News

Classic films support Co-operative push in Plymouth

Plymouth Arts Cinema is working with Plymouth City Council to present a series of films over the next 12 months to raise awareness of the great work that co-operatives do. Plymouth City Council wants to double the size of the co-operative economy in the city by 2025.

Film fest brings sustainability to Exeter’s solar-powered cinema

The programme has now been announced for Exeter Phoenix’s short film festival, Two Short Nights. The 18th annual festival of short film will take place 27-29 November at Exeter Phoenix’s independent solar-powered cinema, Studio 74. The newly announced programme places a diverse range of must-see films from around the world alongside emerging local filmmaking talent.

Michael Ford animator of Disney, Marvel and Lego at PCA

Animator and VFX artist Michael Ford, who has worked on films including Disney’s Aladdin (2019), Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom (2018), and The Lego Batman Movie (2017) is a Lecturer for BA (Hons) Animation at Plymouth College of Art.

Mary of Exeter, the hero pigeon who wouldn’t give up

A new animated film commemorating the bravery of Mary of Exeter, a World War Two hero pigeon, is being premiered in Exeter this November.

Hell-Tor Gothic film festival puts Devon on horror map

A new festival in Exeter celebrating Dartmoor and Devon’s rich history of ghosts, ghouls and witchcraft – Hell-Tor – will take place this November.

Chumbak: hope and aspirations from jungle to city

Adventure, invention and ingenuity seems to sum up both the film Chumbak and the approach of filmmakers Tobias Worrall and Isabelle van Hoorn.

Focusing on emotional truth: Louisa Fielden talks about Patrick

It’s rare that female friendship is explored on film. For Patrick, an Exeter Phoenix commission for Two Short Nights, Louisa Fielden takes two schoolgirls, an older boyfriend and mixes in social media for a film of complex emotional truth. We asked her about how the film was made

Challenge! Can you make a film in 48 hours

Two Short Nights Film Festival returns to Exeter Phoenix this winter, bringing with it the famous 48 Hour Film Challenge. From first-time filmmakers to seasoned professionals, this inspiring (and free!) challenge sees teams from across the region compete to be crowned the Best 48 Hour Film at the annual short film festival. And it poses the creative, fun challenge: can you make a film in 48 hours?

Britain on Film mapping mission: crowdsourcing with the BFI

Seeing places you know on screen is some kind of special. The way it looks so familiar and just that little bit different. Now your expert eagle eyes are being called on by the BFI to crowdsource locations for Britain on Film.

Ferrante Fever, charting the ‘unrelenting addiction’ to the author

Ferrante Fever is a documentary exploring the cultural phenomenon and world-wide appeal of novelist Elena Ferrante. The film features a whole secchio (bucket, to you) load of authors discussing the Ferrante craze. We went even better! Ahead of her special presentation of the film at the Exeter Phoenix, we got in touch with Dr Alessia Risi, Lecturer in Italian at Exeter University to find out what makes the author – and the film – so appealing.

UK Green Film Festival: the best of environmental films

The state of our planet’s environment is, at last, increasingly at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Film is one of the most powerful platforms to illustrate the importance of protecting our unique and beautiful world, how to go about doing that, as well as evidencing the damage that has already been done. The mission of the UK Green Film Festival (UKGFF) is to enable as many people nationwide to be able to watch the most current, vital and very best of today’s environmental films.

The Witch’s Mask: Paul Westwood on a story waiting to be told

The story behind the film The Witch’s Mask is intriguing. We spoke to writer and director Paul Westwood about the dream that inspired him and the attention to detail to telling the story through film

Hair, make up and more opportunities on SW FilmMail

The SW FilmMail email newsletter is a great way to find out out new opportunities as well as films and characters in the South West filmmaking scene.

If we listen carefully, can we understand? Nigel Smith on Mute

After a career in the medical profession, Dr Nigel Smith turned to animation to tell stories of people and health. He spoke to us about Mute, the power of animation and listening

Classic crime at Torquay Museum for English Riviera Film Fest

The classic crime films at Torquay Museum as part of the English Riviera Film Festival have physical twists, psychological turns and a post-war world dripping with immorality. It’s iconic cinema, exploring some of the lowest human values.

Exeter student Elliott Hasler hailed as the “the next Spielberg”

A University of Exeter student, Elliott Hasler, is already making a big impact in the film industry as the UK’s youngest feature film director, with an acclaimed film critic labelling him as “the next Steven Spielberg.”

Exeter Picturehouse heads to the Double Locks pub

The summer’s not over just yet as the Picturehouse Outdoor cinema pitches up in the idyllic canal-side setting of the Double Locks pub for three nights of cinema under the stars.

Does ‘Poldark effect’ threaten sense of Cornish identity?

A researcher is examining how Cornish people are affected by the rewriting of history and identity in TV programmes like Poldark – and the influx of visitors drawn to the county’s scenic filming locations.

The 7 best movies featuring animals

The British public love animals and films, so combining the two means we’re onto a winner, right? It doesn’t matter what the animal is, we fall in love. However, for movie makers, getting a creature to play the lead role can prove a difficult task. While you can send a human away to learn their lines, it’s not quite as simple with animals.

Linda Mason: documentary humanises and builds empathy

Linda Mason is capturing an intimate portrayal of British farming life in her film Lifelong Farmer, part of North Devon Moving Image‘s Down on the Farm commission. We caught up with her to find out about the importance of keeping a film record of life and how hard it is to make a film in the midst of cows

Almodovar’s Pain & Glory celebrated at Picturehouse

The Picturehouse chain, including the Exeter Picturehouse has an exclusive preview of Pedro Almodovar’s Pain & Glory, the latest flick from ‘the master of melodrama’.

The first Surprise Film at Exeter Picturehouse!

If, like us, you’re surprised to see so many mainstream films at the Picturehouse chain, then this might seem nothing new. But Exeter Picturehouse is due for a surprise screening. You pay your money and you take your chance… a bit like normal. No! This is a surprise. And here are the details. Well, as much was we know…

Tim Thorne talks Card Dead – the sequel to Killing Lionel

With Card Dead ready to shoot, we caught up with writer director Tim Thorne to find out where the sequel to his first feature, Killing Lionel, picks up

The 5 best UK gardens and landscapes to visit from motion pictures

Many famous buildings across the UK have been used as stunning backdrops in movie productions. Mentmore Towers in Buckinghamshire became the Dark Knight’s Wayne Manor in Batman and scenes in Durham Cathedral became the classroom for a well-known wizard and his friends in Harry Potter.

Newlyn PZ International Film Festival looks to 2020

The Cornish filmmakers category of the Newlyn PZ International Film Festival was a sell out in April 2019. Now the festival is gearing up for 2020 when it will be in Penzance. So get your films in and book your seats.