Northampton Film Festival 2024: ‘The talent in the room was next level at this year’s opening gala’

Saturday evening (March 9) saw the official launch of the Northampton Film Festival 2024, with an opening gala at the stunning Delapré Abbey.

The event formed part of a celebration of inspiring women across the town and county, taking place just a day after International Women’s Day.

Inspiring female filmmakers and on-screen characters were celebrated through screenings of a selection of short films, which gave a voice to their joys, challenges, achievements and fearlessness.

Northampton Film Festival is non-profit and exists to increase access to the film and creative industries. Each year it hopes to empower local people, provide a platform for underrepresented voices, and bring brilliant work from across the country to local audiences.

Having attended just three hours of the jam-packed itinerary over the coming weeks – which began on March 8 and will continue through until March 20 – it is clear to see just how much of a positive impact the festival has.

Delapré Abbey rolled out the red carpet for the ‘Inspiring Women’ day on Saturday, with plenty of film-inspired photo opportunities outside the beautiful venue and even an old fashioned car. This really set the scene for the evening.

After walking down the corridors of the Abbey, adorned with quotes from inspirational women, everyone in attendance at this sold out event gathered and mingled ahead of the first part of the screenings.

Though I expected a high calibre of talent across our county, it is not until you see it with your own eyes that you realise how many people are committed to telling and sharing their stories in unique ways.

The diversity of the storytelling took me aback and so many themes were explored in such a short space of time, yet each one was captivating in its own way.

One of the short films which I was really struck by – and you could tell the feeling was mutual among the whole room – was ‘Fifty-Four Days’ from directors Cat White, founder of the award-winning Kusini Productions, and Phoebe Torrance.

The narrative centres on a spirited young woman struck by a family tragedy, who turns to wild water swimming in search of answers.

Exploring the themes of grief, family, friendship and healing, Cat created this short film based on her own experiences – which is why it was so important that she starred in it as the leading character.

Cat was one of the five females from the industry who took to the stage after the screenings to answer questions from festival director Becky Carrier and the audience.

Each of them had involvement in one of the short films that had screened that evening, and it was interesting to hear their insights.

From sharing their personal journeys into filmmaking to the challenges of being a woman in male-dominated spaces, the event shed light on an industry that everyone came away feeling inspired by at the end of the night.

It was great to be surrounded by people of all genders, who came together with the common goal of celebrating women across the county.

For more information on what is to come throughout Northampton Film Festival and to book your tickets, click here.