Festival archives
Cornwall Film Festival 2008
The seventh Cornwall Film Festival opened in style with wine and canapés at the Princess Pavilion in Falmouth and Mark Kermode (BBC’s Culture Show – pictured right) delivered an inspirational speech about the importance of developing the film and media industry in Cornwall. Later Mark introduced the South West Premier of Terence Davies’ critically acclaimed Of Time and the City. Over the weekend there were a total of five South West Feature Premiers which were either introduced by or followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers/ production companies.
The wide ranging programme included 11 feature films, 145 Cornish short films and 18 professional development events hosted by a number of influential industry representatives. Special guests included Mark Tonderai (writer/director of Hush), Frank Skinner (comedian), Simon Channing-Williams (Producer of Blindness which was previewed at the Festival on Saturday night) and John Yorke (Controller Drama Production and New Talent, BBC).
Please click here to see photos from Cornwall Film Festival 2008.
Quotes from audience members who attended Cornwall Film Festival 2008:
“Eclectic programming, fantastic location and friendly atmosphere”
“I have two castings as a direct result of attending - one for a feature film. Have also met some great new people, and consolidated existing relationships.”
“It’s helped me with my studies in film and also challenged me to think differently about the decisions I might make concerning my future in the media industry.”
“The experience of attending a regional film festival is valuable, as it conveys a more intimate feeling than national film festivals can offer, whilst retaining the momentum to attract well-known personalities and high-quality films.”
Cornwall Film Festival 2007
The 2007 Festival opened for the very first time outside of Falmouth with a Gala premiere screening at the Plaza Cinema, Truro, on the 8th November with a Gala Premiere of The Jane Austen Book Club which had near to capacity attendance. Cornish features highlighted the Festival this year with packed audiences for Dressing Granite directed by Bill Scott; The Midnight Drives directed by Mark Jenkin; The Lark, a thriller made by Cornish film collective War Rag; Alive Day, a powerful documentary by ikandi media and The Art of Catching Lobsters, the remarkable story of fisherman and playwright Nick Darke, directed by Jane Dark. All filmmakers gave Q&As after the screenings.
In addition, Bunny Chow from South Africa was a great example of low budget filmmaking at its best; Helvetica explored the world of design and psychology and finally Diary of a Bad Lad closed the Festival with a Q&A with director Michael Booth.
Our surf film event Board Shorts was a great success, held at the Sandsifter Bar in Hayle, it is now one of the UK’s premier surf film events. Other exciting screenings included shorts from the BBC New Music Shorts, and Kino Shorts, presented in association with Manchester International Short Film Festival.
Cornwall Film Festival 2006
In 2006 we moved to Falmouth's Princess Pavilion which doubled audiance capacity for our main screenings. Over the course of the weekend we held over 50 events including screenings, workshops, master-classes, networking, and discussions. There was over 27 hours of Cornish film to watch and with all over screenings it was difficult to decide what to do next! Bafta winning director Andrea Arnold present her debut feature Red Road, and Ed Blum presented his film Scenes of a Sexual Nature both provided entertaining and informative Q&A sessions following their films. The skills development programme was action packed and included Shoot Kung Fu, Surf Film Making, Sound and Editing, Writing for TV, Marketing and Distribution, Funding and Production. We were pleased to invite a programme of films made by some of the best female film makers from around the world provided by Birds Eye View, present a programme of surf films including rare archive footage shot by surf cinematographer Robin Kewell, and work with local company Denham Productions to present a programme of four minute documentaries, which were also submitted to the Channel 4 website and went on to become the most viewed selection in November. Film lovers were also spoilt by a diverse screening programme which included An Inconvenient Truth, Mirrormask and the 1920 silent classic The Woman he Scorned, complete with live piano accompliment.....
Cornwall Film Festival 2005
With over double the amount of films entered than in the previous year the Cornwall Film Festival expanded into new venues and partnerships including the new Surf, Skate Film Competition on the CUC Campus and complimentary Digital Art screenings at the Falmouth Art Gallery.The Festival revolved around the café/ info area. Local media companies and colleges set up displays and discussed their work. With more expert guests and events than in previous years, popular discussions, booked out one-to-ones with visiting professionals, technical workshops and masterclasses local filmmakers and film lovers were offered a chance to not only see a vast range of films but to increase their knowledge and skills. Local filmmakers were able to market their films at prearranged meetings and social events giving them the opportunity to discuss future projects and forge new collaborations.Top scriptwriters were popular guests. Olivia Hetreed (Girl With A Pearl Earing) took a masterclass and Jeffrey Caine discussed The Constant Gardner and his career after the screening. Caine was later nominated for an Oscar for his skilful adaptation of Le Carre’s novel.The Festival was assisted by greater coverage by the local press, radio and TV as well as increased investment from local businesses and organisations...
Cornwall Film Festival 2004
"If this is what Cornish filmmaking is all about, let's have more of it". Mike Leigh. The festival featured premieres of Vera Drake followed by a packed Q and A session with the director, Mike Leigh and Yasmin by director, Kenny Glenaan. Local low budget feature premiere The Rabbit by Mark Jenkin proved so popular that a second screening had to be arranged. Evening screenings were extremely well attended, and included showings of Kaplan, an experimental music/digital projection performance, Host 4: cinema screening and the Roughcut 90 Second Film Challenge. Other local films were represented in both Cornish Drama and Documentary sections and a digital screening room ran a rolling programme of over 60 films. The National Maritime Museum played host to a special screening of documentary Death on the Amazon, and a programme of films produced...
Cornwall Film Festival 2003
"The festival could definitely become a place to be I reckon." Andy Porter, producer, APT Films
The 2nd Cornwall Film Festival featured premiere Love Actually, Wondrous Oblivion and Fubar, as well as Mevagissey-set 1946 classic Johnny Frenchman. Over 80 Cornish films were screened in themed selections and continuous screenings - a mix of drama, animation, documentary and more...
Cornwall Film Festival 2002
“Inspirational to new voices" Festival goer. The first ever Cornwall Film Festival featured premieres of Lynne Ramsay's acclaimed film Morvern Callar alongside 1970's controversial classic Straw Dogs and local filmmaker Mark Jenkin's award-winning feature Golden Burn.
