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.

Festival Tickets & Passes Now Available

We have put the final touches to the programme and primed the Alhambra box office system and we are pleased to announce that tickets and weekend passes are now on sale.

Festival passes will cost £60 for Film Club members and £75 for non-members, with individual tickets priced at £7 and £9 respectively. The box office system will automatically apply the member discount.

David Miller reckons its one of the strongest programmes we’ve had – and he’s rarely wrong!

Have a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you in Keswick before too long!

Save The Date for 2024

We are pleased to announce that KFF24 will be taking place from Thursday 29th February to Sunday 3rd March 2024, at the Alhambra, the Theatre by the Lake and at Rheged.

We look forward to welcoming you back to Keswick next year.

Sunday at the Festival

Seven more films to choose from on the final day of the festival including three different representations of the LGBTQIA+ community for LGBT+ History Month in All The Beauty and the Bloodshed, Joyland and The Blue Caftan.

• All The Beauty and the Bloodshed - 11am, Alhambra
• Alcarras -11am, Rheged
• Joyland - 2pm, Alhambra
• The Blue Caftan - 2pm, Rheged
• Boy From Heaven - 5pm, Alhambra
• Rodeo - 5pm, Rheged
• Broker - 8:30pm, Alhambra

Saturday at the Festival

Today we head out to Rheged for EO ("Bizarre, beautiful, moving and playful" - Robbie Collin) and Lunana, A Yak in the Classroom sponsored by KE Adventure Travel. There's plenty to see in Keswick with the Osprey Short Film Awards and feature length films such as the powerful Blue Jean and The Dardennes' latest Tori and Lokita.

• Chile '76 - 11am, Alhambra
• Fadia's Tree + Q&A with with the director Sarah Beddington
• EO - 11:15am, Rheged
• What Do We See When We Look At The Sky - 2pm, Alhambra
• Osprey Short Film Awards - 2pm, Theatre By The Lake (FREE ENTRY)
• Lunana, A Yak in the Classroom - 2:15pm, Rheged
• Full Time - 5pm, Alhambra
• Blue Jean - 5pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Pacifiction - 8pm, Alhambra
• Tori and Lokita - 8pm, Theatre By The Lake

Friday at the Festival

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

• Godland - 10am, Alhambra EXTRA SCREENING
• Enys Men - 1:00pm, Alhambra
• In Front of Your Face - 1:00pm, Theatre By The Lake
• More Than Ever - 3:30pm, Alhambra
• Return To Dust - 3:15pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Sick Of Myself - 6:30pm, Alhambra
• A Bird Flew In -  6:30pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Rimini - 9:00pm, Theatre By The Lake
• Gala Screening: Winners with director Hassan Nazer - 9:00pm, Alhambra

The 23rd Keswick Film Festival Starts Tonight

Our opening film GODLAND is now sold out but it's just one of 25 feature films showing over the next 4 days at the Alhambra, Theatre by the Lake and Rheged. The Alhambra will be open from 5:30pm for passholders to collect lanyards and ticket holders can join us for a glass of wine between 6.30pm and 7.00pm before the film.

There will be more wine on offer before Friday's gala screening of WINNERS with the director Hassan Nazer. Drinks will be available between 8.15pm and 8.45pm leaving plenty of time for those of you wanting to see RIMINI, to get down to the Theatre.

On Saturday, director Sarah Beddington will be doing a Q&A after her film FADIA'S TREE (Theatre 11am). Sarah and Hassan will also be joining us at the Osprey Short Film Awards (Theatre 2pm) to announce the winners from the selection of 10 short films all with a Cumbrian connection. 

Sunday starts with the Oscar nominated documentary ALL THE BEAUTY AND THE BLOODSHED (Alhambra 11am) and chances to see brand new critically acclaimed films such as JOYLAND (Alhambra 2pm) and BROKER (Alhambra 8:30pm).

Please see the full programme or download the flyer or planner for full details of all the films.

Please Book Your Place for Godland

The Film Festival is almost upon us and we look forward to welcoming you to Keswick.

Our opening film, Godland, is proving really popular and there are very few seats left. Passholders who have not reserved a seat are urged to do so – they will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.

Update: The screening is now sold out. 

As with any festival, we will start with the time-consuming admin of issuing lanyards. We will be issuing them from 5.30pm from the Alhambra. Please arrive in good time and then join us for a glass of wine between 6.30pm and 7.00pm.

Talking of wine, there will be more on offer before the gala screening of Winners on Friday, between 8.15pm and 8.45pm – still plenty of time for those of you wanting to see Rimini, to get down to the Theatre.

There are still a few places left on Sunday's shuttle bus to Rheged, please see the travel page for information on how to book.

All that remains to say is Enjoy the Festival and...

See you on Thursday!

