Norfolk Film Festival

Mariam Margolyes in Wings

Norwich Film Festival rolls out the virtual red carpet

Norwich Film Festival, the fastest growing film festival in the UK, launches in November, with the entire Official Selection of short films being available to watch online nationwide for the first time in the festival’s history.

The online platform will feature 132 short films within a wide range of specially curated programming strands. Despite the move online, the festival will remain recognisable to those familiar with the usual format, with the programme featuring the return of strands such as Emerging Talent, LGBTQ+, Women in Film, Late Night Shorts and many more. Audiences will be able to purchase a range of different passes, giving them access to individual films, specific strands or the entire selection throughout the duration of the festival. .

Festival highlights include BAFTA award winning Miriam Margolyes and Virginia McKenna starring in a short film called Wings, star of BBC’s Being Human Russell Tovey and Shameless’ Maxine Peake appearing in ‘It’s Me’ - a 15 minute short film by British director Helen Randag and comedy actor Paul Kaye appearing in a short film called Petrichor.

This year’s festival drew submissions from 55 countries including China, the Ukraine, Syria and South Africa, with films from 33 countries being selected to be screened. Norwich audiences will get a unique interpretation of issues facing communities around the world - poverty, homelessness and social stigma as well as wonderful, imaginative, thoughtprovoking storytelling from makers around the globe. Films range from just one minute to 25 minutes in length.

Three films will particularly resonate with audiences this year. ‘Remember When’, ‘Wicked Friday Night’ and ‘Alex and Mr Fluffkins’ all look at life during lockdown due to Covid-19. ‘Remember When’, a seven-minute film, was written, directed and performed in Norwich and offers a fictional snapshot of life during lockdown.

Maxine Peake in It’s Me

Remember When