REEL 04 · find-a-world.jpg · 18KB
One rule inside the rule: you need the rights to every image in your film. Your own photos always qualify, and the internet is full of images that are free to use. Good places to start:
Check the licence before you build on an image, and credit the photographer in your titles. It costs nothing and it's good manners.
REEL 05 · the-prize.jpg · 24KB
£1,000
for Best Film, chosen by a jury of critics and filmmakers.
The official selection screens together in York in spring 2027, projected at full quality. The venue will be announced with the shortlist. Tickets are free.
REEL 06 · the-jury.jpg · 9KB
Five people who watch films for a living: critics, filmmakers, and one person from PXLD who knows the tools inside out. Names will be announced in September 2026. Until then they render at eight by eight.
REEL 07 · submit.jpg · 11KB
submit@jpegfilmfestival.com · open now · deadline 31 Jan 2027, 23:59 GMT