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2025-08-31-accounts

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD

(A company limited by guarantee)

ANNUAL TRUSTEE REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR YEAR ENDING 31[ST] AUGUST 2025

Charity Number: 1182779 Company Registration Number: 08667207

Watersprite Film Festival Ltd C/O Hilary Bevan Jones, Hilltop Screen, John Gore Studios 141 Wardour Street London, England, W1F 0UT watersprite.org.uk @waterspritecam

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CONTENTS PAGE

Report of the Trustees .................................................. 3–16 Purposes and Activities ....................................................... 3–6 Year in Review ................................................................. 6–10 Future Plans .................................................................. 10-11 Financial Review .............................................................11-12 Governance and Management ............................................ 13-14 Reference and Administrative Details ................................. 14-15 Trustees’ Responsibilities .................................................. 15-16

Annual Report and Unaudited Accounts Year Ended 31 August 2025 ............................................. 17-24

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Report of the Trustees for Year Ending 31[st] August 2025

The trustees of Watersprite Film Festival Ltd, who are also the directors of the charity for the purposes of company law, are pleased to present their Annual Report and independently examined Financial Statements for the year ended 31[st] August 2025.

In preparing the Annual Report & Accounts, the trustees have conformed to the provisions specified in Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (revised 2015), applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

In light of the activities carried out by Watersprite Film Festival Ltd, particularly in the areas of Awards, Education and the promotion of film, television and other art forms of the moving image, the trustees are satisfied that the charity is providing public benefit under the Charities Act 2011 (further details on these activities are provided in sections 1 and 2 of this report).

The trustees are also satisfied that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant, in particular, the requirement that the Charity benefits a sufficient section of the public.

1. PURPOSES AND ACTIVITIES – WHO WE ARE AND WHAT WE DO

Our Vision

Watersprite Film Festival Ltd (“Watersprite Film Festival” or “Watersprite”) was founded in 2010 as a public film festival in Cambridge to inspire the next generation of screen talent regardless of their background, and to share knowledge relating to film and television amongst the general public, in particular amongst young people and emerging talent.

Watersprite became a private company in August 2013 and a registered Charity in April 2019.

The vision that shapes our annual activities remains a world in which everyone’s lives are enriched by the work of exceptionally talented emerging filmmakers and by access to free events which provide an education in Film and Television. The Charity’s activities aim to foster and nurture creative collaborations between young people, and to create a screen culture in the UK and abroad which seeks to rebalance under-representation on screen, in the workforce and in audiences.

We rely on income from individual donations, trusts, foundations and corporate donations and partnerships to support our work empowering creative excellence and advancing an appreciation of film and television amongst the general public.

Our Purposes

The purposes of the Charity are:

  1. To advance education through promoting learning and creative collaboration with the public, with a particular reference to the making and distribution of film, television and other art forms of the moving image; and

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  1. To promote the arts, in particular through providing opportunities to inspire and raise awareness about film and other art forms of the moving image, in particular, but not exclusively, through holding film festivals and public screenings.

Our Activities

Watersprite achieves its aims by organising and running an annual film festival, which celebrates the work of exceptional student filmmakers from around the world, presenting their work to the public for free.

Watersprite engages and attracts talented emerging filmmakers from all over the UK and around the world and invites them to Cambridge where the festival hosts public screenings of their films. These film screenings give the public, and particularly young people in the UK, the opportunity to learn about and enjoy new and innovative cinematic works, as well as to meet their creators in person at live Q&A sessions and foster enriching creative relationships, which they would otherwise not have access to.

The annual festival enables learning and opportunity amongst the public by offering a varied programme of free educational events, both at the annual festival and throughout the year, such as workshops, masterclasses and panel discussions with leading screen industry professionals. Examples from the past ten years include a directing masterclass with Harry Potter director David Yates, a Q&A with Academy Award winning director Mike Leigh, a panel discussion with BAFTA Breakthrough Brits, a Script Lab with a BFI Development Executive, an introduction to film finance and sales from eminent film financiers and a daylong interactive filming challenge with world-leading camera company ARRI.

As part of its Awards Programme, the Charity engages and attracts emerging filmmakers particularly from countries with relatively underdeveloped film and related industries, with a view to ensuring those who are talented and would otherwise not have the opportunity to develop or present their films, have such an opportunity. Similarly, the Charity has consistently maintained its annual festival free of charge for the public to attend as part of its attempt to engage all audiences with film, regardless of who they are or where they are from.

