The Romford Film Festival is making its much-anticipated return for the 7th consecutive year, from May 24th to May 30th. This week-long extravaganza will showcase over 160 features and shorts, treating film enthusiasts to a diverse range of cinematic experiences.
Continuing its tradition, the festival will provide a platform for emerging filmmakers to debut their works alongside established industry veterans. The line-up is a mesmerizing blend of thought-provoking documentaries shot on shoestring budgets and breath-taking multi-million-dollar spectacles with dazzling special effects. From local talents to international filmmakers from Central Asia, this year's selection is a testament to the festival's commitment to presenting fresh content alongside culturally significant films that have made a significant impact on the industry.
Among the big highlights in terms of film screenings, the festival's opening night includes a screening of Warner Brothers' adventure movie, "Jim Button & The Wild 13," a film about steam engines, princesses, and dancing dragons. The film comes from the creators of "The Neverending Story" and has its UK premiere in English as part of the festival. Other films include the Clacton-made revenge thriller "Morris Men." The UK premiere of "Out & About," a pleasing drama about a man and his neighborhood, a trio of important and varied films from acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Kenich Ugana. Joan Collins stars in "The Gentle Sex," a short film that gives off big "Home Alone" vibes. Husband and wife team Joseph Millson and Sarah Jane Potts return to the festival with their new film "Care." Both are familiar to many for their roles in "Casualty" and "Holby," and last Christmas, they starred in Sky's big Christmas film, "Prancer Returns." Margy Kinmouth's highly acclaimed documentary "Eric Raviious – Drawn To War" makes its Romford premiere after having toured all over the world. Chelmsford man Scott Lyus' film "Walking Against The Rain," which also showed at the Romford Horror Festival, has its final screening before being available to buy. Meanwhile, the trendsetting film "Coyote" time-shifts a tale of a dystopian future, creating an incredible spectacle. "The Wife & Her House Husband" took the Prince Charles Cinema by storm in March, showing over several weeks, and sees Dagenham lass Laura Bayston taking up the lead. Bayston showed her film "Old Windows" at last year's festival and used to work at Premiere Cinemas, the venue where the festival runs from. There's even a film about a killer Pomeranian called Eric.
But it's not just new films that get an airing; this year, the festival is screening 3 films for free that it considers to be either Game Changing, Important, or Ridiculous. The erotic classic "Nine & A Half Weeks" returns to the big screen. This film from 1985 was well ahead of its time, touching the same ground that shocked audiences in the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. The film truly launched the careers of Mickey Rourke and Kim Basinger and featured a highly addictive soundtrack by the biggest artists of the day. In 1990, the film "Revenge," directed by Tony Scott and starring Kevin Costner, was released in the UK in a censored edition. The festival will be screening the first ever UNCUT showing in the UK. Falling under the ridiculous category, "Ninja: The Protector" concludes the festival. This film is stitched together from pieces of several abandoned movies in production and stars Richard Harrison, who went to Hong Kong to star in what he thought was one film, only to discover his scenes would be cut into 25 other films.
Producer Charlotte Atkinson is delivering a masterclass on how to get discovered by producers, so you can get better funding and make more films. vShowcards is holding a networking session on Bank Holiday Monday, and there will also be coffee chats throughout the festival, tackling subjects like social media and what to do with your film if you cannot sell it.
The festival will also be welcoming Bond Girl Caroline Munro, who will be sharing anecdotes about her career and signing autographs on Saturday, May 27th.
In total, 64 filmmakers are flying in from different shores to represent their films at the festival. The event will bring in several thousand people to the town over its 7-day run from all over the UK. This will consist of filmmakers, cast, supporters, and general film fans, all coming to be a part of this burgeoning festival.
Festival director Spencer Hawken said, "We can't wait to bring this year's films to Premiere Cinema. It's amazing how a festival can become so important to so many in such a short period of time. We have people that travel just to watch films from the likes of Rome or even Kazakhstan. These are people that come year after year to celebrate and enjoy brand new films at an affordable cost. A full festival pass costs just £35, and accommodation in the town to cover the whole period can cost as little as £240 due to the growing supply of hotels we have in Romford. It's great to see the impact the festival has on the town, from retail to leisure, so many businesses in the town benefit from the festival, often without realizing." Last year's festival brought nearly 2,500 people into Romford and filled several of the hotels.
As with every year, the Romford Film Festival teams up with the Eurasian Creative Guild Film Festival to deliver a solid selection of films from Central Asia. Festival Director Marat Akhmedjanov said, "This year's selection includes some of the best films we have ever screened, featuring some of the biggest stars in Central Asia. It's amazing to yet again bring the best of Central Asian Cinema to Romford for expatriates or Asian enthusiasts to enjoy. We show films you will see nowhere else in the UK." The Eurasian Creative Guild Festival is a festival within a festival, and Full Festival Pass Holders can mix up their viewing by moving from Romford Film Festival to Eurasian Festival Films when they screen on Thursday, May 25th, and Friday, May 26th. Individual sessions cost £4.
The Romford Film Festival runs from May 24th to May 30th.
