The Smiley Charity Film Awards 2026 Finalists Revealed!

Here are the 2026 Smiley Charity Film Awards finalists! An award eager to  shine a spotlight on the charities and organisations whose stories have captured hearts, sparked laughter, and inspired change. 

Like every other year, this year’s selection celebrates creativity with a cause, proving that cinema can entertain while making a real difference in the world. From heartwarming shorts to bold narratives, these films aren’t just award contenders—they’re beacons of hope and humanity.

Under £100,000

• Beyond Srebrenica — Inseparable: Lessons From A Nation Divided
• Billy & Beyond — Live by Choice not by Chance
• Bumba Foundation — Creating the Change
• Day One Trauma — Sunburn
• Food etc — Food etc and School Food Matters bring veg gardens and cooking to Bedford primary schools
• KitAid — Harry Mnisi Foundation - Sports Day December 2024
• Pill and District Food Hub — Pill & District Food Hub
• Sunderland Headlight — Any one of us
• Sunshine People — Let Them Hear a Kinder Voice
• The Brent River & Canal Society — The River Remembers (What We Forget)
• The British Porphyria Association — Empowering People with Porphyria
• This New Ground — See our Art, Hear Our Voice
• Trybe House Theatre — If Home Is Where The Heart Is
• YESfest — All Together Now - For Planet Earth

£100,000 - 250,000

• African Community School — Helping Hand
• Carmarthen Youth Project — The Young Person Crisis
• Face Equality International — Join The Fight for face equality
• Givin’ it Laldie — Givin’ it Laldie
• Headliners (UK) — In Charge of My Story
• Learn to Love to Read — All about Learn to Love to Read
• Lightyear Foundation — Fuelling Future Engineers - F1 Engineering Lightyear Labs
• OneKind — Don't Pet Me
• Parents For Future — Protect Our Kids' Futures
• Power of Polo — Breaking Barriers
• The Include Project — Eli T sings her story of inclusion: "Include Choir Angels"
• The Surrey Hills Society — East Surrey Care Farm Project
• Their Future Today — Love For Every Child | A short film by Their Future Today
• Words Matter — Words Matter

£250,000 - 500,000

• Ambition Lawrence Weston — 'Grow Cook and Eat Lawrence Weston' and the next generation
• British Association for Music Therapy — What's it like to experience Music Therapy?
• Chiva — Talking HIV: How Chiva makes medication easy to understand for children and young people
• Criminal Justice Alliance — The Cycle
• Icandance — Unlimited
• Integrate UK — Butt Naked
• It's in the Bag — Tom's Story
• Operation Orphan — Forget-Me-Notts: Tackling Bed Poverty, One Bed At A Time
• PDA Society — You can't see how I feel
• Ruddi's Retreat — Ruddi's Retreat - The Christmas Advert
• Shropshire Cat Rescue — Rudy Reporting On The Importance of Neutering
• Simba Charity — How Do I Love You?
• Simon on the Streets — 25 years of Simon On The Streets
• StreetDoctors — The Fatal Question
• Sustainable Merton — Where Food Meets Friendship: The Story of Merton's Community Fridge
• The Robin Cancer Trust — My Big Ballsy Challenge: Running For My Brother

£500,000 - 1 Million

• Carefree — Michael's Story: Change Happens Overnight
• Centre for Ageing Better — Smashing Ageist Stereotypes with The Traitors UK's Diane Carson
• City of Sanctuary UK — Welcome Changes Everything
• Company Three — No Doubt
• Dravet Syndrome UK — What is love when living with Dravet Syndrome?
• Electric Umbrella — It’s Not A Crime To Be Different — Electric Umbrella x Hertfordshire Constabulary
• Magic Bus UK — Before The Bell Rings.
• Music in Hospitals and Care — Supporting communication and confidence at Carmarthen Breakthro’
• Naturewatch Foundation — A Tail of Two Dogs
• PADDOCK COMMUNITY TRUST — Step by Step: The Power of Community
• Rethink Food CIC — National School Pantry Network
• School in a Bag — School in a Bag Palestine Refugee Children Appeal
• Sussex Cancer Fund — Not Just A Story
• Swindon Carers Together —- Give Me A Break
• THE LILY FOUNDATION —- What it takes
• The Elizabeth Foundation —- Just like any other child
• The Haemophilia Society —- Making Waves: The Gozo-Malta Swim
• The Migraine Trust — Migraine Means
• Twinning Project — Turning lives around
• Youth Careers Collective — About Youth Careers Collective