Our Objectives for 2025 were :

Finding and Supporting New Talent

Make Watersprite the most accessible film festival in the world by investing in access training for employees and an access coordinator for the next festival.

Develop relationships with international film schools and cinemas, working on events throughout the year in different world regions.

Work more closely with other film festivals, developing more opportunities for our nominees post Watersprite.

Develop Watersprite’s initiatives for underprivileged UK filmmakers with the development of Watersprite Hubs for 2025.

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Educational and Cultural Value

Reinvigorate our Creative Futures strand, making sure to work alongside Cambridge schools and the Cambridge Council to reach local young people, and to build on this work by reintroducing a developed version of our Creative Futures Day.

Work on a year-round programme, going into schools for assemblies and running competitions and events throughout the year for students to take part in.

Develop close relationships with local schools and have proper conversations with teachers about what would be most useful going forward.

Hybrid Planning

Make Watersprite more accessible online. In 2024, we used the main Watersprite website with a combination of YouTube and Vimeo. This works well and will be worth maintaining for future iterations. Also consider having events on demand only without livestreaming to tackle some of the quality issues of the streams (like the BFI Future Film Festival).

Audience Development

Increase outreach globally through connections with film schools and supporters around the world.

Specifically build audiences within the DDN (Deaf, disabled, neurodivergent) communities, through targeted social media posts and the improvement of our accessibility as a festival.

Run programmes throughout the year to improve our consistent media presence and to promote the Watersprite brand.

Start attracting in-person and online audiences for the festival weekend earlier through a build-up event. Use the same approach as for submissions to reach over 100 countries.

Building a Legacy

Work closely with Watersprite’s partners and friends in the regional FAN film hub and Cambridge City Council working groups to learn from their experiences and solidify Watersprite as a beacon of film education and young film talent in the South East through attending conferences, events and networking sessions.

Develop a stronger Alumni programme of events and networking. Establish alumni specific invitations to gala events throughout the festival weekend as well as any industry events throughout the year. Build in alumni opportunities for Hubs 2024 alumni as a part of the 2025 programme.

Continue and strengthen the relationship between Watersprite and alumni by hosting reunions, asking alumni to send us their news for an alumni newsletter and by sharing their success stories.

Financial Stability

Financial stability has historically relied on sponsors and donors. Although an initial extra cost, the charity has made the decision that hiring a second employee will allow the festival to have greater capacity to expand into public funding applications as well as developing relationships with new sponsors to increase overall funding. Therefore, for the next festival

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year (starting June 2024) we will be hiring a full-time Festival Producer to oversee the dayto-day runnings of the festival as well as a part-time Development Director to support the Producer in fundraising and charity development over the year. We are excited by this new step and hope to see it build further financial stability into the charity.

Student Committee

Recruit more students for each subcommittee, having several stages of recruitment throughout the year. Consider establishing a new role of Hospitality Officer, responsible for working on accommodation and provisions for nominees and speakers as well as organising socials for the student committee throughout the year. Also revitalise the Gala Team to be a group of 3-4 students focussing solely on the larger scale festival events including the Opening, Closing and Award Ceremonies.

Diversity

Improve diversity on the student committee and improve balance between Cambridge University students and Anglia Ruskin University students .

2. THE YEAR IN REVIEW – ACHIEVEMENTS, DEVELOPMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

– This year’s 16[th] edition of the Watersprite Film Festival took place over three days from 7[th] 9[th] March 2025. As in 2024, the Festival was delivered in a hybrid format.

New Talent and New Voices

This year, the Charity did not cap film submissions and received the highest number of submissions in the Festival’s history, with a total of 2,027 films submitted - an increase of over 15% compared to the previous year.

Through targeted outreach to film schools and universities, the Festival received submissions from 103 countries across every continent except Antarctica. These included 10 countries in South America, 36 in Europe, 8 in North America, 14 in Africa, 32 in Asia, and 3 in Australasia, with 11 countries represented from the MENA region.

Watersprite received the most submissions from the UK (428 submissions), USA (169 submissions), India (90 submissions), China (88 submissions), Iran (82 submissions), Germany (81 submissions), Russia (65 submissions), Spain (49 submissions), Israel (47 submissions), and Indonesia (46 submissions).

