Daisy Ridley and Jessica Henwick are guest judges for Worcester's 25 film awards, decided at the Swan Theatre on Saturday. Tickets are £15 or £45.
Daisy Ridley is one of two guest judges deciding this year’s Worcester film awards, which are handed out at the Swan Theatre on Saturday evening.
The festival named her in its own festival guide, published on the opening day. “Our wider 2026 jury includes talent from across film and television, with Daisy Ridley and Jessica Henwick joining us as Guest Judges,” it says. (The Ultimate Guide to Worcester International Film Festival 2026, Worcester Film Festival, 22 September 2026)
Ridley played Rey in the Star Wars sequel trilogy. Henwick has appeared in Game of Thrones, Iron Fist and The Matrix Resurrections.
Worcester International Film Festival runs until Saturday 26 September. It is using eight venues across the city, with three screens at the ODEON on Foregate Street carrying most of the programme.
What the judges are ruling on
The festival says its Official Selection holds 260 films. Its public catalogue currently lists 251 of them, and those listings are detailed enough to show what the jury is actually working through.
| Type of film | Titles in the catalogue |
|---|---|
| Short films | 191 |
| Documentary shorts | 13 |
| Animation | 13 |
| Music videos | 10 |
| Feature films | 8 |
| Experimental | 7 |
| Premieres | 7 |
| Documentary features | 2 |
Twenty-four countries are named across those 251 entries. The United Kingdom accounts for 205 of them. The United States is next with 12, then Ireland with five and France with four. Three films list no country and two record it as not specified. (Worcester Film Festival 2026 catalogue, worcesterff2026.eventive.org, read 23 September 2026)
The festival describes itself as BIFA-qualifying and as the only BIFA-recognised film festival in the West Midlands. For a filmmaker, screening at a qualifying festival can count towards eligibility for the British Independent Film Awards, subject to BIFA’s own criteria.
Saturday: the awards night
The ceremony is at the Swan Theatre on The Moors. The festival’s listing sets out the evening in two parts.
- Full awards evening, £45 a head. Arrive from 6pm for welcome drinks and food, with food served until 7.45pm. Eat Greek is bringing a food van.
- Ceremony only, £15 a head. Arrive from 7.30pm, with the bar open before seating.
- The ceremony itself starts at 8pm. The listing runs to 10.30pm.
- The dress code is black tie, or dress to impress.
Twenty-five trophies are presented. The festival says they are bespoke and handmade, “created by charity, Community Shed”. Films that did not make the nominations list can still take the Audience Award, which is voted for. (Awards Ceremony 2026 listing, Worcester Film Festival)
The festival’s own listings do not say whether either guest judge will be at the Swan Theatre on the night.
Before the ceremony
Saturday at the ODEON starts at 9am and runs through to the early evening. Nine shorts blocks are programmed, at £4 a ticket. A feature documentary, AOSHO! Voices in Bloom, screens at 10am for £6.
The last screening before the awards is the UK premiere of Legend of the White Dragon at 4.30pm, at £10. Signature Entertainment’s listing for the film names Jason David Frank, David Ramsey, Mark Dacascos, Cerina Vincent and Michael Madsen in the cast, and gives a Digital HD release of 28 September.
Guest judges are becoming a pattern
The festival announced its 2025 guest judges one at a time on its own blog before that year’s event. Ralph Ineson was confirmed on 13 September 2025 and Martin Freeman on 16 September 2025. (Ralph Ineson Joins the Worcester Film Festival 2025 Guest Jury Panel; Martin Freeman Joins the Worcester Film Festival 2025 Guest Jury Panel)
This year there was no separate announcement post for either name. Ridley and Henwick appear in the guide the festival published on the afternoon of the opening day, hours before the first screening.
What it means for you
If you want to see anything at this year’s festival, Saturday is the last chance. Shorts blocks at £4 are the cheapest way in, and several carry a Q&A with the filmmakers afterwards.
Tickets for the ceremony were still showing as available at both prices when we checked on Wednesday morning. The Swan Theatre is on The Moors, WR1 3ED, about 450 metres north west of the ODEON, so the 4.30pm premiere and the 6pm doors can be done in the same afternoon.
If you are driving in for the evening, the city centre car parks and their charges are set out in our guide to parking in Worcester. If you are coming by train, Foregate Street station is about 120 metres from the ODEON, and our Worcester train times to London page covers the mainline services. More of what is on in the city over the coming weeks is in things to do in Worcester.
Sources: Worcester Film Festival, Worcester Film Festival 2026 schedule and listings.
Have your say