The Bay International Film Festival at Reel Cinema Morecambe
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Brand new this year, The Bay International Film Festival is set to delight movie buffs from Morecambe and beyond. The inaugural edition is scheduled for late October and has already announced plans for a Stanley Kubrick retrospective featuring an appearance by the director’s Full Metal Jacket producer Jan Harlan, in addition to international short films and events designed to inspire local filmmakers.
Kubrick’s films, which include 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining, continue to wow audiences, and it’s exciting to see them presented on the big screen accompanied by Harlan, who worked with the director for over 30 years. Harlan is currently working with Steven Spielberg on the new HBO series of Kubrick’s previously unrealised Napoleon and will be present at the festival for a Q&A following a gala screening of Full Metal Jacket.
He will also deliver a lecture ahead of the festival’s opening short film event, which is currently seeking submissions. The official selection will be chosen by festival judges, with local filmmakers from Lancashire and Cumbria incentivised to submit their shorts. In addition to the regular short film programme, there is also a focus on “The Impacts of War”, with a mini-conference on anti-war films and a number of networking events for filmmakers and guests.
We’re always happy to see a new film festival on the scene, and this one comes with some pedigree as the brainchild of co-founders Anna Kumacheva, an award-winning filmmaker, Lancaster University film lecturer and ex-judge at the Edinburgh Short Film Festival, and Darren Henderson, a film production company director and filmmaker.
With the Eden Project Morecambe on the horizon, The Bay International Film Festival hopes to form part of a wider cultural moment for the town. Festival events coordinator Matt Panesh says: “The natural beauty of Morecambe lends itself to festivals. Even though we started the project before the Eden Morecambe announcement, it fits a need for cultural renewal.”, adding that “We’re teaming up with Morecambe’s Poetry and Fringe festivals to help make Morecambe a town of festivals.”
Look out for further programme information nearer to the festival.