In our fourth year of running four genre categories, submissions were distributed as follows: 50.6% Fiction, 20.3% Animation, 14.7% Documentary, and 14.4% Experimental.

The filmmakers submitting to Watersprite reflected a diverse global community: participants ranged from 16–59 years old, 54.6% identified as female, 36.7% as male, and 8.6% as nonbinary or gender non-conforming. Additionally, 48.5% identified as LGBTQIA+, and 53.5% identified as non-white.

Online, film-affiliated judges shortlisted the 2,027 films to six films per jury. Final juries, consisting of leading industry professionals, convened in December 2024. From this process, 29 short films and 42 individuals were nominated for the Watersprite Festival

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programme, representing 16 countries including Singapore, Myanmar, Canada, Portugal, Hong Kong, and Malaysia.

We were pleased to offer 14 genre and technical awards, alongside an Alumni Award, an Audience Award, and a Film of the Year Award. The 2025 Film of the Year Award was presented to Syrian filmmaker Muschirf Shekh Zeyn for Future is Panorama .

We continued to strengthen Watersprite’s mentorship offer, inviting applications from filmmakers who self-identify as disadvantaged. This includes, but is not limited to, those belonging to groups such as women, LGBTQIA+ individuals, people who have experienced racism or disadvantage based on ethnicity, people with physical or invisible disabilities, and those from low-income backgrounds. Applications were also open to individuals who have experienced disadvantages due to age, marriage or civil partnership, pregnancy and maternity, caring responsibilities, religion or belief, and regional inequality. Three mentorship recipients were selected in January by the Watersprite Trustees, Festival Producer, and Festival Director. We hope that the year-long mentorships offered will support both the professional and personal development of the selected filmmakers.

In addition, we worked to create opportunities for nominees beyond the Festival itself, including free submissions for winners to prestigious schemes such as the Young Director Award.

Accessibility and Inclusion

This year, we appointed an Access Coordinator, Kate Lovelock, to support the access needs of nominees and audiences. We also introduced live captioning for all in-person events, British Sign Language interpreters at the Awards Ceremony, and ongoing access support for attendees and staff throughout the Festival. These measures enabled increased engagement from Deaf, disabled, and neurodivergent (DDN) communities, an area we are committed to developing further in future years.

Watersprite Hubs

Watersprite continued developing its initiatives for underrepresented UK filmmakers through Watersprite Hubs. Following the success of the 2024 pilot - which delivered a full day of workshops for 100 participants across six filmmaking strands (writing, producing, editing, cinematography, production design, and documentary) - we are developing the programme further.

Watersprite Hubs is planned to return as a residential programme covering most accommodation and travel costs, bringing together over 100 filmmakers from across the UK. The next iteration is scheduled for 28[th] –29[th] November 2026, with plans to deliver an expanded and accessible residential offer in partnership with the Victoria Wood Foundation and Screen Manchester. We have received 149 applications and are undergoing a comprehensive judging process with our steering committee.

Educational and Cultural Value – Overview of the 2025 Festival

From 7[th] –9[th] March 2025, Watersprite celebrated its 16[th] anniversary as a free global educational hub. The Festival continued to operate in a hybrid format, making nominated films available online and providing digital access to recorded events.

The 2025 Festival featured 13 free events, including Q&As, workshops, masterclasses, and networking sessions, alongside 7 screenings with Q&As featuring nominated filmmakers.

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The Festival was attended by more people than ever before, with over 30,000 participants joining in person and online (up from 21,000 in 2024). In 2025, over 3,100 attended in person and 29,200 joined virtually. (Please note that the online admissions have been multiplied by two, which takes into account that online material is not always watched alone. This is in accordance with ICO reporting guidelines). Audiences from 79 countries engaged with the Festival, enabling us to showcase new forms of cinema to a global audience.

The Festival welcomed over 30 industry speakers. Director John Crowley opened the Festival, while alumni Josh Baumring-Gledhill (United Agents) and Sophie Stemmons (Salon) hosted the Awards Ceremony. The closing event featured the BBC’s Boarders cast . All three gala events were oversubscribed for in-person attendance.

Creative Futures

We revitalised our Creative Futures programme this year, with a focus on engaging 16–18year-olds in the Cambridgeshire region year-round. This included workshops hosted at Anglia Ruskin University, screenings at the Cambridge Picturehouse featuring quizzes and competitions, and a film commentary workshop bringing together students from different schools to develop critical engagement with film.