£1 - 2.5 Million

• Auditory Verbal UK — First Day
• Bipolar UK — Maybe it's bipolar?
• British Hen Welfare Trust — Celebrating two decades of hen rehoming
• Care & Repair Cymru — Improving Homes, Changing Lives | 45 Years of Care & Repair in Wales
• Changing Faces UK — Letter to my Younger Self
• Code Your Future —- My Future
• Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home — Leaving a gift in your Will to Edinburgh Dog & Cat Home
• Equation — Why you should ask about domestic abuse
• Grief Encounter —- Ease the Pain-Luca's story
• MedicAlert UK — Give the gift of confidence
• Micro Rainbow —- Who's There?
• National Prison Radio —- Connection
• Rays of Sunshine — Cissy's Rays of Sunshine journey
• Read For Good — The Magic of Stories
• Resource Alliance — Courage to Care
• Roald Dahl's Marvellous Children's Charity —- The role of a Roald Dahl Nurse
• SAFE! — Limbo
• Staffordshire Women's Aid — Celebrating 50 Years of Staffordshire Women's Aid
• Teens Unite Fighting Cancer — George - Living with and beyond a brain tumour
• The Electrical Industries Charity — Celebrating 120 years of the Electrical Industries Charity
• Welsh Refugee Council —- What if it was you?
• Women in Sport —- Dear Sport: A Break-up Story

£2.5 - 5 Million

• ADSS — Reaching the Underserved: Our work with the Guru Nanak Darbar Gurdwara
• Beat, the UKs Eating Disorder Charity — Eating disorders can affect anyone
• Cardiac Risk in the Young —- Clarissa’s Campaign for Young Hearts
• Catalyst Support — Steven's Story - A personal experience of Cuckooing
• Chickenshed — New Botanics
• Child Bereavement UK — Room for an elephant
• Epilepsy Action —- If I Told You
• Humanists UK —- Introducing Faith to Faithless: Helping people leaving high-control religious groups
• Kinship — In the same boat
• LGBT Foundation — Pride in Ageing 2025
• LIVES — No Night Is Silent
• Providence Row —- 165 Years - The story of Providence Row
• Rainbow Trust Children's Charity —- 'A very very big difference'
• Re-engage — Out of the Quiet...
• Resuscitation Council UK — Power in our hands
• Safer London —- Time to Listen
• Social Enterprise Kent —- SEK Breast Cancer and Screening Awareness Campaign
• Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS) —- We Hear You
• The Pankhurst Trust (Incorporating Manchester Women's Aid) — Kate's Story: Transforming The Lives of Children In Refuge
• Winston's Wish —- Ask Me: Education - supporting bereaved students

