Keswick Film Festival 2025 - Save The Date!

We are thrilled to announce the dates for the 25th running of the Keswick Film Festival

6th to 9th March 2025

It seems a long way off but we are already working on a couple of special events for what will be our Silver Anniversary.

The first Festival back in 2000, comprised just 8 films at the Alhambra, kicking off with the Three Colours Trilogy and 9 with a Shakespearean theme at the Theatre by the Lake. It is worth looking back at the Festival programme archive or full list of films to see the incredible range of films that has been shown since 18th February 2000.

There will be some crackers to add to that list next time around!

See you next year.

Audience Award & Scores

Well, what a weekend that was!

There were some surprise hits, as always – My Sailor, My Love was really popular as was Ajoomma. Io Capitano was gripping. The Awards contenders did some heavy lifting too, with The Zone of Interest and American Fiction both scoring well. For a while it looked as if The Taste of Things would take the Audience Award but on Sunday morning a small-ish audience at Rheged were blown away by Tótem, scoring it at 89.7% - a worthy winner.

For once a documentary didn’t get the highest score, but Mayor, Four Daughters and Scala!!! were all well-received.

The full results are on the website but here is the top 10:

1. Totem - 89.6
2. The Taste of Things - 86.7
3. Mayor - 86.6
4. American Fiction - 86.3
5. Io Capitano - 84.1
6. My Sailor, My Love - 81.4
7. Four Daughters - 81.2
8. The Zone of Interest  - 76.9
9. Ajoomma - 76.8
10. Scala!!!  - 73.4

Osprey Short Film Award Winners

Congratulations to all of the short films that were screened at the Theatre By The Lake on Saturday afternoon. 

David and Michael Groom, the brothers behind Between The Lights which opened the Festival to a sold out full house on Thursday, announced the winners. The Student Prize (which is for any film made by students or film makers under the age of 19) went to MISJUDGED. Crafted by the creative minds of first-time filmmakers aged 8-11 at Signal Starters it features a plasticine seagull and a tentacled sea-witch who come together to share tales of hasty judgments.

Signal Film & Media were also behind WISHBONE which picked up the judges prize in the Open category and the Audience Award voted for by the 100 plus people who came along to watch the films. This film is a heartfelt journey through the life of a determined Barrovian living on Duke Street and you can now watch it for free here: https://signalfilmandmedia.com/wishbone/

Many thanks also to Caris Rianne from Rianne Pictures and the Women X Film Festival who joined the judging panel this year and did a brilliant job of hosting the event on Saturday and to all the team at the Theatre for getting the films on the big screen. 

Sunday at the Festival

It's the last day of the Festival and we have some great films at Rheged and the Alhambra to bring the weekend to a close. The Zone Of Interest, American Fiction and Monster have now sold out but there may be some returns so please check with our volunteers on the Festival desk.

• Ajoomma - 11:15am, Alhambra  
• Tótem  - 11:15am, Rheged  
• The Zone Of Interest - 2pm,  Alhambra
• Four Daughters - 2pm Rheged 
• American Fiction 5:00PM Alhambra 
• The New Boy 5:00PM Rheged 
• Monster 8:00PM Alhambra 

Please see the full programme or download the flyer for more details on all the films.

Saturday at the Festival

Today we have films at the Alhambra, Theatre By The Lake and Rheged. It's also the Osprey Short Film Awards this afternoon showcasing fantastic short films all with a Cumbrian connection. 

• Between The Lights - 11am, Alhambra 
• Mayor + The Present - 11am, Theatre By The Lake   
• Samsara - 11:15am, Rheged 
• Osprey Short Film Awards - 2pm FREE ENTRY, Theatre By The Lake
• Blackbird, Blackbird, Blackberry - 2pm, Alhambra
• The Taste Of Things - 2pm, Rheged
• Maman - 5:30pm, Theatre By The Lake  
• Evil Does Not Exist - 5:30pm, Alhambra
• Close Your Eyes - 8pm, Alhambra
• Eureka 8pm, Theatre By The Lake 

Please see the full programme or download the flyer for more details on all the films.

Friday at the Festival

It's the first full day of the festival and there's plenty to choose from:

• Nezouh - 1pm, Alhambra
• Melody - 1pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Io Capitano - 4pm, Alhambra
• My Sailor, My Love - 4pm, Theatre By The Lake 
• Scala!!! with co-directors Ali Catterall and Jane Giles - 6:30pm, Alhambra
• A Stage Of Twilight - 6:30pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Tiger Stripes - 9pm, Alhambra
• Lost In The Night - 9pm, Theatre By The Lake

Please see the full programme or download the flyer for more details on all the films.

24th Keswick Film Festival Starts Tonight

The Keswick Film Festival starts on Thursday evening with the already sold out European premiere of Between the Lights, but you have till Sunday night to get to the Alhambra, Theatre By the Lake or Rheged to see some of the other films on offer, from Oscar nominees such as The Zone of Interest or American Fiction to the very rare like Maman or Eureka. Then there are the brilliant documentaries such as Scala!!! or Four Daughters or what about some love? You might need a hanky for A Stage of Twilight or My Sailor, My Love. The beauty of Samsara on the Rheged screen should blow you away, or maybe you will take in our local film awards – the Ospreys – given to the best local short films – at the Theatre. Your biggest problem will be deciding which to see if they are on at the same time!

Whatever you choose, don’t miss out on a weekend to remember!