In addition to our year-round programme, we reintroduced Creative Futures Day as part of the Festival. Approximately 100 Cambridge-based students attended a day of workshops and community-building on Friday 7th March. The programme included opportunities to meet industry professionals and engage with local film organisations through a creative careers fair, including Cambridge Film Festival, Campkins, and RTS East. It was particularly encouraging to see participants continue to engage with screenings and events throughout the Festival weekend.

Highlights from the Weekend

We delivered a broad range of events across the weekend, including masterclasses on set design with Kave Quinn, casting with Shaheen Baig, intimacy coordination with Robbie Taylor Hunt and Lucy Fennell, and stunt work with Laura Vörtler. We also hosted panel discussions on writing for Doctor Who , LGBTQ+ programming and curation, film law, making a first feature and social impact documentary filmmaking.

A key highlight was the strong sense of community among nominees, with many forming lasting connections and future collaborations. Watersprite continues to act as a hub for cross-cultural exchange and creative dialogue.

Hybrid Delivery

In 2025, we prioritised the quality of the online Festival experience by moving from livestreaming to on-demand recordings for the events programme and Awards Ceremony. This shift enabled greater accessibility and contributed to strong online engagement, with approximately 29,200 attendees engaging with the digital platform and nominated films.

Audience Development and Experience

The 2025 festival attracted over 30,000 attendees from around the world, both in person and online - making it the most attended Watersprite to date and a clear sign of our continued growth and expanding reach. Our daytime events, along with the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, were held as usual in the Old Divinity School at St John’s College. Screenings took place in the Fitzpatrick Hall at Queens’ College. The Opening Ceremony was hosted at

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Kettle’s Yard, while the Awards Ceremony was held at the Babbage Lecture Theatre, followed by an afterparty at the Zoology Museum. Using multiple venues across the city proved highly effective, helping to create a vibrant, city-wide festival atmosphere.

While maintaining core brand identity, the Festival adopted a refreshed and bolder visual design for 2025, applied consistently across social media, print materials, and merchandise. This helped distinguish the Festival edition while maintaining continuity, with items such as tote bags and posters becoming collectable for returning audiences.

Nominees received welcome packs at the Møller Institute, including Watersprite merchandise and letters, and were given handwritten cards from the student committee at check-in to add a personal touch.

Feedback remained extremely positive, with all FilmFreeway ratings at five stars and 100% of respondents indicating they would attend Watersprite again.

Building a Legacy

Watersprite was pleased to welcome many sponsors in person this year, including longstanding partners such as United Agents, Casarotto Ramsay, Salon Rental and Wychwood Media, as well as new sponsors including LucidLink and North Road.

Amazon MGM Studios supported the Festival for the third consecutive year as Awards Ceremony sponsor, Nominee Travel Sponsor and now Accessibility Sponsor, playing a pivotal role in enabling our nominees to attend in person.

Alumni continued to contribute across all aspects of the Festival - as members of the steering committee, judges, jurors, and speakers - demonstrating the strength of the Watersprite community beyond the Festival itself. This spanned Alumni from the very first to the last Watersprite.

We were pleased to appoint three new trustees to strengthen expertise in key areas of the charity’s current and emerging operations: Helen Simmons, a former Festival Committee member and Producer at Erebus Pictures; Kat Blair, Director at Kat Blair Publicity; and Nick Swimer, Partner at Lee & Thompson.

Student Committee

Watersprite recruited a student committee of 72 individuals from the University of Cambridge and Anglia Ruskin University, supported by an additional 20 volunteers during the Festival weekend. The Festival Director for 2025 was Lily O’Neill (University of Cambridge).

66% of Heads of Department identified as female and 42% as non-white. Committee representation included 17% from Anglia Ruskin University and 83% from the University of Cambridge. The committee structure remained largely consistent.

Financial Stability

The appointment of a part-time Development Director increased capacity for public funding applications, including to the Chapman Charitable Trust and Britford Bridge Trust and supported the development of new sponsorship relationships.

The Charity’s total expenditure for the year was £123,671. At 31[st] August 2025, there was £65,770.35 held at the bank, which is held as part of the Charity’s reserve policy (see

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Reserves Policy below) and in preparation for future programme delivery, including Watersprite Hubs.