£5 - 15 Million

• Action Medical Research —- Eva's story
• Big Give —- Prue's Recipe for the Perfect Christmas
• Blesma The Limbless Veterans —- Not Heroic: Human
• Born Free —- Wildlife Heroes Episode One: Berket Girma, A Story About Rescue
• Brain Tumour Research —- What Does Hope Mean to You?
• CORNWALL HOSPICE CARE LIMITED —- Cornwall Hospice Care | 45 Years
• Caudwell Children —- My Potential, My Way
• Combat Stress —- The Road to Recovery: One Soldier's PTSD Journey
• Contact —- Contact Ealing: On the side of families with disabled children
• Cure Parkinson's —- A Question of Time: help find a cure for Parkinson's
• Friends of the Earth —- It's Not 'Just Business'
• Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance — Operation Airbase: Coming to a town near you
• Haven House Children's Hospice —- Through their Eyes
• Make-A-Wish Foundation UK —- Charlie's wish to be a magician
• MicroLoan Foundation —- Susan's story : Holiday Campaign 2024
• Shooting Star Children's Hospices — A Little Light
• St John's Foundation —- I've Still Got It
• Thames Valley Air Ambulance —- Here for you, however the story ends
• The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) —- TCV I Dig Trees - join the movement...
• The Drinkaware Trust —- It's okay to talk about drinking with Chris Kamara
• The Robert Dangoor Partnership for Living Kidney Donation — Is it inside you to save a life?
• Together for Short Lives —- One more trip down the river
• Treetops Hospice —- Busting Myths: Hospice Care
• ellenor —- Snowglobe moments

£15 - 50 Million

• Aberlour Children's Charity —- Aberlour Children's Charity Poverty Relief Appeal
• Arthritis UK —- What is it really like to live with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA)
• Children with Cancer UK —- Always By Your Side
• Demelza Hospice Care for Children — Daisy's story
• Dementia UK —- Open conversations about dementia | Sylvia and George
• GamCare —- GamCare National Gambling Helpline: Britain-wide Campaign 2025
• Havens Hospices —- What makes a friend for life?
• Help for Heroes —- The Veterans War - Fighting for Peace
• LOROS Hospice — Ryan's story
• MS Society — Jasmine's Story | Living with Progressive MS
• Mountbatten Isle of Wight — The Letter
• Prostate Cancer UK — Don't Fear Your Foe
• RAF Benevolent Fund —- One day's service, a lifetime of support
• Ronald McDonald House Charities UK — Still Fighting - Harry's Story
• Samaritans —- Help bring someone’s future back
• SeeAbility - The Royal School for the Blind — Ten times more likely
• ShelterBox —- Imelda Staunton's Christmas gift fail | Give a gift that means something
• Southern Hospice Group —- We're here for you. Will you be here for us?
• Young Lives vs Cancer —- Sam’s Story: A Journey through Cancer

Over £50 Million

• Action for Children —- Driven by love, we take action for children
• Alzheimer's Research UK —- Together. For A Cure. Now.
• British Red Cross —- Signs of Hope - British Red Cross
• Canal & River Trust —- Birdwatcher
• Cats Protection —- If cats could talk, what would they say?
• Comic Relief —- Hero Community Health Workers
• Community Integrated Care —- Best Lives, Bolder - What Strategy Means to Me
• Crisis —- Francois' story
• MIND (THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR MENTAL HEALTH) —- Stop the Snowball
• Migrant Help — Unfair Jobs Fair
• NSPCC —- Reality
• Oxfam GB —- No More Radio Silence
• RSPCA - England & Wales —- Alesha and Roy
• Save the Children UK —- Don't Mention the Children
• Sense —- Sense Awards 2025 - Person of the year
• Sightsavers —- Equal Together
• St John Ambulance —- Hi Viz Stress Vest
• The Donkey Sanctuary —- Stolen Donkeys, Stolen Futures
• Waythrough —- You Can Save A Life

Longform Under £500,000

• Butterfly Thyroid Cancer Trust —- My Thyroid and Me: A Young Person's Cancer Story
• Cavernoma Alliance UK —- Michael's Story - Supporting a loved one with cavernoma
• Climb2Recovery —- Climb 2 Recovery
• Larsen’s Pride —- What is Proton Beam Therapy?
• Music In Mind —- Voices Of Hope And Peace
• Richmond's Hope —- 'In Their Own Words'
• STEAM Co. —- #OurRailway200 - Using our past to inspire all our children's futures and provide lasting legacy for the #Railway200 anniversary celebrations
• Scoliosis Support and Research —- Living With Scoliosis
• The Compassionate Friends —- Take That Step
• The Who is Hussain Foundation — Hussain: Inspiring Generations
• UK LSD Collaborative —- Hadid and I
• We Can Kick It — Charity Walk to All London Premier League Stadiums!

