Tickets on sale for first Bristol Film Fest

Tickets are now on sale for the first Bristol Film Festival. Running from March 11-13, its imaginative and diverse programme aims to go beyond the multiplex to deliver what festival director Owen Franklin describes as an “alternative experience for film lovers”.

Indeed, none of Bristol’s mainstream cinemas are being used for the festival’s immersive events, which range from horror in Redcliffe Caves, to after-hours screenings at the RWA, pop-up cinemas across the city and a programme of talks and seminars.

Here’s a round-up of the main strands:

Global Cinema
A free global cinema village celebrating Bristol’s multiculturalism will be set up at Redcliffe Wharf with a street food market, a mobile cinema campervan showing local short films, and live music entertaining punters before and after screenings of twelve acclaimed foreign language films in the pop-up cinema venue. Screenings are ticketed and kick off at 6pm on Friday 11 with The Motorcycle Diaries.

Horror in the Caves
Redcliffe Caves will act as one of the key festival venues, featuring a pop-up immersive cinema over the weekend. Those who are able to resist the urge to crap themselves can savour the likes of The Ring (US remake), The Thing (John Carpenter version) and Alien. The spookery commences with The Blair Witch Project on Friday 11 at 6pm.

Arts
As part of the arts strand, the Royal West of England Academy (RWA) is throwing open its doors after hours for evening screenings from Friday to Sunday, when you can see Frida, Far From the Madding Crowd (2015 version) and Diva. Other arts events include a talk on Film and the Fashion World.

Pop-up Cinemas
Various sites across the city will transform into film venues for appropriate screenings. These include Madagascar at Bristol Zoo Gardens with a chance to ‘meet the cast’ (Hey – wasn’t Madagascar about a bunch of zoo animals fleeing their city prison?), Sideways at Averys Wine Cellars with a wine tasting, and an after-hours showing of Night at the Museum at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery (exhibits coming to life not guaranteed).

Music & Film
Two concerts celebrate the relationship between music and film. On Friday 11, St George’s hosts Music from the Movies Goes A Capella, featuring all-girl group The Buttercups and all-guy group The Buzztones performing iconic film tunes. At Bristol Cathedral on the following day, an orchestra will perform a semi-improvised score to accompany the classic Buster Keaton silent comedy, Sherlock Jr.

Workshops and Seminars
The Arnolfini hosts a series of workshops and educational seminars over the weekend. These include sessions on Working in the Industry, Microbudget Moviemaking, Making a Film in a Day and Film Criticism.

For the full programme and booking details, visit www.bristolfilmfestival.com