Diversity

We continue to work towards improving the balance of representation between Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Cambridge within the student committee. We are encouraged by the strong diversity reflected in our submissions and nominees. We aim to build on this progress in 2026 through further global outreach, with a target of reaching over 105 countries.

3. PLANS FOR FUTURE PERIOD

Seven strategic priorities have been identified for the coming period (up to 31[st] August 2026).

Finding and Supporting New Talent

Consolidate relationships with international film schools and cinemas to expand our global reach. Increase submissions from a wider and more diverse range of countries, with a particular focus on South America, Africa and Asia.

Work more closely with other film festivals to develop meaningful post-Watersprite opportunities for our nominees.

Deliver Watersprite Hubs for a diverse cohort of underprivileged filmmakers from across the UK.

Educational and Cultural Value

Further develop our Creative Futures strand, championing the Eastern Screen Industries by working closely with Cambridge school and the City Council to engage local young people. Focus on local businesses and industry professionals as facilitators for Creative Futures Day, connecting 16–18 year olds with the local screen sector and fostering relationships that extend beyond the event itself.

Sharpen the focus of our events programme around demystifying different areas of the screen industries, ensuring maximum value for our predominantly student and early-career audience.

Hybrid Planning

Maximise the reach and longevity of our events programme beyond the festival period through our online platform. Invest in higher-quality recordings while maintaining the creative agency and opportunities of our student video production team.

Audience Development

Increase global outreach of our digital resources through partnerships with film schools, institutes and supporters worldwide.

Begin building audiences for the festival weekend earlier through targeted pre-festival events and campaigns within the city and South East.

Encourage festival stakeholders - including speakers, nominees and partners - to direct engagement towards Watersprite’s own digital platforms.

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Building a Legacy

Work closely with partners across the regional FAN film hub, Cambridge City Council working groups and local universities to learn from best practice and strengthen Watersprite’s position as a leading hub for film education and emerging talent in the South East.

Further develop our alumni network by encouraging former student committee members and nominees to remain engaged with the festival as jurors and judges.

Expand and formalise our steering committee of ex-committee alumni now working in the screen industries, providing clear remit and acting as a point of guidance for current students and staff on the practical delivery and development of the festival.

Financial Stability

Following the launch of Watersprite Hubs as a new strand of activity, the organisation has transitioned from one full-time Festival Producer and a part-time Development Director to two full-time roles. This expansion reflects the increased capacity required to support both the festival and Hubs.

For the coming year, a full-time Festival Producer will oversee the day-to-day delivery of the festival, while a full-time Development Director will lead on fundraising, charity development and the delivery of Watersprite Hubs.

This growth, supported by The Victoria Wood Foundation, will strengthen fundraising capacity and contribute to the long-term financial sustainability of the organisation.

Student Committee

Recruit the core committee, particularly Heads of Department, earlier in the cycle (July/August) to enable more effective long-term planning.

Place greater emphasis on training and skills development, offering supervised insight into all aspects of festival delivery for the students beyond fundraising and aligning student involvement with the wider goals of Watersprite, including Hubs.

Encourage multi-year participation, establishing clearer progression pathways from general committee roles to leadership positions.

Prioritise student welfare in line with the festival’s growth, including a dedicated welfare allocation within the budget year round and during the festival weekend.

Diversity

Improve diversity across the student committee, with particular focus on strengthening the balance between Cambridge University and Anglia Ruskin University students across all departments.

Further increase the diversity of submissions by building on our outreach to underrepresented regions and filmmakers worldwide.

4. FINANCIAL REVIEW

Principal Funding Sources

The total income for this year September 2024 to August 2025 was £139,381.86 (2023-24 £103,384.60). The income enabled Watersprite Film Festival to run a hybrid educational and culturally enriching edition and to contract a full-time Festival Producer and part-time

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Development Director to oversee fundraising, operations, strategy and the day-to-day administration of the Charity.

Additional income of £45,000 received in the year was deferred. This income was received from The Victoria Wood Foundation specifically in relation the Watersprite Hubs program in November 2025. Recognition of this income will be made in the following financial year.

The Charity’s principal funding sources came from Corporate donations (£103,695) and sponsorship (£41,855) alongside Charitable Trust Donations (£27,000), Public Funding (£8,500), Other voluntary donations (£3,332).

