The Keswick film club was formed in 1999 and devised a plan to put on the first film festival of the new millennium. The Keswick Film Festival, which takes place from Thursday the 28th February to Sunday the 3rd of March has come a long way from the original incarnation back in February 2000. 

Festival Director, Ian Payne, said: “We have put together a fantastic weekend of film that will appeal to a broad audience and films from Kenya, Chile, Spain, Italy and China add spice. It’s a fitting way to celebrate 20 years.”

It begins with ‘Jellyfish’ at the Keswick Alhambra. It’s an award-winning British film about 15 year-old Sarah who must balance school, caring for her invalid mother and her part-time job. She also has a talent for stand-up comedy. The director, James Gardner will be on hand for the screening. On Friday students from Carlisle College will put on a series of events based around the legacy of John Hurt who was patron of the festival for a number of years before he passed away. They will be enacting some performances based around five of his films.

The gala screening on Saturday will be ‘Sometimes Always Never’ which stars Bill Nighy alongside Jenny Agutter, Sam Riley and Alexei Sayle. Director Carl Hunter will attend, along with a cast member. Saturday’s entertainment begins with ‘Fighting with My Family’, a comedy written and directed by Stephen Merchant.
The Festival closes with ‘Green Book’, a powerful film set in the southern states of the US in the 1960s. Viggo Mortensen plays an Italian-American bouncer hired to drive a renowned African-American pianist across the country for a series of concerts.

‘Arctic’ is Mads Mikkelsen’s latest film, it received a 10-minute standing ovation after its premiere at Cannes and Norma Marcos, who directed the documentary ‘A Long Hot Summer in Palestine’, will also attend the festival.

Making use of the huge Imax theatre, there will be three films screened at Rheged. “People can be put off by film clubs and film festivals” explains Ian, “but there’s a lot of accessible English language films in our lineup and it’s really worth coming along to try new things.”

For tickets and further information visit www.keswickfilmclub.org/festival/home