19/10/2026
How has it already been three weeks?!
We’re still working our way through all the photos, videos and memories from what was our biggest festival yet and honestly, looking back at our guests arriving on Day 1 makes it feel like it was about five minutes ago.
For three days, the Mansfield Palace Theatre was full of filmmakers, audiences, volunteers, industry guests and creatives from across the UK and beyond.
More than 1,000 people came through the festival, we screened over 120 films, welcomed filmmakers from places including New York, France, Belgium and the Netherlands, packed out screenings, ran our VR Cinema, hosted Q&As and industry sessions, took over the Garrison on Saturday night and finished everything off with the Mansfield Film Awards!🏆
There were so many moments that made us stop and think, “bloody hell, look what we’ve built here.”
Seeing filmmakers who’d travelled hundreds or thousands of miles spending their weekend in Mansfield.
Seeing local audiences turning up in bigger numbers than ever.
Seeing people meet, swap details, make plans, laugh, cry and discover films they might never have seen anywhere else.
Seeing our team and volunteers somehow keep the whole thing moving for three days straight.
That’s the stuff we’ll remember.
MTFF started because we wanted to prove that a town like Mansfield could have a proper film festival of its own - something ambitious, welcoming and worth travelling for.
Three weeks on, I think MTFF26 proved that better than we ever have before.
Thank you again to every filmmaker, audience member, volunteer, trustee, sponsor, partner and supporter who made the weekend what it was.💛
We’re already looking ahead too, because next year marks five years of MTFF.
Plenty more to come.
For now, enjoy a few more memories from when our doors opened on Day 1!
Photos by: Ben Shipway, Maddie Cox
