All arthouse roads lead to Keswick

Don't just take our word for it, but "All arthouse roads lead to Keswick"

So says Newcastle's The Crack Magazine who took a look at our programme and wrote this marvellous editorial -

It's particularly lovely in Keswick from late February and into March, not least because that's when the annual Keswick Film Festival will be taking place, and for their 20th anniversary event they've got a truly stunning line-up. It's not often that you find a festival that appears to have been curated especially for you.Glastonbury, for instance, always manages to throw a spanner in the works by shoving a Coldplay or a U2 on to spoil things, and I've lost count the number of times I've sat through crushingly unfunny improv sets at the Edinburgh Fringe. But the clever people behind this year's Keswick Film Festival appear to have tapped directly into The Crack's 'Very Favourite Films of Recent Times''list because on flicking through their programme I’ve found myself exclaiming: "Love it! Love it! Love it!"

You can see the full article on The Crack Magazine website.

Documentaires at the Festival

There is an intriguing strand of documentaries at KFF this year.

Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group has chosen a remarkable pair of films. Citizenfour is the story of the journalists working with Edward Snowden to publish his revelations about NSA surveillance. USA Today said "Citizenfour plays like a thriller as it chronicles a complex and vitally important chapter in our history".  A Long Hot Summer in Palestine is Norma Marcos' fascinating account of the impact of conflict on ordinary citizens and Norma will be flying in from Paris to talk about the film and her experiences.

Nae Pasaran is the inspiring story of the workers in Glasgow whose refusal to service the engines from Pinochet’s air force saved lives, several thousand miles away, in Chile. Thanks to guest Neil Sinyard and his contacts with the family of Director, William Wyler we have The Memphis Belle which takes us to the heart of a bombing mission in World war ll. Down to Earth, at Rheged takes us to special places on the planet, safeguarded by some special people.

Film lovers will need no introduction to Agnès Varda, whose Faces Places takes her on a trip around France. In the company of JR, a young photographer, they travel in a special box truck equipped as a portable photo booth and traveling printing facility. They take photographs of people around the country, creating special, colossal mural pictures of individuals, communities and places they want to honour and celebrate.

Guests at the 20th Keswick Film Festival

Our guest list is now on the website and it makes for a line-up that is perfect for the 20th Keswick Film Festival.

Carl Hunter is an old friend of the Festival. He co-wrote (with Frank Cottrell Boyce) Grow Your Own which was a sell out in 2008. We screened it again for our 10th Anniversary when Carl and Frank made the short film, Accelerate, to mark the occasion. Carl also chaired the judging panel for the Osprey short film competition.

Sometimes Always Never is Carl's first feature film as director, which comes with a tremendous pedigree both in front of and behind the camera. The gala night on Saturday 2nd March will be memorable.

James Gardner's Jellyfish has been scooping up awards wherever it is screened. James will be introducing the film at our opening night and will be able to give us an insight into working with the amazing young talent that is Liv Hill who plays Sarah.

Mike Tweddle, a master of making dramatic films with ridiculously small budgets, brings Sparrowhawk to Keswick after impressing the Film Club audience with his earlier film, Damaged Goods; Norma Marcos brings her unique insight into the middle east conflict with A Long Hot Summer in Palestine, one of two Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group screenings and Neil Sinyard returns, bringing with him a rare chance to see William Wyler's documentary on The Memphis Belle.

Passes and tickets are now available from Theatre By The Lake.