The future of the UK screen industries looked bright this afternoon as Into Film, the UK’s leading charity for film in education, announced the winners of the 2026 Into Film Awards, with Jason Isaacs, Hayley Atwell, Nick Frost, Jodie Whittaker, Peter Capaldi, Bella Ramsey, Blake Harrison, Nabhaan Rizwan, Chloe Lea, Izzy Meikle-Small, Christopher Chung, Harry Collett, Misan Harriman and David Jonsson among a wealth of acting and industry talent presenting awards to this year’s young winners at the prestigious Into Film Awards ceremony at ODEON Luxe Leicester Square today.

Award-winning broadcaster and best-selling children’s author Konnie Huq hosted the awards which honoured the most inspiring and original short films created by young people aged 5–19 from around the UK, across 13 different categories.

“The talent out there is both refreshing and inspiring, especially when living in such uncertain, progressive and fast-moving times. Nurturing empathy is so important, and knowing it exists in such liberal doses in these talented young story tellers is just great.” said Konnie Huq, Into Film Awards 2026 Host

Into Film CEO, Fiona Evans commented: “Today’s Into Film Awards is the UK’s most prestigious showcase for young filmmakers, backed by leaders from across the industry. Each year we receive hundreds of brilliant entries and for every young filmmaker walking the red carpet today, the Awards will be a life-changing experience. We are also thrilled to see the Awards and the broader work of Into Film recognised in Government’s new enrichment entitlement released this week. We welcome the entitlement as an important and positive step for young people because access to creative and cultural experiences should not be for a lucky minority, but a fundamental part of every child’s education. Film is uniquely placed to enrich and support media literacy, critical thinking and wellbeing, in ways that are engaging and helps them better understand others and the world around them.
The incredible young people and educators recognised at this year’s Awards show what can be achieved when schools, creative industries, charities and government all work together to give children the opportunity to express themselves.”

Eric Fellner, Into Film Chair and Co-Chairman of Working Title Films, commented: “As the UK’s leading showcase for young filmmaking talent, today’s Into Film Awards brought the screen and education sectors together in recognition of the brilliant films shortlisted. We believe passionately in a world where AI is increasing its presence that creativity should be a fundamental part of very child’s education, and we welcome the Government’s renewed commitment to providing a framework and benchmarks for how enrichment is delivered in schools. We, at Into Film, look forward to continuing our work in thousands of schools across the UK which will also support this vital initiative.”

The Into Film Awards nominated short films provide a fascinating and invaluable insight into the things that are important to young people. In an increasingly fast-moving and ever-changing world, it’s never been more important to support young people to use their voices and utilise film to tell not only their own stories, but to address the things that matter to them.

The nominated films addressed bold and heart-felt topics such as female Muslim identity, socio-economic difference, understanding special educational needs, staying safe online, youth mental health, LGBTQ+ acceptance, cultural identity, and the lived experiences of refugees. This year’s awards saw record-breaking submissions across the categories, which included two new categories – Innovation in Filmmaking, showcasing impressive feats of creativity and technical prowess, and Best Film Review shining a spotlight on budding wordsmiths.

With high-profile ambassadors including Sir Kenneth Branagh; Lashana Lynch; Eddie Redmayne; Jack Lowden; Amma Asante; Lynwen Brennan and Jamie Dornan, Into Film, the UK’s leading charity for film in education, continues to bridge the gap between classroom and screen, championing the next generation of film industry talent from every corner of the UK.

Each year, the Into Film Awards are made possible through sponsorship from the UK Screen Industry: Amazon MGM Studios; EON Productions; IMDb; Lucas Film Ltd; Odeon; Paramount; Pinewood Studios; Shepperton Studios; Swatch; Universal Pictures; The Walt Disney Studios; Warner Bros Discovery; Working Title Films; 72 Films.