SMART is an annual one-day celebration of the creative impact of Smartphone Filmmaking - from no-budget DIY shorts to internationally acclaimed feature films, held at Finsbury Park Picturehouse on July 11th 2026

Smartphone filmmaking has become one of the most dynamic, exciting and accessible areas of contemporary screen culture, lowering barriers to entry while creating new visual languages for cinema.

This one day smartphone filmmaking festival included screenings, filmmaker conversations and industry panels featuring award-winning feature documentary Motherboard, filmed over 20 years on five generations of smartphones by Victoria Mapplebeck , and Shih-Ching Tsou’s acclaimed feature Left-Handed Girl (edited by Sean Baker) followed by a videoed Q&A with director Shih-Ching Tsou.

Following the screening of smartphone documentary Motherboard, BAFTA-winning filmmaker Victoria Mapplebeck and subject of the film Jim Mapplebeck, took part in a live Q and A hosted by writer and broadcaster Janet Ellis.

The programme also featured a smartphone filmmaker panel with clips, chaired by Adam Gee, with Bradley Banton, Tuwaine Barrett, Victoria Mapplebeck, Trim Lamba, Aamana Khan and Anna Novikova. This one-day event was a celebration of how mobile technology is reshaping contemporary cinema and audio-visual culture, and opening up new ways to shoot, tell stories and reach audiences.

It was super enlightening, one-of-a-kind and I was able to discover some genuinely incredible films and people who create in such a unique format!

Smartphone filmmaking is accelerating fast and yesterday’s SMart - the London International Smartphone Film Festival at Finsbury Park Picturehouse was the perfect proof of how powerful this movement has become!! 

So long as you have a phone in your pocket, you're unstoppable - this format can genuinely lower the barrier to entry, because you don't need fancy kit or a large crew to tell a good story.

This format enables filmmakers to reach the nooks and crannies of real life that they might not have been able to otherwise, offering a uniquely intimate connection between viewer and subject. A breath of fresh air. 

Yesterday led to meaningful new connections and impactful conversations, so thank you to those who made it happen!

SMART is co-curated by BAFTA-winning filmmaker Victoria Mapplebeck and former Channel 4 commissioner and digital innovation leader Adam Gee, in response to the rapid global growth of smartphone filmmaking as a fresh, creative and accessible form of cinema. This one-day celebration follows up the inaugural SMart film festival and is intended as an annual event.

Both founders bring extensive experience across production, innovation and festival programming. Victoria Mapplebeck is internationally recognised as a pioneer of smartphone filmmaking, having worked exclusively with mobile technologies for over a decade. Her BAFTA-winning short Missed Call and her feature documentary Motherboard, were filmed entirely on smartphones, the latter released theatrically in 2025 to critical and awards acclaim, and demonstrate artistic excellence and industry impact. Victoria is Professor of Digital Arts at Royal Holloway, University of London.

BAFTA-winning digital creator, Adam Gee, brings senior commissioning and innovation experience from Channel 4, Little Dot Studios and CAA, alongside curatorial work across digital storytelling and emerging media. He is currently Head of Documentary Campus Masterschool in Berlin.

This event builds on the success of the 2021 online edition of  SMart: The London International Smartphone Film Festival which attracted outstanding international submissions and strong media attention.