WHAT ’ S ON
Film Festival goes VIRTUAL CAMBRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL LAUNCHES A YEAR OF ONLINE FILM EVENTS
ast March, as the first lockdown was announced, the team behind Cambridge Film Festival (CFF) feared the 40th edition would
not go ahead. They acted fast to ensure the future of the festival was safe and immediately worked to save the event, so film lovers could continue to access films that weren’t available via other platforms. The team’s inaugural online event – the virtual film festival Amplify!, in partnership with FilmBath, Brighton Cinecity and Cornwall Film Festival – was a huge success, attracting an audience of more than 15,000 people who tuned in locally and nationally throughout November 2020. So, it’s no surprise that Cambridge Film Festival is now set to launch a series of year-round online films and film-related events this year. The Cambridge Film Festival at Home initiative kicks off on 8 January, with three outstanding films as part of the ‘A Film I Love…’ series. Special guests choose, present and talk about a film they love and why it means so much to them prior to a screening. Leading the line-up in January are three of the UK’s top film critics: Mark Kermode covers Andrew Kötting’s unexpectedly compelling The Whalebone Box , chair of the London Film Critics Circle and host of the Girls on Film podcast Anna Smith presents the hilarious Booksmart by Olivia Wilde, and radio presenter Simon Mayo professes his love for the three-hour epic, Amadeus (which coincidentally had its UK premiere at the Cambridge Film Festival back in 1984).
IMAGES The inaugural online film festival, Amplify!, brought together local and national film enthusiasts
films and film events to audiences in Cambridge and across the country, especially in these challenging times,” says Matthew Webb, executive director at Cambridge Film Trust. “We hope our wonderfully loyal Film Festival audience loves them and that they are a good build up to the 40th Cambridge Film Festival this year. It kicks off with the online events, featuring guests such as Mark Kermode and Simon Mayo, bringing hugely diverse screenings out of cinemas and into communities.” He concludes: “This means there’s sure to be something for everyone to enjoy.” Read full details of the online film events on the Cambridge Film Festival website. cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
Alongside the ‘A Film I Love…’ series, CFF at Home includes two more key projects this year. Cambridge Film Festival In Your Community is a partnership with Cambridge City Council to present free film screenings in communities across north Cambridge, alongside a training scheme for young people to develop the skills to deliver film events in their own communities. CFF’s Youth Lab, an exciting film education initiative, is also expanding, encouraging young people to improve their film evaluation and criticism skills and providing unrivalled access to filmmakers and industry professionals through workshops and discussion groups. “We’re incredibly excited to have the opportunity to bring a series of fantastic
“Special guests choose, present and talk about a film they love and why it means so much to them”
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