The shortlisted films for the Film London Jarman Award 2026 will be shown free at Whitechapel Gallery from 17 November, giving audiences a chance to see the work of the artists in contention for the £10,000 prize. The show runs until 13 December, with the winner announced on 24 November.

The Jarman Award, named after the filmmaker Derek Jarman, celebrates artists working with the moving image, and its shortlist is one of the most closely watched lists in British art film. The Whitechapel show brings the shortlisted works together in a gallery setting, letting visitors watch them at their own pace rather than in a cinema programme.

The shortlist itself was announced earlier in the autumn and has already toured, but the Whitechapel presentation is the London showcase for the award, placing the films in a gallery with a long history of supporting experimental work. The exhibition is free, in keeping with the gallery's commitment to keeping its programme open to all.

The winner, chosen by a panel of judges, will be named on 24 November, midway through the run. For the artists on the shortlist, the Whitechapel show is both a platform and a test, a chance to reach audiences beyond the film world and to make the case for their work in the setting where the prize will be decided. The award was established in memory of Derek Jarman, the filmmaker and artist whose work crossed the boundaries between cinema, painting and activism. Its shortlist has become a launchpad for artists working with film, many of whom have gone on to major gallery and festival careers.