12 November @ 18:45 – 22:00
Date: Thursday 12 November
Time: Doors from 6:45pm | Screenings start 7.30pm prompt
Location: SET Social, 55a Nigel Road, Peckham, London, SE15 4NP
Admission: £9 general admission / £7 concessions
For Night 2 of SET Film Festival 2026, SET presents a programme of five films exploring the surreal, the silly and the unexpected. Playing with performance and improvisation, they move between the everyday and the existential, finding humour in situations where the plot unravels and nothing quite goes to plan.
Featuring a strange cigarette-break reverie, best friends on a shoplifting spree, a strangely romantic fishing trip-cum-stag do, an intimate conversation in bed and an extra wandering around a replica of the American Museum of Natural History, these films are best watched with an appreciation for the absurd.
The screening begins promptly at 7.30pm and is followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, hosted by Ellie Dobbs. Doors open at 6.45pm.
Films in the programme
Sigópása
Rakel Andrésdóttir | 2026 | 2 min
A woman working in a fish and chip van slips into a cig-break reverie, daydreaming about befriending a fish and returning it to the ocean. United by their shared love of smoking, the pair hit the road in this charming hand-made animation blending watercolour and stop motion.
Trout Lake
Florrie James | 2026 | 15 min
A fishing trip-cum-stag do goes awry when it’s hijacked by a group of the groom’s disgruntled ex-lovers, taking an increasingly surreal turn as the day unfolds. Shot on 16mm, this strange, offbeat comedy uses naturalistic, semi-improvised performances, poetry and song to play with intimacy and the rituals of male bonding.
Sarah
Louis Scantlebury | 2026 | 3 min
A conversation in bed takes an unexpected turn in this intimate short about the strange honesty that comes from speaking in the dark.
News from New York
Sara Sjölin | 2025 | 25 min
An artist is commissioned to work as a film extra, shooting behind-the-scenes footage during a large-scale production set in a replica of the American Museum of Natural History. Fragmentary footage documents the set as the extra mediates the unravelling action, punctuated by the analogue click of shutter sounds.
Puppy
Harry Hayton Iles | 2024 | 30 min
Best friends Diamond and T escape an abusive care home and embark on a shoplifting spree across 2010s South London, wreaking havoc wherever they go. Developed through a series of workshops with Access All Areas theatre, the film was made collaboratively with its actors.
Tickets and booking
- General admission: £9
- Concessions: £7
- Festival passes: £32 for one or £52 for two
Each ticket includes a printed programme. Festival passes cover six screening nights, including the online screening, with only 30 passes available. You don’t need to be a SET Social member to attend; SET Social members can access concession prices.
Visiting the festival
SET Film Festival’s in-person screenings take place at SET Social in Peckham. For information about venue access, facilities and transport, visit SET Social’s accessibility page.
If you have access needs or questions specific to the festival, contact filmfestival@setspace.uk.
About SET Film Festival 2026
Founded in 2023, SET Film Festival is an independent, grassroots festival for contemporary, artist and archival film, run by London-based arts organisation SET and curated by Amina Ali, Ellie Dobbs and Verity Monroe. Returning for its fourth edition from 5 November to 5 December 2026, this year’s programme features four short-film nights, a feature-length screening and a free evening of archival film and performance. Each night centres on a distinct theme, with selected screenings followed by Q&As with filmmakers.
The festival concludes on Saturday 5 December with its inaugural awards, recognising work across four categories: Audience Choice, Special Mention, Best Artist Film and Best Documentary.
View the full festival programme here.
With support from Goldsmiths Exhibition Hub.
Poster design: @ashleykinnardstudio