Osprey Short Film Awards 2023

Our judges have selected 10 films for the 2023 Osprey Short Film Awards which will be screened at the Theatre By The Lake on Saturday 25th February from 2pm. There'll be a chance to vote for the audience award on the day and we hope to be joined by directors Sarah Beddington (Fadia's Tree, showing before the Ospreys at 11am) and Hassan Nazer (Winners, Friday 24th at 9pm) to announce the winners.

The films all have a link to Cumbria and the selection includes animations, documentaries, dramas and comedies. Expect to see a flatulent wolf cub, mysterious strangers, explorations of memory through sound, running a Wainwright, dancing in nature, life contemplations, memories from artist Kurt Schwitters, an important look at virtue signalling and the work of the Wild Ennerdale partnership.

More details on all of the films can be found on our Shorts page.

Director's introduction and Q&A for Fadia's Tree

Sarah Beddington, Director of Fadia’s Tree (winner of the Amnesty International Award at San Sebastian) will be joining us at the Festival, to introduce her film and to present the Osprey Short Film Awards, alongside Hassan Nazer.

Sarah’s film is a remarkable piece of work, filmed over 15 years, taking a birds-eye perspective to highlight the problems of Palestine and the Palestinians

Our Gala Screening is an outright Winner!

Our principal guest this year will be Hassan Nazer, director of Winners, described as Slumdog Millionaire meets Cinema Paradiso. Winners will be the Festival’s Gala Screening on Friday 24th February at the Alhambra, preceded, of course, by a glass of wine.

Winners is an apt name, as the film won the Audience Award at the Edinburgh Film Festival, plus Best Film at the British Independent Film Awards. It is now the Official UK entry for the 2023 Oscars.

Passes & Tickets Now On Sale

Just in time for Christmas, our Festival Passes and tickets are now on sale from the Alhambra Cinema.

To see what a pass will get you, you can now see the complete programme on our website – and what a programme it is!

Each day will be special but there are some real gems to look forward to. On Friday night, we have Winners, which is the UK entry in the Best Foreign Language Film category, which will be introduced by Director Hassan Nazer.

On Saturday we have the latest from Festival favourites the Dardenne brothers. Tori and Lokita is a masterpiece of social realism, loved by critics and the public alike.

Don’t be put off by the title of All the Beauty and the Bloodshed on Sunday. It is a documentary about Nan Goldin, a renowned photographer who led a bohemian lifestyle in New York but has recently led a campaign against the Sackler family, responsible for the opioid crisis in the USA that killed so many of her contemporaries.

So that is it – your Christmas dilemma solved. A festival pass and a link to the website – and a good excuse not to talk to the rellies as you browse and make your choices for February!

First Films Confirmed For 2023

 Two vastly different films will top and tail the Keswick Film Festival programme for 2023.

We are opening with Godland, an epic in every sense. A Lutheran priest travels across Iceland in order to set up a new church. Towering landscapes are the backdrop to human frailties. Wendy Ide called it "An engrossing account of a voyage to the dark side of permanent daylight". 

Our closing film will be the latest from KFF favourite Kore-eda Hirokazu, Broker. Starring Parasite’s Song Kang-ho, the film explores Kore-eda’s theme of found families and critics rate it as one of his best films ever – which is quite saying something.

We are currently putting together the final touches to the programme and tickets and passes will be on sale from January.

Osprey Short Film Awards 2023 - Still Open For Entries

Have you made a short film with a Cumbrian connection? If so it could be part of Keswick Film Festival next year. We're looking for new short films under 10 minutes and you have until the end of the year to submit. A panel of judges will select a number of films to show at the Festival and award prizes. For more details see our webpage or FilmFreeway page.

Audience Scores

We've counted up all your votes from the weekend and the quality of films on offer was as good as we can remember. Only 3 of the 24 films scored less than 60% and you rated a staggering 17 out of 24 at 70% or over. 

Between Two Worlds and Parallel Mothers scored almost identically at a shade over 83% and Flee, as is usual with quality documentaries, scored at 85%. A list of scores is available on the website.

Osprey Short Film Award Winners

Around 100 people turned up to the Osprey Short Film Awards on Saturday afternoon at the Theatre By The Lake. The 10 shortlisted films were screened along with two new short films from director Carl Hunter.

The judges prize was awarded to MIDAIR by Louis-Jack, a bouldering film featuring some of the UK's strongest climbers in iconic Lake District locations, set to a pumping techno soundtrack.

The audience selected RAMBLER MAN directed by Angus Imrie for the Audience Award. Written, produced and starring cumbrian native Ewan Pollitt who collected the award. The film, also starring Tim Bentinck (best known for his long-running role on the radio as David Archer) explores mental health, masculinity and our emotional connections with the great outdoors.