The Cambridge Film Festival will return to the cinema this November, organisers have announced.
Film lovers can pen a date in their calendars as the festival is set to go ahead as a physical event this year.
The 40th Cambridge Film Festival will take place between November 18 and November 25 at the Cambridge Arts Picturehouse, with an extended online programme supporting the in-venue festival.
As ever, the hugely popular movie showcase will present a diverse programme of over 40 films that promise to attract audiences of all ages and tastes.
It includes UK premieres of new features, classic retrospectives, insightful documentaries, discovery titles from the global stage, family favourites, an eclectic array of short films, and several international film festival winners.
CFF organisers have also launched an exciting new Friends and Patrons scheme for everyone who is passionate about film or cinema, and keen to support culture in the region.
There are three levels of involvement: Friend of CFF, VistaVision Patron and Cinemascope Patron.
On the launch of the new scheme, Cambridge Film Festival Friends and Patrons coordinator Elena Shampanova said: “As for all artists and arts organisations, the last year was not easy.
"Alongside announcing the dates for the 2021 festival, we are delighted to launch our Friends and Patrons scheme.
"We're asking those people who love the Cambridge Film Festival to consider becoming ‘Friends of the Festival’ as their support is vital in sustaining CFF, and our year-round education and outreach work.”
The range of benefits are many and include advance notification of events, special invitations to film events, recognition of support in marketing materials, both online and on-screen prior to films, an invitation to the opening night gala, an invite to a private Patron’s dinner, and an opportunity to get fundamentally involved in the future direction and growth of the Cambridge Film Festival.
The Cambridge Film Festival at Home initiative also continues in June with further online film events, and a pay-what-you-can-afford pricing structure.
The popular online version of the ‘A Film I Love…’ series continues with writer, film programmer, creative producer, host and broadcaster Anna Bogutskaya this weekend.
Anna previously worked at Pedro Almodovar’s El Deseo and was the film and events programmer at the BFI, where she created the Woman With A Movie Camera Summit.
Currently, Anna is the festival director of Underwire Festival, host of The Final Girls and The Next Supremes podcasts, and co-founder of horror film collective The Final Girls.
During her ‘A Film I Love…’ interview, Anna discusses Pedro Almodóvar’s 1999 classic All About My Mother, starring Penélope Cruz, Cecilia Roth, Marisa Paredes and Candela Peña.
A commercial and critical success internationally, it won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in addition to the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film and the BAFTA Awards for Best Film Not in the English Language and Best Direction for Almodóvar.
You can see Anna's interview online from Friday, June 4 to Sunday, June 6.
From June 18 to June 24, Mathieu Kassovitz’s cult classic La Haine is set to be screened as part of the Rewind season, which is a look back at some of the greatest films from Cambridge Film Festival prior to the festival’s 40th anniversary in November.
Released to both acclaim and consternation at home – it won best director at Cannes but was protested by police for its perceived anti police narrative – La Haine quickly went on to achieve cult cinema status around the world and made a star of its lead, Vincent Cassel.
La Haine is gritty and funny, unsettling, and beautiful, and is as vital today as when it was released in 1995.
The movie spearheaded a wave of films about the banlieue districts on Paris, and opened the door to a new genre of French films among which it remains legendary.
Film events can be viewed via the CFF at Home screening room.
To find out more about the Friends and Patrons scheme, contact the CFF team at joinus@cambridgefilmtrust.org.uk or visit the festival website at www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk
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