We were pleased to continue working with high profile industry partners like Amazon MGM Studios, Seven.One Studios, Wychwood Media and Google YouTube whilst welcoming new sponsors in LucidLink. In addition, we continued to work with some of the UK’s leading talent agencies, Casarotto & Ramsay and United Agents. Charitable Trust donations came from The Victoria Wood Foundation, The Britford Bridge Trust and The Chapman Trust. We also received funding from the BFI FAN Exhibition Fund and 4 University of Cambridge Colleges.

The Charity’s total spending this year was £123,671 (2023-24 £100,879.83). At year end on 31[st] August 2025 cash at bank and in hand was £65,770.35 (2023-24 £9,984.81), which is held as part of the Charity’s reserves policy (see Reserves Policy below) and in preparation for Watersprite Hubs in November 2025.

Watersprite Film Festival is confident that it has significantly helped the public audiences and young filmmakers who attended the festival towards a more culturally bright and interesting future and will continue to do so next year.

Reserves Policy

The trustees aim to hold three months’ operating costs in reserve. For the financial year ended 31[st] August 2025, operating costs were determined to be equal to the charity’s total expenditure for the year of £123,671. From this value, the target level of reserves was £30,917.75.

As mentioned above, the balance of cash at bank and in hand at year end was £65,770.35. The trustees are therefore satisfied that the reserves policy was successfully met for the year.

The trustees plan to review the definition and calculation of operating cost annually to ensure the ongoing suitability and appropriateness of the measure.

Risk Management

The trustees have a risk management strategy which comprises:

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This work has identified that financial sustainability is the main financial risk for the charity, given that the charity’s primary source of income is corporate sponsorship and donations and the duration of such support can often be limited to a few years at a time.

A key element in the management of this risk is via a financial plan for the coming years that diversifies the charity’s sources of income, particularly in the direction of public funding and support from larger broadcasters or entertainment companies.

5. STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document

Watersprite Film Festival Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee, not having a share capital. Watersprite Film Festival Ltd is also a registered charity and the governing documents of the charity are its Memorandum and Articles of Association, adopted by special resolution 11 July 2018 and updated 27 December 2019. Our company registration number is 08667207. Our Charity registration number is 1182779.

Organisational Structure

Watersprite Film Festival Ltd is governed by a board of trustees, with members of the board acting as both its charity trustees and company directors. The board meets 3-5 times per year to review the Charity’s accounts, receive reports and updates from the Festival Producer and voluntary festival committee, debate issues and agree strategies for implementation.

A voluntary Steering Committee comprising previous employees and members of the student committee are appointed by the Board to provide practical guidance to the student committee concerning the Festival’s operations and support the employees efforts.

A Festival Producer and a Development Director are appointed by the board to manage the day-to-day operations and activities of the Charity and festival. Bernadette Schramm (now a trustee) acted as Charity Director on a part-time basis (contracted four days a week) until she resigned in April 2019. Anna Keeley took over the position from June 2019, contracted on a full-time basis for five days a week until her resignation in September 2020. Evelyn Griffiths took over the position from September 2020 contracted on a full-time basis for five days a week until her resignation in April 2022. George Sallis and Tamzin Sallis took over the position, sharing the job from June 2022 on a full-time basis for five days a week until their resignation in January 2023. Amber Hyams took over the position from January 2023, contracted on a full-time basis for five days a week, before moving to the role of Development Director from June 2024 on a part-time basis for 2.5 days a week until her resignation from April 2025. Flora O’Neill took over the position of Festival Producer from June 2024 on a full-time basis for five days a week, before moving to the role of Development Director from April 2025 on a full-time basis for five days a week. Alexander Velody took over the position of Festival Producer from August 2025 on a full-time basis for five days a week.

Appointment of Trustees

As set out in the Articles of Association, Trustees are appointed by ordinary resolution of the Members and may also be appointed by the Trustees where a person is willing to act. Trustees serve an initial term of three years from the commencement of their appointment

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and are deemed to retire at the end of that term unless re-appointed. Retiring Trustees (including the Chair) may be re-appointed by a simple majority of the Members to serve further three-year terms, with a new vote required at the end of each term and no maximum number of terms.

The Chair is appointed and may be re-appointed in the same manner as other Trustees, and the Members may determine the rotation in which Trustees, including the Chair, are to retire.

The Trustees may also co-opt individuals between general meetings where a vacancy arises or additional expertise is required. Any Trustee appointed in this way must retire at the next annual general meeting and may be re-appointed by the Members at that meeting. Cooption does not count towards the retirement cycle.

