Bedford Film Festival returns at the end of September, promising something to suit all tastes, with feature films and documentaries from across the world and locally-shot short films from Bedfordshire’s aspiring film makers.
The event itself kicks off on 23 September, with a warm-up charity screening, in aid of eating disorder charity B-Eat, of new British Rom-Com/Drama Delicious at The Pad Nightclub. The film has a connection with Bedford as local band Cicero Buck have provided a song for the film’s soundtrack. The director of the film, Tammy Riley-Smith, will be attending the screening for a Q&A after the film and Cicero Buck will be performing too.
The full festival kicks off a few days later on Friday 26 September with a full day of workshops at Bedford College, led by film industry experts in Directing, Make-Up, Documentary Making and Editing, before a screening at The Higgins Museum on Castle Lane of Italian Oscar winning film The Great Beauty.
Nine films over two days then follow, including:
- Aladdin – The animated classic introducing younger audiences to the genius of Robin Williams.
- Ida – A Polish film about a young girl on a journey of discovery as she researches her family’s dark history.
- Tony Benn: Will and Testament – A brand new documentary about one of our most respected politicians.
- Sign Painters – Presented by Bedfordshire Creative Arts, this documentary looks at the dying art of freehand sing painting in spectacular fashion.
- Night Moves – Jesse Eisenberg and Dakota Fanning star as hard-core environmental activists whose plans don’t go well.
- Palo Alto – A teen movie for the ages, and debut feature for Gia Coppola. Starring James Franco, Val Kilmer and Emma Roberts.
- The Slums of Berlin – This 1925 classic gives a hard-hitting attack on a society that gave no second chances.
- Supernova– This beautifully shot comingof-age Dutch film follows Meis, a bored fifteen year old girl looking for excitement in her small town.
- 20,000 Days on Earth – A bold look at one of music’s most mysterious and charismatic figures: Nick Cave. Also features Kylie Minogue and Ray Winstone.
Within the features and documentaries will also be a Shorts Session featuring the work of incredibly talented local filmmakers. These include films shot in Bedford, Wootton, Cranfield and Sharnbrook. The Shorts Session is free but also aims to raise awareness and funds for Bedford Day Care Hospice and music event Oxjam.
Paul Hutchinson, from Bedford Film Festival, says the selection this year truly shows how varied cinema can be: “We’ve received excellent feedback about this year’s line-up and tickets are already selling well, proving there is a genuine desire for events like this to show films, for all ages and tastes, which are not always available in the main stream.
“We’re also very proud to be supporting aspiring local film makers with our filmmaking workshops presented by world class industry experts, and by showing locally made short films that prove the wealth of filmmaking talent on Bedford’s doorstep.”
You can purchase tickets for the screenings and get the latest information about Bedford Film Festival at www.BedfordFilmFestival.org.
