2020 Audience Awards

In true style, the KFF audience asserted its independence by choosing The Personal History of David Copperfield as its favourite feature film, ahead of big hitters like Parasite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire – and who could argue with such a joyous choice?

The Festival always throws up surprises and Amanda and No Fathers in Kashmir were unexpected pleasures – the latter made more so by the arrival of its star Zara La Peta Webb, along with her family.

The audience did however follow convention in selecting For Sama as the best documentary, with a stunning score of 96.88% - our highest ever score.

Audience Awards – Feature Films

• The Personal History of David Copperfield 85.84%
• Amanda 84.82%
• No Fathers in Kashmir 83.42%
• So Long My Son 82.48%
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire 81.33%
• Parasite 80.00%

Audience Awards – Documentaries

• For Sama 96.88%
• The Kingmaker 83.33%
• The Cordillera of Dreams 79.71%
• Derrière Les Fronts 69.95%

2020 Osprey Short Film Award Winners

More than 100 people came along to the Alhambra on Saturday afternoon to watch a selection of short films. Directors Richard Heap and Mike Tweddle, whose films opened the festival on Thursday evening, handed out the prizes.

The audience selected CROSS by Gillian Harker for the Audience Award and the Judges awarded their prizes to LEARNER by the Signal Film and Media BFI Film Academy group in the Student category and A PINK CHRISTMAS by Adam Ibbotson in the Open category.

Many thanks to all who came along and to the film makers for creating an amazing selection of films.

Film Club Continues on Sunday with The Third Wife

The Festival may be over but Keswick Film Club has four more films coming up every Sunday evening until the end of March.

The Third Wife - Sunday 8th March 5pm
A Hidden Life - Sunday 15th March 4:30pm
Bacura - Sunday 22nd March 5pm
The Truth - Sunday 29th March 5pm

Sunday at Keswick Film Festival

It's the last day of the Festival but there's still plenty to enjoy including Sight & Sound's first and fifth best films of 2019 (although you will have to choose between them) and a preview of Roger Michell's Blackbird starring Susan Sarandon, Kate Winslet and Mia Wasikowska.

• The Kingmaker - 11:15am Alhambra
• Derriere Les Fronts - 11:00am Theatre By The Lake
• A Picture with Yuki - 2:00pm Alhambra
• No Fathers in Kashmir - 2:00pm Theatre By The Lake
• Portrait of a Lady on Fire - 5:00pm  Alhambra
• The Souvenir - 5:00pm  Theatre By The Lake
• Blackbird - 8:00pm Alhambra

Saturday at Keswick Film Festival

Make the most of your leap day by choosing from 11 very different films including the first screening of Ken Russell's Dance Of The Seven Veils in 50 years. 

• The Personal History of David Copperfield - 11:00am Alhambra
• For Sama - 11:00am Theatre By The Lake
• The Cordillera of Dreams - 11:30am Rheged
• Osprey Short Film Awards - 2:00pm Alhambra
• So Long My Son - 2:00pm Theatre By The Lake
• Tumbbad - 2:00pm Rheged
• Belonging - 4:00pm Alhambra
• Hope Gap - 6:15pm Alhambra
• The Farewell - 6:15pm Theatre By The Lake
• Midsommar - 6:00pm Studio (TBTL)
• SOLD OUT: Parasite - 9:00pm Alhambra
• Dance of the Seven Veils - 9:00pm Theatre By The Lake

Friday at Keswick Film Festival

It's the first full day of the Festival and there are 9 films to choose from including 3 films that have yet to be released in the UK. Students from Carlisle College are taking over the Theatre Studio for an afternoon of multi-media performances, this year taking inspiration from the films of Tilda Swinton as part of our Patron's Legacy Project.

• Amanda - 12:30pm Alhambra
• The Run + Nicky Spinks - Bob Graham Round - 12:30pm Theatre By The Lake
• The Patron's Legacy Project from 1:00pm Studio (TBTL)
• Noah Land - 3:30pm Alhambra
• Ága - 3:30pm Theatre By The Lake
• First Love - 6:00pm Alhambra
• The Tobacconist - 6:00pm Theatre By The Lake
• Only Lovers Left Alive - 6:00pm Studio (TBTL)
• Monos - 9:00pm Alhambra
• The Nightingale - 9:00pm Theatre By The Lake

The 21st Keswick Film Festival Starts Tonight

The doors of the Alhambra will be open from 7pm for people to collect their passes and tickets for the Opening Night films. At 7:30pm things will get underway with Mike Tweddle’s new short film, The Curator featuring Derek Griffiths. Our feature length opening film has already been a hit on the festival circuit and we're delighted that writer-director Richard Heap will be here to introduce The Runaways and answer questions after the film. We'll then be moving down to The Lion for the Pass Holders' Party, a great opportunity to meets other people making the most of the weekend of fantastic film.

Ticket Only Admission For Parasite

Notice to Passholders

Demand for the screening of Parasite is high and we have just released a small number of additional seats for booking by passholders – contact the Theatre by the Lake Box Office, by phone or in person, to reserve your seat.

Booking Recommended For Parasite

Our screening of Parasite is understandably popular and is likely to sell out any day now. If you are a Pass Holder and have not yet booked a free ticket, you should do so as soon as possible by contacting the Theatre By The Lake Box Office (017687 74411).

