ESI Film Festival
Shine a Light on Stories Behind the Screens
Enter to compete for a prize pool of an impressive €6,000 provided by our not-for-profit partner, ESG Gaming! The potential of video games and esports to make a meaningful, positive difference to people’s lives is enormous.
Prize pool breakdown:
Best Film – 1st: €2500 | 2nd: €1500
Best Student Film – 1st: €1500 | 2nd: €500
There are countless anecdotal examples of this, and not enough of these stories are told & shared more widely. Film is one medium to help change that.Accordingly in 2023, we introduced the ESI Film Festival; the very first Esports & Gaming Short Film Festival, at BAFTA 195 Piccadilly.
In 2024, ESI Film Festival heads to Lisbon, taking place at the super stage in the MEO Arena, with a scaled-up event, adding more categories, and continuing to offer filmmakers a platform to shine a light on some of the many stories that warrant telling in, and around gaming and esports at large. Additionally we will encourage original short films on select themes (which will change each year!) as they pertain to these spaces and communities within them too. Moreover, with this event, we are looking to better strengthen ties, connections, and collaborations between the film, games, and esports sectors.
24th September 2024
1000+
Attendees
10+
Films
10+
Judges
3
Categories
What’s on at ESI Lisbon
Featuring our renowned The Clutch and ESI Hall of Fame events all in one place, Lisbon will also be the birthplace of our most prestigious event yet: Esports Leaders. This will be an exclusive by-invitation-only event for true leaders in and around the space to come together to discuss, share ideas, catch up, make new acquaintances and build for long term sustainable success with their peers from across the world.
Press / Media Applications
Interested in providing media/press coverage of ESI Lisbon?
Please click below & fill out our interest form where one of our team will get back to you! Limited passes available.
Sponsorship Opportunities
If you’ve any questions about involving your brand in ESI London Film Festival, or any ideas or opportunities to discuss please reach out via [email protected], or directly to any team members.
You can also see the sponsorship and partnership deck and options here.
THANK YOU TO
OUR PARTNERS
Presenting Partners
Proudly founded in August 2021, ESG Gaming’s vision is to ensure that consumers worldwide possess the skills, knowledge, resilience, and tools to engage with digital entertainment in a safe, responsible, positive, and inclusive manner. They are incorporated as a not-for-profit and with no share capital Community Interest Company (CIC). They are independently regulated by the Office of the Regulator of Community Interest Company and registered with the Fundraising Regulator.
Shikenso is a thriving German tech start-up with a mission to make the gaming and esports industry transparent for sponsors. We employ artificial intelligence to deliver an all-in-one analysis of your marketing campaign. The Shikenso Dashboard & Smart Tracking Algorithm equip your organization with a rich data set of brand performance along every campaign step.
Ross Video – High Impact, High Efficiency Production Solutions
Ross powers video productions for billions of global viewers daily with the industry’s widest range of high impact, high efficiency production solutions. Ross makes it easy to create compelling news, weather and sports broadcasts, engaging material for sports stadium screens, entertainment shows and rock concerts, educational institutions, legislative assemblies, corporate applications and inspiring content for houses of worship.
Ross solutions have impressed the audiences and marketing partners of NBC Sunday Night Football, Eurosport, BBC World, Google YouTube Space London and China’s esports powerhouse VSPN. Ross delivers an unrivalled range of products and services comprising virtual studios, real-time motion graphics, cameras, robotic camera systems, production switchers, video servers, infrastructure and routers, social media management, newsroom systems and mobile live events.
Deliver the excitement and experience of the game to your viewers with a world class production. Captivate fans with game characters and environments brought to life through augmented reality and virtual sets. Ross brings the best of live sports and broadcast production technology to the task of putting on an amazing esports even
Design & development agency, busy helping companies transform ideas into great products and services.
Empowering esports and gaming talent to reach their potential. A talent management agency founded by Morgan Sports Law
badassness. Through our ongoing work and conversations with so many of you, we know that safe spaces that honor women, femme-identifying gamers and non-binary gamers who are comfortable in spaces that center women are necessary. Thus, the*gameHERs was born.
The*gameHERs is a women-led community dedicated to amplifying and centering the voices of women, femme-identifying gamers and non-binary gamers who are comfortable in spaces that center women. This is a sexist-free space for the casual players, the hardcore gamers, the techies, the streamers, the designers, the cosplayers, the developers, and programmers. Our mission is to advance the role, voice, image, and power of all the*gameHERs in the gaming world. We welcome all humans who value this mission.