When considering appointments and co-options, the Board has regard to the skills, experience, and expertise required to effectively govern the Charity at any given time.

Trustee Induction and Training

On appointment, trustees receive a formal induction pack via email to brief them on their legal obligations under the charity and company law, the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, content of the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the committee and decision-making processes and the recent financial performance of the Charity. They meet key employees and other trustees at the next board meeting and are encouraged to attend appropriate external training events where these will facilitate the undertaking of their role. Trustees undertake Trustee Safeguarding training.

Related Parties and Remuneration

None of the trustees receive remuneration from their work with the charity. All trustees on the board are non-salaried.

Any connection between a trustee with a sponsor, donor, guest speaker, or production company related to the annual festival must be disclosed to the full board of trustees the same way as any other contractual relationship and the related party.

In the current year, Charity Trustee, Brian Woods, was also on the Board of Trustees for the Royal Television Society East, one of the Charity’s partners. His position was declared and any decisions made by the Board were not unduly influenced.

Funds held as Custodian

The Charity holds no assets as Custodian Trustees.

6. REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS OF THE CHARITY, ITS TRUSTEES AND ADVISERS

Registered Charity number: 1182779 Registered Company number: 08667207 Principal address: 141 Wardour Street, C/O Hilary Bevan Jones, Hilltop Screen, John Gore Studios, London, United Kingdom, W1F 0UT Legal entity: Company limited by guarantee without share capital and registered charity Date of incorporation: 28[th] August 2013

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Governing instrument: Memorandum and Articles of Association

Directors and trustees:

The directors of the charitable company (the charity) are its trustees for the purpose of charity law.

The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:

H Bevan Jones B Woods B Schramm O Ladeinde F Bhula D Byrne K Blair H Simmons N Swimer A Parker

Our advisers

Independent Examiner:

Chris Varley, FCA Cedar Solutions (Management) Limited Prospect House 2 Sinderland Road Altrincham Cheshire WA14 5ET

Solicitors:

Tom Pratt Bates Wells & Braithwaite London LLP 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE

Festival Producer

Alex Velody

7. STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES RESPONSIBILITIES IN RELATION TO FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The charity trustees (who are also the directors of Watersprite Film Festival Ltd for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the annual Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

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Under company law and the law applicable to charities in England and Wales the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company’s net income/expenditure for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

• state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue to operate.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charitable company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The Report of Trustees has been approved by the board of trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Ms Hilary Bevan Jones (Chair Trustee)

DATE: 30 June 2026

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Company Registration No. 8667207 (England and Wales) WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD ANNUAL REPORT AND UNAUDITED ACCOUNTS CONTENTS Page Company information Directors, report Income statement Slalement of financial position Notes lo the accounts Detailed profil and loss account

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD COMPANY INFORMATION FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025 Directors Ms Hilary Bevan Jones Mr Brian Woods Ms Bernadette Schramm Mr Olufemi Olaoluwa Ladeinde Ms Farhana Bhula Ms Katharine Blair Ms Helen Simmons Mr Nicolas Swimer Company Number 8667207 (England and Wales) Reglstered Offlce 141 Wardour Street clo Hilary Bevan Jones Hilltop Screen, John Gore Studios London London W1FOUT England Accountants Cedar Solutions Management Ltd Prospect House, 2 Sinderfand Road Broadhealth Altrincham Cheshire WA14 SET

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD (COMPANY NO: 8667207 ENGLAND AND WALES) DIRECTORS. REPORT The directors present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 August 2025. Directors The following directors held office during the whole of the period.. Ms Hilary Bevan Jones Mr Brian Woods Ms Bernadette Sehramm Mr Olufemi Olaoluwa Ladeinde Ms Farhana Bhula The following directors were appointed during tt)e period.. Ms Katharine Blair was appointed on 15 November 2024. Ms Helen Simmons was appointed on 15 November 2024. Mr Nieolas Swimer was appointed tsn 15 November 2024. Ms Dorothy Byme resigned on 31 August 2025. Statement of directors. responsibilities The diieetors are responsible for preparing the report and aecounts in aecordanee with applieable law and regulations. Company law requires the directors to prepare accounts for each financial year. Under that law, the directors have elected to prepare the accounts in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Piactice (United Kingdom Accounting st8nd8rds and applicable lawl. Under company law the diredors must not approve the acwunts unless they are satisfied that thgy give a true and fair view ol the stale ol affairs of the company and of the profit or loss of the company lor that period. In preparing these aecounts, the directors are required to,. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently., make judgements and estimatgs that are reasonable and prudent., prepa￿ the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriale to presume that the company will continue in business. The directors arg responsible for keeping adequate 8¢<x)unting re(vrds that 8r8 sufficient to show and gxplain the company's transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial posityon of the company and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also resptsnsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable Steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other iriegularities. Small company provisions This report has been prepa￿d in accordance with the special provisions relating tr) small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006. Signed on behalf of the board ol directors an Jones (May 31, 2026 16".03..56 GMT+11 Ms Hilary Bevan Jones Director Approved by the board on-. 29 May 2026

