A new festival of immersive cinema will open across city centre locations at the end of March. The festival will celebrate dreaming, film and performance over two days.
Light After Dark Film Festival: Cinema of Dreams and Shadows is a film festival dedicated to immersive experiences in cinema. It has been developed by leading film locations across the city including Broadway cinema, Nottingham Contemporary , University of Nottingham and the Playhouse.
The festival will pair films with performance, music, technology and art to give visitors an exciting, collective film experience. The aim is to explore how we experience film and create memories from it offering visitors a change to 'dream together.'
Some of the special screenings will include the sci-fi classic, Metropolis which was created in 1927 with a live score from local band, 8mm Orchestra at Broadway Cinema. Nottingham Playhouse will screen the unique film noir experience, Facades and there will be a roundtable cinema discussion on how cinema can access the unconscious at Nottingham University.
Nottingham Contemporary will host special 'night at the end of the world' event where visitors are invited to dream. The gallery is coordinating the festival, which is supported by the BFI Film Audience Network. The gallery will be converted into a club where chorus girls will dance, old movies will be screened above and fortune tellers will predict the future. Despite the glitter and drinks, the idea is that the world will end at midnight with a blend of dance, performance and live music.
Festival director Niki Harman said: “Nottingham Contemporary has been experimenting with immersive cinema for a number of years now, and we’re delighted to be working with such a dynamic group of partners to celebrate and explore such a unique and thought-provoking topic here in Nottingham.”
Martin Berry, Director of Participation at Nottingham Playhouse said: “We began discussions with Nottingham Contemporary pre-pandemic and it's fantastic to now finally explore this fascinating subject matter through a variety of artistic mediums -including dance, theatre, visual art and film."
"The Contemporary have put together a dynamic programme and a great example of Nottingham's artistic venues joining forces to create unique experiences together.” Tickets are already on sale through the event website, lightafterdarkfilmfestival.com.
