A Northumberland literary festival set to launch for the first time next month has received backing from Hollywood directors.
It is hoped that the Alnwick Story Fest will make the market town the "story town of the north" when it takes over for three days in February. And John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, directors of Hollywood blockbuster Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves which was partly filmed at Alnwick Castle in June 2021, have given the festival their seal of approval in a video filmed from the States.
Assistant director Thomas Bentley is also jetting over to the North East to lead two events at the festival, where he'll give inside secrets to breaking into the movie industry. As well as Dungeons and Dragons, his credits include Solo: A Star Wars Story, Wonder Woman, Mission Impossible 6: Fallout and the most recent James Bond instalment No Time to Die.
Though the festival was only announced in December, work has been going on behind the scenes for "months and months and months", according to festival founder Suzy Walker. The festival originally almost coincided with the Dungeons and Dragons release date, though that has now been put back to March 31 2023.
Nevertheless, there'll be a range of activities based around D & D at the three day festival, with some of those hosted by Alnwick Garden and Alnwick Castle. One is a three course dinner in the garden with LJ Ross ahead of her new book The Poison Garden, while Alnwick Playhouse will host an audience with local favourite Ann Cleeves.
Suzy said: "I think it's just incredible that we've got this kind of Hollywood support for our festival. John and Jonathan have said thank you to Alnwick Story Fest for hosting their film Dungeons and Dragons, and we've got assistant director Thomas Bentley coming to our little town in Northumberland!
"It just shows you what a little grain of an idea can do, seeing an idea grow, it's gone from a conversation in a pub of "let's start a literary festival" to Hollywood directors coming to Alnwick!"
However, Suzy is also keen that it's not all about the Hollywood sparkle and it benefits the North East community too, which is why Thomas Bentley will be judging the inaugural Northern Film Prize. Launching at the festival, it's the brainchild of Northumberland author and philanthropist LJ Ross, who has set more than 20 novels in the region, and carries a £1,000 prize.
Suzy continued: "It's involving the community, LJ Ross, our local writer is launching the Northern Film Prize which is encouraging local filmmakers to create their own films. It's not only "oh wow look at these swanky Hollywood directors," it's about how we can make brilliant films in the North East as well."
There is still time to enter the Northern Film Prize, with the deadline for submissions on January 31. Judges are looking for short films which demonstrate the spirit and heart of the North East of England.
The Alnwick Story Fest runs from February 24 - 26 2023 at venues throughout the town. For more information and to book tickets to events, visit the Alnwick Story Fest website.
What's your favourite story set in the North East? Let us know!
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