Northampton Film Festival goes on tour: NFF is coming to Daventry, Corby, Wellingborough and Lings

Northampton Film Festival has been running in Northampton town centre since 2019 but for the first time, it is going ‘on the road’ in March 2023 to bring audiences in Daventry, Corby, Wellingborough and Lings a programme of short films connected with the festival and their area accompanied by a Q&A from a local filmmaker.

The screening will include the first public outing in the county for the multi-award-winning Northampton-made short film 'The Operator' from Screen Northants and 'Mark’d' by Corby filmmaker Danny Gibbons which won Best Drama at Northampton Film Festival 2021. Due to the pandemic 'Mark’d' was only screened online so this will be its first cinema screening for Northampton Film Festival.

Each screening will start at 6.30pm and include a Q&A session with a local filmmaker. The dates and venues are as follows:

Castle Theatre Wellingborough 15th MarchWinner of NFF 2022 Best Drama, Wellingborough Director Marcus Anthony Thomas joins us for a Q&A after the screening which includes his festival winner film 'Swing'.

Lings Forum Cinema 21st MarchQ&A to be announced

Savoy Cinema Corby 23rd MarchWinner of NFF 2021 Best Drama, Corby Director Danny Gibbons joins us for a Q&A after the screening which includes two of his award-winning short films.

Daventry Arc 27th MarchWe’re joined by two filmmakers for the post-screening Q&A, both from Daventry: Chris Cosentino and Laurence Maybury. Laurence won the NFF 48hr Film Challenge Winner of Winners in 2021 and both Writer/Directors have had other films shortlisted for NFF since 2019.

Each screening has a 12A certificate. Tickets are £3 each or you can get in for free if you buy a Northampton Film Festival pass which qualifies you for discounted and exclusive events at the 2023 festival. Tickets and passes for all screenings can be bought here https://northamptonfilmfestival.eventive.org/ There is also a quota of free tickets available for young people where the entry price is a barrier to attending, which can be claimed by contacting Northampton Film Festival.

At the screenings there will also be a presentation about Northampton Film Festival’s new Youth Film Boards. Northampton Film Festival is creating Youth Film Boards of young people to create their own Northampton Film Festival events in each of the 4 areas (Daventry, Corby, East Northampton and Wellingborough) to accompany the main festival in central Northampton. The initiative has been made possible by the support of Film Hub Midlands and Northamptonshire Community Foundations’ #iwill fund.

The Youth Film Boards have been established so young people can decide on film-related activity they’d like to see in their own area, develop skills including event organisation, and take part in volunteering. Young people of secondary school age can find out more about the Youth Film Boards by attending one of the screenings or contacting Northampton Film Festival via social media or [email protected]

Festival Director Becky Carrier says, “The festival has always been about celebrating film across the whole of Northamptonshire so we’re really excited to be bringing Northampton Film Festival physically to other regions of the county, and then having new Youth Boards to determine a festival programme for their region. We’re also extremely grateful to Northamptonshire Community Foundation and Film Hub Midlands for their repeated support.”

People can read more about the festival at www.northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk The short and feature length film submission process is open until 19th March for the 2023 festival which takes place in Northampton between 22nd May and 4th June 2023 at Northampton Museum, the University of Northampton and Northampton Filmhouse. The submission link is https://filmfreeway.com/NorthamptonFilmFestivalUK