PLEASE SIGN and Confirm Your Email afterwards. After 16 years of allowing Crystal Palace International Film Festival to rate its own films (with zero complaints!) Lambeth and Bromley council licensing departments now demand they need to watch and rate all CPIFF films, charging us over £6,500 to do so! No film festival has this budget. With 132 films in 2025 they would not even have the time in the period we need them watched. 

This will end CPIFF and all that it does for the local area.

CPIFF is currently rated 4th in the world out of 14,000+ film festivals on Filmfreeway, it should be supported and cherished. Many many filmmakers fly in from across the globe to spend their money in these boroughs. This year 11 people came from the USA for animation night alone. We sell out most nights when other film festivals are empty. CPIFF sells out Picturehouse's big screen 4 nights every year, only Barbie and 1 other film has ever sold it out. Lambeth own half of that building, the cinema get a ticket share with a big bar and food take every CPIFF night. Yet the councils actively threaten CPIFFs existence.

A blanket 18 certificate is the only other option - this has NOT been offered.  However, a blanket 18 will mean young creatives will never again be inspired to go on to amazing careers in the industry.

CPIFF has a rich history of inspiring young creatives, serving as a launchpad for budding talents into the film and creative industries. This will end. An 18 year old came to me on launch night 2025 saying they came aged 15 and was so blown away they are now studying film at university and loving it. This won't happen again.

Our Rising Star award screened 16 to 26 year old filmmakers and got them paid film industry work experience, many went on to full time employment. Jasmin John has a flourishing career as a high end editor on Netflix shows such as Adolescence. She got a start with CPIFF. Mykea Perry won our Rising Star Award - he has just graduated from the National Film and Television School - this will all end!

Child actors cannot watch themselves on the big screen. Parent actors/directors cannot bring their kids. Every year we get many emails asking why are most nights 18 we want to show our kids these amazing creations and to meet the filmmakers. PLEASE SIGN.

Their whole position is based on one line from the 22 years out of date 2003 licensing act which says 'the Licensing Authority shall concern itself primarily with the protection of children from harm when classifying films'. No-one under 12 has ever been to CPIFF, we are talking about teenagers who are now all on the internet with access to anything! They will not be 'harmed' at a cultural film festival. What does this 'harm' even look like? Will a teen be so traumatised by a film I have personally chosen after 16 years of doing so that they are carried out a gibbering wreck? It is bureaucratic nonsense. 

To make it easy for the councils we just need 3 nights in each borough for under 18s (a 12 and 2 x 15). I can personally make sure teenagers are 'protected from harm' as they have been for 16 years, it is not difficult. One of their own licensing officers stated that I am more qualified to rate films than anyone in licensing (he is correct! 30+ years producing film, 14 years running 2 video shops, 16 years running CPIFF with zero complaints - compared to a lad who's been working in the licensing office for 2 months). He proposed they could choose a handful of films to check I'm rating them appropriately - under one hour. His head of department said they do not have the resources...are they simply profiteering or just being blindly autocratic?

We have been met with absolute obstruction when challenging this outrage and even purposely over-charged by Bromley when they insisted we submit a film before they can even discuss anything at all.

Allowing us to continue to rate our own films is a simple progressive move forward and such a small undertaking for the huge social and legacy leaving benefits it delivers for our creative youth. Please urge Bromley and Lambeth councils to reconsider their outdated licensing policies and make a meaningful difference to the lives of young creatives. Stopping CPIFF's youth progression IS HARM! The council have a very real duty to keep these proven avenues into education and employment open. 

Help bring the love of independent film to teenage audiences - sign to show your support for young artists, future innovators and help keep CPIFF 'the world's coolest film festival' alive and well in the area. 

Many, many thanks

Neill Roy
CPIFF founder.