Having said that the alternative that evening, Dance of the Seven Veils will be well worth watching. See this weekend’s Observer to find out more! Lisi Russell’s interview for Radio 4s The Film Programme is available on the BBC Sounds app, which will further whet the appetite.

For those local to the area, if it makes a difference to your film choice, The Alhambra will be screening Parasite from 7th March.

Opening Night Films

Our opening night is only a week away. We'll be starting with  Mike Tweddle’s short film The Curator starring none other than Derek Griffiths “The Curator leads a lonely life. His whole life’s work has been art and his gallery. But his life is at a crossroads and his facade of knowledge, knowing and complacency is turned upside down following the most innocent of encounters. Can he cast aside all that he has believed in and see the world from anew?”

Anyone who saw White House Farm on TV will relish seeing Mark Addy again in The Runaways, alongside Tara Fitzgerald and rising star, Molly Windsor. It's the story of three children (and two donkeys) crossing the North York moors to find their estranged mother and avoid 'The Social Services'. We are thrilled that writer-director Richard Heap will be joining us to introduce the film and hold a Q&A after the screening.

The Warmer Climes of Keswick Film Festival

The Festival is almost here and as Storm Dennis batters us, we can think about those warm dry hours ahead as KFF takes us across the world to some warmer climes – the heat of India in Tumbbad and The Run; the humidity of the Philippines in The Kingmaker or Australia with The Nightingale and the dry heat of the middle east in For Sama and Derrière les Fronts. It was pretty hot by the look of it when Dance of the Seven Veils was filmed in Keswick all those years ago. OK, so it rains during Parasite but we can live with that!

Pass Holders' Party

After our opening films we'll be heading down to The Lion (previously The Golden Lion) for the Pass Holders' Party. A great opportunity to meet up with other festival goers and talk about the films coming up over the weekend. It's open to anybody with a pass, so make sure you have yours and make the most of the festival.

Documentaries at Keswick Film Festival

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

Our annual collaboration with the Keswick Peace and Human Rights Group has brought the Oscar-nominated For Sama to Keswick alongside Derrière les Fronts (Beyond the Frontlines), which is set in Palestine and records the work of psychologist Dr Samah Jaber. Ken Loach said of the film "Dr. Samah Jaber is a wise and thoughtful woman. She reflects on the subtle, devastating effect on Palestinian people of years of brutal occupation. Alexandra Dols' film shares her insights with us, generous, humane and deeply disturbing. Please see this film." Derrière les Fronts will be introduced by Dr Alan Kessedjian who was instrumental in getting the film screened in the UK.

Then we have The Kingmaker. It is easy to think of Imelda Marcos as a figure of fun, however The Kingmaker makes for a chilling account of the Marcos' regime and the family’s aspirations for the future.

On a lighter note, there is the The Run, following Australian endurance athlete Pat Farmer as he runs the length of India 85 kilometres a day for 64 days. The pictures of India in The Run will dazzle the senses, as will the cinematography of The Cordillera of Dreams. What better way to experience the grandeur of the Andes than on Rheged's massive screen?

Win Festival Passes

Head over to our Facebook or Twitter pages to be in with a chance to win a pair of passes for the Festival. Just leave a comment telling us which films you are looking forward to seeing and you'll be entered into a draw at the end of the month.

Honouring Tilda Swinton

You may have read that Tilda Swinton will be receiving a BFI Fellowship in March, reflecting her enormous contribution to the industry.

Maybe a little less glitzy but no less heartfelt, KFF and Carlisle College  are staging our own tribute to Tilda at this year’s Festival. Miss Swinton has agreed to be the subject of this year’s Patron’s Legacy Project, meaning that students are now busy creating films, posters, costumes and set designs inspired by her impressive filmography. The event, titled Cinephoria, to be held on Friday 28th February in the Studio will be free to enter and I can guarantee a fascinating afternoon of Cumbrian talent.  Already some film posters have been produced and the exhibition in the Theatre Gallery is not to be missed.

For our part, we are showing 3 of Tilda Swinton’s films over the weekend. She gives a barnstorming performance in The Personal History of David Copperfield, teams up with Sir John Hurt and Tom Hiddleston in Only Lovers Left Alive and plays opposite her daughter Honor Swinton Byrne in Joanna Hogg’s much-lauded The Souvenir.

Where KFF leads, the BFI follows!

Ken Russell's Dance of the Seven Veils receives its second screening after 50 years

From time to time we are fortunate to bring a UK premiere to Keswick Film Festival. This year we are incredibly pleased to be able to bring a second performance to the screen - Ken Russell’s Dance of the Seven Veils, his biography of Richard Strauss, was screened just once in February 1970, before it was banned.

Ken’s wife, Elize who will be joining us in Keswick for the Festival, put it succinctly "One viewing and the Beeb banned it. Mary Whitehouse sued. Ken’s mentor Sir Huw Wheldon defended Ken’s vision in court, but the suppression of the film by the Strauss family was irrevocable. Ken was fired and the film was banned for fifty years."

This second screening, from Ken’s personal copy, on 29th February 2020. It is anticipated that the reaction this time will be a little less strident.

In an evening hosted by Elize Russell at the Theatre by the Lake, the audience will get to see Dance of the Seven Veils along with a number of Ken Russell’s rarely-seen music videos and hear more about the creative process that led to the cutting of those restrictive ties with the BBC and the subsequent launching of the unfettered Ken Russell on to the world’s cinema screens.