Celebration of the silver screen is back in action
THE Tyne Valley Film Festival is set to return this month with its biggest programme ever over two weeks.
Established in 2019, the fourth edition of the festival once again brings film to village halls and smaller venues around west Northumberland, while a larger programme takes place at the Forum Cinema in Hexham.
For the first time, the Forum will partner up with the Tyneside Cinema, aiming to give the festival a wider reach than ever before.
Event organisers Forum Cinema have also commissioned some of their own short films by young, local filmmakers for the first time, which they are “very excited” about.
They will precede showings at the Forum itself, with longer features including Stardust, Blade Runner 2049, and Wombling Free.
The Forum Cinema’s Champions, a group of young people who have been mentored on film programming, event management, and marketing, will also host a double bill of The Animatrix, followed by Paprika, on Saturday, March 23.
With the aim of making the festival accessible to young people, all tickets for those aged 25 or less are £3.
Chris Kelly, marketing officer at the Forum Cinema, said: “It’s certainly very exciting and the expansion is what we’re really excited about.
“We’re working with more young filmmakers too.
“With it being a community-programmed film festival, that’s the main USP of the festival. People are able to show the films that they want to see.
“It’s a really nice opportunity for village halls and film clubs to put more stuff on with an extra bit of help and they can really push the boat out with their film choice.
“Bringing it to rural communities is very important, and these monthly film clubs are very important in keeping village halls going and keeping the community engaged with films, and we want to continue helping them in whatever way we can.”
Chris is excited about working with the Tyneside Cinema too, who will present Blade Runner 2049 at the Forum Cinema and cult classic Donnie Darko in its Newcastle city centre cinema.
“We’re very happy to have the Tyneside Cinema involved” he said.
“Not only did we want to get into Newcastle but to do it with such a well-regarded establishment and big part of the industry is really exciting.”
Andrew Simpson, head of audience at the Tyneside Cinema, said: “It’s a real pleasure to be collaborating with the Forum Cinema Hexham and all the other venues on this year’s Tyne Valley Film Festival.
“The festival is a growing celebration of cinema in the North East and is a great way to encourage audiences to try out new cinemas and experience a great line up of films.
“It’s also exciting to be able to take our own film choices to other venues.
“We can’t wait to present Blade Runner 2049 at the Forum on 22 March, and to welcome the Forum team to present the cult gem that is Donnie Darko at the Tyneside Cinema on 17 March.”
For full listings of what’s on and tickets for the Tyne Valley Film Festival, visit its website.