This week marks the opening of the Northampton Film Festival's (NFF) newest edition, which promises "striking, strong, and brilliant" films, including stories made by Daventry filmmakers.
The independent non-profit organisation has been providing “inspiration” and access to the film and creative industries to people for a few years now – including Daventry directors and producers Laurence Maybury and Luke Tom Worrall, among others.
Starting tomorrow (March 8), the public will be able to watch a selection of films from across the country, including directorial and film debuts, well-known filmmakers and actors, such as Celia Imrie, and films with distribution deals.
Northamptonshire filmmaker and NFF director Becky Carrier said: “The film festival is about inspiration. The festival doesn't start until Friday, but we've already sold more tickets this year than we did last year. It's obviously growing and is growing in the right direction.
“The quality of work we've got this year is really outstanding, and that's from people with local connections and people you know from around the country.”
NFF began as a pilot project in 2019 and has since grown to feature films from all across Britain. In the fall of 2022, it became a non-profit organisation.
Becky said: “It’s great. In 2019, we didn't really know what to expect or what people really wanted, but we ended up with a really long festival after asking for people’s opinions.
“It was all about trying to give Northamptonshire people access to the film industry. I think film is a really good way to shout about the talent that we have here. I believe Northamptonshire is a great place to be making films.”
The festival aims to empower individuals, provide a platform for underrepresented voices, and introduce outstanding work from throughout the nation to local audiences.
The launch of the third in-person festival since the pandemic is hosted by the University of Northampton. Before the festival's first showing of short films, there will be a networking opportunity.
NFF has also partnered up with Delapré Abbey to honour the remarkable women in our community and to commemorate the festival's opening.
Becky said: “What was really great this year is that we had so many films that came from female directors and female producers with strong female leads, and you know, traditionally, it's still played out that the film industry is still dominated by white older men.
“I love Delapré Abbey and celebrating Northamptonshire heritage. It's a brilliant place. I just thought this was perfect; we’ve got all these women making really striking, strong, and brilliant films, and then we’ve got this venue that’s all about women not taking no for an answer, and we should definitely put the two things together.”
On Saturday, the audience can view a variety of short films, such as Chrysalis, Bedroom Light, Fifty-Four Days, Supervision, Fishing, and Beautiful Things, which feature women's voices or showcase female actors.
From dramas and comedies to documentaries and music videos, several films will then screen over the next few days, including the short films Benji and The Darkling Fox and the feature films Mr Doom, Much Ado About Dying, Straight Through Crew, Fabulous Femininities, and All Roads Lead To Home.
Becky said: “The film festivals are so invaluable. What I love about my journey in the film industry is that you just find this fire in your belly that makes you want to do stuff and create things, and I just really want to help people find whatever it is that's going to put fire in their bellies.”
The esteemed awards ceremony is set to take place on Saturday, March 16, at Cineworld Northampton, though the screenings will continue.
Since several of the short film events had sold out ahead of time, the popularity of the festival motivated Becky to add more screenings to the event.
The festival will now continue through March 20.
There will be many Q&As with different directors following some of the films so that audiences may learn more about their work.
To see the complete schedule, learn about the judges, view the film trailers, and purchase tickets, click here.
Becky said: “I think just coming and watching the type of films that we show, which are independent films with unusual stories, lots of which are very short, but they tackle some big subjects, I think that's just really important to people to get different viewpoints and see what else is going on in the world.”
Take a look below at some of the film previews compiled by your Daventry Express reporter, courtesy of NFF director Becky, which feature the Daventry filmmakers' work, among others.
9. Beautiful Things
A new technology allows two beauty queens who competed in decades of pageants to embark on a time-travel adventure.By examining society’s obsession with nostalgia, beauty standards, technological advancements, and the complex dynamics of friendship and LGBTQ+ relationships, the story offers a blend of striking visuals and a surreal and unexpected time-travel journey set across the evolving eras between 1940 and 1970.London-based director Maya Zupano, brought up between Slovenia and Croatia, said: “She is determined to profess her love and rescue her friend, who has been looping in a tragic memory since a 1970s pageant. However, as they move around in the eras of the past and start to connect, she discovers that even the most beautiful memories from our past may not be as they seem - and this can change our futures forever.” Photo: NFF director Becky Carrier
10. Mr Doom
An unlikely pairing of charming hustlers with a gift for playing pool, bad habits, and troubled pasts takes us on a journey full of danger and self-destruction.Struggling to maintain a career in the beloved game of pool, Charlie tricks Jack into joining him on a tour of pool halls that would inevitably end badly.Director Leif Johnson presents a dark comedy bromance set in a small town in the north of England in the style of a modern-day western, where pistols are swapped for pool cues, featuring music from Northampton-based band PhantomIsle. Photo: NFF director Becky Carrier
11. Teach
Filmmaker Tim Butcher, based in London, presents a comedy about a dysfunctional individual who has an obsession with controlling others and how this might be a coping technique for feeling inadequate.Stu — a bitter, bossy, and nihilistic tutor who teaches mainly because it means he can force children to listen to his opinions — is unprepared to handle the consequences of his controlling ways.Tim said: “Stu is a truly unlikeable character. But I believe he's also someone who is hurt by his own behaviour. And I hope the film shows that he's someone who, having learned a few lessons the hard way, may one day be capable of redemption.” Photo: NFF director Becky Carrier
12. Typical?
Frustrated by how they are treated, a group of disabled individuals dispute the stereotypes and restrictions that society has imposed on them.Director Sarah Leigh, a neurodivergent working-class filmmaker and advocate, promotes awareness of inclusiveness, equal rights, and various disabilities.The narrative unfolds through a sequence of short stories in which the protagonists breach the fourth wall. This guarantees that their voices are listened to and that we see them as individuals.All the main cast members have a learning disability, and more than 90 per cent of all cast members identify as disabled. This is also reflected in the crew, with more than 50 per cent identifying as disabled or neurodivergent. Photo: NFF director Becky Carrier