Raindance News Updates

Every year, thousands of filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, actors, and creative dreamers flock to London—not for fame or fortune (though those are nice), but for something rarer: the chance to be truly seen, heard, and understood. Welcome! and be ready to embrace Raindance Film Festival. Founded in 1993 by Elliot Grove,… Read more »

The 2025 edition of the Raindance Film Festival continues its tradition of supporting first-time filmmakers, with a significant portion of its lineup dedicated to debut features. Among these, sixteen standout horror films exemplify the festival’s commitment to showcasing innovative and diverse voices in the genre. Raindance: A Launchpad for Emerging… Read more »

History doesn’t move in a straight line—it spirals in recurring cycles of growth, awakening, unraveling, and crisis. This fascinating pattern, observed by historians William Strauss and Neil Howe, suggests that generational dynamics shape societal evolution in predictable ways. Their Strauss-Howe generational theory reveals how roughly every 80-100 years—a span the… Read more »

Raindance started with a handful of dust 33 years ago. And if you add up all the days of all the festivals it comes to 366 days – an entire year of Raindance Film Festival. And I have been at every single day of every festival! So, Ive been thinking:… Read more »

Photocredits: David Reiss/Rachell Smith Acclaimed British actors Celia Imrie and Jason Isaacs are the recipients of this year’s Raindance Icon  Awards, presented as part of the festival’s 33rd edition (18-27 June).   Both will receive their Icon Award at the Opening Gala on 18 June, the World Premiere of Christopher M.… Read more »

If social media has rotted your attention span and you find yourself squirming in your seat after just a couple minutes sitting for a movie, I empathise. I have friends who can’t last twenty minutes through a movie without whipping out their phones or wanting to change it. No judgement,… Read more »

For years, we were told streaming was the future. Theatres? Relics of the past. But here we are in 2025, living in a world where both are true—and neither is the whole story. Streaming giants are still battling for dominance, yet theatres are roaring back to life (for the right… Read more »

If you’re an avid Shakespeare enjoyer but want to escape the old, conventional Shakespearean settings of the average adaptation, come see our two Shakespearean adaptations that take an exciting amount of creative liberties. No Beast. So Fierce., a German-Polish-French co-production, is an epic Arabic-German retelling of Richard III. Shakespeare’s Richard… Read more »

It’s no secret that the path to getting a film made has become more complicated. Budgets are tighter. Funders are more cautious. Audiences are harder to reach. And for independent filmmakers, the long road to financing and production often starts not with a script, but with a compelling vision –… Read more »

The word “musical” brings a very specific thing to mind. When I hear the word musical, I picture the big, sweeping Broadway-style productions with a full story arc delivered in song. And those musicals can be quite a love-it-or-hate-it genre among film enjoyers.Then there are the so-called indie musicals. This… Read more »