Longform £500,000 - 5 Million

• Buglife — Coal Spoil Connections - the legacy (a short film by Rodrigo Bera)
• Cash For Kids — Finding Hope
• Children’s Heart Surgery Fund —- Because of Carin
• City Harvest London —- The New Normal, London’s Free Food Culture: From Emergency to Everyday
• ESDAS - EAST SURREY DOMESTIC ABUSE SERVICES —- 'From Darkness to Light: A Survivor’s Journey’ – When you’re ready, we’re here
• Fife Society for the Blind T/A Seescape —- Visions of Hope - 160 Years of Seescape's Journey in Fife
• Heart Church — 10 Years of Heart Church || Documentary
• MND Scotland — Bereavement Support Services | MND Scotland
• Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew —- Comoros: The Lost Palm
• Rural Media Charity —- Jordan Stephens & the Breaking Out Boys – The Interview
• Suicide&Co —- Heirlooms
• The Amber Foundation — Three lives, three decades - celebrating 30 years of transforming the lives of young people experiencing homelessness
• World Villages for Children — Irmas: The Life of the Sisters of Mary

Longform Over £5 Million

• Brooke Action for Working Horses and Donkeys —- From Skin To Skincare: The Shocking Truth Behind The Donkey Skin Trade with Dr Scott Miller
• Chance To Shine Foundation Ltd —- 20 Years of Chance to Shine
• Dementia UK —- A pub conversation about dementia with Tommy and Andrew
• Environmental Justice Foundation —- Adrift: Senegal’s coastal crisis and the deadly route to Europe
• Essex & Herts Air Ambulance Trust —- Essex & Herts Air Ambulance presents: Navigating grief after sudden and traumatic loss
• Greenpeace UK —- From The Sea We Came
• North East Autism Society —- Hidden Barriers: Autism and Airports
• Prior's Court —- The Long Road; Stories of love, hope and autistic young people with complex needs
• RSPB —- Return
• SSAFA The Armed Forces Charity —- Project Fire & Ice

International Impact

• E.D.I. Madagascar —- Madagascar : The beauty and challenges of a Great Island from a Luxembourg perspective
• First Nations National Guardians Network (NGN) —- Guardians of Lake Babine
• Grupo Mulheres do Brasil —- Fios de Encontro - Threads of Connection
• Life for a Child —- Life for a child 25
• Niños en Alegría —- Juntos por la educación / Together for education
• Save the Children International —- Every Baby Deserves More Than Survival
• Seal Rescue Ireland —- Leave Seals Alone
• WeProtect Global Alliance —- Protect Us
• Wildlife SOS —- My Sweet Paro - Remembering a Matriarch

Corporate Cause

• Argyll & Bute Health and Social Care Partnership —- Young Carers and Children's Rights in Argyll & Bute
• Audible — Audible x Artbox London: Talking Art
• Big Issue — Issues We Face
• Carbon Neutral Britain — The Carbon Neutral Britain Movement
• Climate KIC — Walkable Cities
• Dukes Education —- Pupil Earth Summit 2025
• Dulas —- Dulas donates life-saving cold chain to Zion Clinic in Uganda
• Lez a Lez —- Lez a Lez - Threads of the Earth – Reviving Tenerife Lace in the Heart of Brazil
• Lush Cosmetics —- Behind the Scenes of Lush Advent Calendar 2025: Shruti
• Mectizan Donation Program —- Mectizan Donation Program: 5 Billionth Celebration
• Medical Research Council —- Medical Research Council: The Power To Dream
• Modulaire Group —- World Engineering Day
• Next PLC —- The LOROS Hospice Elephant Trail: How Art, Community, and One Elephant Changed Lives | A NEXT Story
• Royal College of Nursing —-This is Nursing
• Sky Sports —- The Bob Willis Fund Saved My Life (Blue For Bob Day 2025) 
• Southampton Football Club —- WHITE RIBBON DAY | We Speak Up...