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD INCOME STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025 2025 2024 Tumover Cost of sale5 139,382 120,6331 101,341 123,3201 Gross surplus 118,749 78,021 Administrative expenses 1103.0381 176,1161 Operating surplus 15,711 1,905 Surplus on ordinary activities bgforo taxation 15,711 1,905 Tax on surplus on ordinary activities 12101 13811 Surplus for the financial year 15,501 1,524

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION AS AT 31 AUGUST 2025 2025 2024 NotOS Curront assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand 210 9,985 65,770 65,770 10,195 Creditors- amounts falling due within one year 151.8501 111,7761 Net currgnt as$etsllliabilitie$l 13,920 11,5811 Net a$sgt$llliabilitiesl 13,920 11,5811 Reserves Profit and loss account 13,920 11,5811 Members. funds 13.920 11,5811 For the year ending 31 August 2025 the company was entitled to exemption frorn audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating lo small companies. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit in accordance with section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying witt) the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts. These accounts have been prepared in accoidance with the provision5 applicable to companie5 subject to the srnall companies, regime and in accordance with the provisions of FRS 102 Section 1A- Small Enlilies. The financial siatements were approved by the Board ol Directors and authorised for issue on 29 May 2026 and were signed on its behalf by eb'an Jcnes (May 31. 2026 16 03-.56 GMT+11 Ms Hilary Bevan Jones Director Company Registration No. 8667207

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025 1 Statutory information Watersprite Film Festival Ltd is a private cornpany, limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales, iegistration number 8667207. The registered office is 141 Wardour Slrget, clo Hilary Bevan Jones, Hilltop Screen, John Gore Studios, London, London, W1 F OUT, England. 2 Compliance with accounting standards The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Staternent of Recommended Practice.. Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in 8ccordance wth the provisions of FRS 102. There were no rnaterial departures from that standard. 3 Accounting policies The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the financial statements are set out below and have remained unchanged from the previous year, and also have been consistently applied within the satne accounts. Basis of preparation The aecounts have been prepared under the histr)rical cost convention as modified by the revaluation of eertain fixed assets. PresentatiTon currency The accounts are presented in £ sterling. Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Tangible assets are included at cost less depreciation and impairment. Depreaation has been provided at the following rates in order to write off the assets over their estimated useful lives of 3 years. 4 Debtors 2025 2024 Amounts falling due within one year Other debtors 210 5 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 2025 2024 Tiade creditors Loans from directors Deferred income 1,850 5.000 45,000 1,776 10,000 51,850 11,776 6 Company limitad by guarant99 The company is limited by guarantee and has no share capital. Every tn8mb8r of th8 company und8rt8kes to contribute to th8 assets of th8 company, in th8 8v8nt of 8 winding up, such an arnount as may be required not exceeding £1. 7 Average number of employees During the year the average number of employees was 212024.. 11.

WATERSPRITE FILM FESTIVAL LTD DETAILED PROFIT AND LOSS ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 AUGUST 2025 This schedu18 does not form part of the statutory a(xounts. 2025 2024 Tumover Sales 139,382 101,341 Cost of sales Other direct Costs 20,633 23,320 Gross profit 118,749 78,021 Administrative expenses Wages and salaries Staff training and welfare Trav81 and subsisten¢g Rent Internet Equipment hire Sundry expenses Advertising and PR Other legal and professional 59,434 198 178 25,525 2,035 1,565 4.942 8,511 650 44,042 78 2.016 18,321 1,633 264 5,473 3,689 00 103,038 76,116 Operating profit 15,711 1,905 Profit on ordlnary actlvltles before taxatlon 15,711 1,905