| Norwich Film Festival | |
|---|---|
| Opening film | My Imprisoned Heart |
| Closing film | Ana's Playground |
| Location | Norwich, United Kingdom |
| Founded | 2009 |
| Awards | 6 |
| Number of films | 94 |
| Official website | |
Norwich Film Festival (NFF) is a film festival that takes place annually in Norwich. During its inaugural year the festival supported independent films as well as student films, and showcased feature films, short films, animated films, and documentary films.
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The first festival took place from September 18th to 26th, 2009, with entries from all over the world. In total, 94 films were screened at the first festival, with these films coming from 13 different countries.
The festival is focused on showcasing new talent and independent film, which was reflected in the titles selected for screenings.
Major studio films were also supported during the festival, and an advanced pre-screening of the film Creation[1] starring Paul Bettany was screened at the local Vue cinema. Also, a free event was held on the grounds of Norwich Castle where the Tom Cruise movie Top Gun was shown outdoors to the public. As well as this, at the Forum in Norwich, two dedicated BAFTA evenings were held, screening the 2009 nominees for the BAFTA Short Film Awards, and included a guest talk from BAFTA nominated director Tony Grisoni. The patron of the 2009 Festival was Blackadder and Notting Hill actor Tim McInnerny.
An awards ceremony concluded the festival where the winners of each category were announced and the Festival was closed with a screening of the film voted Best in Festival. Presenters of the awards included Loui Batley and Georgia Groome.
Due to financial constraints and a structural reorganisation, no festival was held in 2010. In early 2011, however, a statement on the festival's website announced that they would be reopening soon, with the next festival planned for March 2012.
Of the 94 films selected for screening at the 2009 festival, 23 were short listed for various awards. The most notable winner was Ana's Playground which, after having a screening at the NFF, went on to have it's official world première at the Calgary International Film Festival in Canada.[2] Since then it has gone on to win sixteen other awards at international film festivals[3], been nominated for an Academy Award, and been screened at prestigious events worldwide, including a conference at the UN Headquarters in New York[4].
| Award Category | Winning Film | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 Best in Festival | Ana's Playground | Eric D. Howell |
| 2009 Best Short Film | Ana's Playground | Eric D. Howell |
| 2009 Best Feature Film | Zig Zag Love | Gillies MacKinnon |
| 2009 Best Documentary | Running To The Limits | Alex Vero |
| 2009 Best Animation | O Pintor de Ceos (The Painter of the Sky) | Jorge Morais Valle |
| 2009 Best Student Film | Heartstrings | Rhiannon Evans |
The next film festival is due to take place in March 2012[5]. Tim McInnerny has once again been announced as a patron and judge[6], along with Bernard Hill, who will also act as a patron and judge, and Steve Furst and Jim Field Smith who will also be on the judging panel[7].
In early 2011, along with the announcement about the 2012 comeback, the Festival also announced a new competition that would be running alongside the main festival event. One Minute Movie is a competition aimed at getting film makers to create a sixty second film of any genre, with the winning film being used to open the main 2012 Norwich Film Festival.