Promod Esports was founded in 2019 by a group of passionate esports industry veterans who want to use our knowledge and expertise to create authentic B2C connections for IP owners. As an esports and gaming solutions agency we use our experience & knowledge to advise and consult on esports strategies for clients; creating, organising and managing end-to-end tournaments, events & broadcasts. Our holistic approach enables us to have a range of impact for our clients, from creating meaningful experiences for customers to adding value for shareholders.
Official Photography Partners
WEX Photo/Video is a nationwide reseller of photography and video equipment. We have 14 stores across the country, a website with warehousing located in Norwich and a dedicated B2B team with reps on the road facilitating equipment demos and account management
Media & Strategic Partners
PREVIOUS WINNERS
1st Place
Christopher William Sellers
In 2020, amidst wedding planning, Emma ‘Emzii’ Rose confronted the underlying weight of dysphoria and came to a life-changing realisation — she was transgender. Embracing her true identity, she faced challenges and setbacks, usually from people hiding behind screens.
2nd Place
Chew Productions (UK)
Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche is a former pro gamer, now turned CS:GO host hailing from Aalborg, Denmark. This film explores his past struggles with his physical and mental health, which happened behind the scenes when his career was at an all-time high.
3rd Place
Emily Crawford
This documentary follows three people with mood and anxiety disorders who find that playing games can be a powerful tool for self-care. These vignettes of daily life are punctuated by insights from experts in the fields of game studies, game design and psychology.
2023 AFTERMOVIE
JUDGING CRITERIA
Films will be judged on originality, creativity, plot, pacing, structure, characters, cinematography and entertainment value as well as on effectiveness of the message and the ability of the film maker to reach an audience.
ORIGINALITY
The uniqueness and originality of the premise or story.
CREATIVITY
The effective use of imagination as evidenced in the entry.
PLOT
The actions, events, conflicts, and turning points that propel the story forward.
PACING & STRUCTURE
The timing of the action, unfolding of plot elements and character development.
CHARACTERS
Personalities that are distinctive, compelling, multi-layered, and unpredictable.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The quality of cinematography or videography demonstrated in the work.
MUSIC SCORE
Is the music score suited to the film and does it help tell the story as a character of its own?
ENTERTAINMENT VALUE
Does the story keep the viewer’s attention? Is it fun, engaging, or thought provoking?
MESSAGE EFFECTIVENESS
Does the film clearly depict the message of the charity or cause it represents.
SOUND QUALITY
Is the dialogue clear and not hindered by any noise or music score?
JUDGES
The son of a coal miner and born into a working-class family, Lee has over 30 years of experience working with and leading services for marginalised groups and communities. A humble leader in the igaming space, Lee brings a deep, personal understanding of EDI and mental health, having recovered from a behavioural addiction and growing up as a gay man. At 50 years old, Lee is now studying for a MBA, establishing a fourth not-for-profit organisation using his lived experience, and in his spare time has a passion for travel and discovering new cultures.
Stuart is a video game analyst at the British Film Institute and works closely with developers from around the country offering advice and support on the certification process and the creative sector tax reliefs. Stuart also writes video game focused articles for the BFI public website, and has worked on a number of video game projects and events within the organisation and in collaboration with other cultural organisations. He regularly talks at events around the country such as EGX, EGX Rezzed, FOCUS, London Games Festival, and many others.
Brazillian Filmmaker based in Berlin. I started my Esports journey by creating content and coaching League of Legends professionally in late 2014. After finishing film school I fully switched and committed to filmmaking and photography. After moving to Berlin to work with LEC teams, my work got recognised by shooting the Schalke miracle run documentary “Against All Odds” and directing the initial campaign for Telekom’s Equal Esports. My first short film “Out of Time” is now doing its festival run and won best sci-fi at the Berlin short awards.
Karina is a visionary, exceptional storyteller and strong leader with 16 years of combined professional experience in media, content, production, marketing and communication. With the team she led at G2 Esports, Karina was awarded Esports Awards for Best Video Production Team and Best Creative Esports Piece in 2021.
GALLERY
JOIN US IN LISBON
- ACCESS TO ESI LISBON & SBC SUMMIT
- FOOD & BEVERAGE EVERY DAY
- ACCESS TO ALL TALKS & ROUNDTABLES
- APP ACCESS FOR MEETINGS
- FOOD & BEVERAGE EVERY DAY
- ACCESS TO ALL TALKS & ROUNDTABLES
- FULL ACCESS TO SBC SUMMIT
- APP ACCESS FOR MEETINGS
- FOOD & BEVERAGE EVERY DAY
- ACCESS TO ALL TALKS & ROUNDTABLES
- FULL ACCESS TO SBC SUMMIT
- APP ACCESS FOR MEETINGS