New Hastings film festival aims to be the Cannes of the future
and live on Freeview channel 276
It will run from April 22-24 at St Mary in the Castle and the Electric Palace – an ambitious project, says founder James Rowlins.
“The festival celebrates local film-making talent – scores of local film-makers and films shot in Hastings – with a focus on the esoteric (ie horror films), for which St Mary is the perfect venue.”
Full details are on www.rocksfestivals.com/hriff
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Hide Ad“Film festivals involve a certain kind of madness (logistics etc), but also magic – the magic of cinema. In brief, I am a zealot for indie cinema and mad about film festivals!
“I discovered indie film as an undergraduate in Paris and subsequently won a scholarship to study film at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Instead of swotting for lectures, though, I tended to skip off to catch some of the myriads of film festivals held annually in LA, which was a great kind of education.
“As a lecturer I organised mini film festival competitions on campus, and these became local institutions. But I also aspired to have an impact in the real world or industry. I launched Brighton Rocks Film Festival five years ago. It started small but has gone from strength to strength.
“I chose Brighton because it is such a mecca for free-spirited creatives from all walks of life. It’s incredibly rewarding to give a platform to kids – the film-makers are often young or at least young at heart – and to share that buzz when they are brought together and the thrill of seeing their work on the big screen.
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Hide Ad“The festival showcases a wide range of independent talent, but above all films that stray from the mainstream by offering some kind of alternative way of seeing the world – whether that be a different time/place or the vantage point of gender, sexuality, race etc.