Beeston film festival is back and this year it has moved to The Arc cinema in the town centre. The film festival screens the very best in short films that are submitted from film makers all over the world and selected by a local panel of cinema enthusiasts.
The festival, now in its 8th year temporarily moved online during Covid so that it could keep providing fans with its short films. It introduced new categories in 2021 including Pride which showcased new and exciting queer cinema. In a nod to the new normal, the festival will also be available to screen from the comfort of your own home online.
One of the highlights of the festival is the award ceremony which see film makers selected for a prestigious 'B'Oscars' award. In previous years, the B'Oscars have travelled across the globe to reach the winners and are made locally.
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The films are divided across a diverse range of categories including: horror, drama, crime, animation and women's voices. There are special categories for student films which has seen entries from countries such as Estonia, America, Mexico and the UK.
Speaking with the Nottingham Post, Festival director John Currie is excited to see the festival launch in the new location and also highlighted some of the 'must-see' shorts.
"This will be the 8th Beeston Film Festival and it Focuses on creating an exciting collection of international short films. It begins Friday April 1st and finishes Sunday April 3rd with our Award Ceremony, the world-famous B’oscars."
He added: "It is hard to isolate any single highlight out of 130 films from over 30 countries. In the Opening session we have Hollywood actor, Will Poulter, starring in the dramatic, 10, suspenseful, Bainne, which you set in in Ireland during the famine. Also on the opening night, we have BAFTA winner David Bradley starring in the tender story of a lonely man, Roy, finding company through calling strangers he finds in a telephone directory. And there is joy and revolution from the wonderful French animation, The Soloists, where a group of female singers rage against the system."
The Arc cinema opened in Beeston in 2014 and has become a huge social hub for the town. Cinema-goers will able to take full advantage of the bar and snack foods. The film festival has been ranked in the Top 100 Best Reviewed Film Festivals on the leading festival platform, FilmFreeway again this year.
"Being at the Arc for the first time is going to be a wonderful experience. Over the last eight years we have promoted the work of up-and-coming filmmakers through a whole variety of venues but to host their great work now in a modern, high-quality, multiplex, such as the Arc is fantastic. It is an amazing opportunity to see their in all their glory," John said.
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Plans are already in place to celebrate the festival's tenth year celebrations in 2024 which will see the festival potentially extended to two weeks. The team also hopes to screen two full length films for the first time in the history of the festival.
The festival starts with a launch night on Friday at 8pm and it will also run over Saturday and Sunday. The line up of films varies each day with different categories featuring around six films each.
Tickets are available online from the festival Eventbrite page and website.
