'Folklore' the theme for second Guernsey Film Fest
It's the news all local film lovers have been waiting for – the Guernsey Film Fest is back for its second year.
Created by filmmakers Lars Janssen and Charlotte Dawn Potter of Guernsey Filmworks, the festival made its debut at the Mallard Cinema last October. Back at the same venue this year, on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October, it will again feature local and international films, both mainstream and independent, from shorts to features of all genres. And all for free.
This year’s theme is Folklore.
‘When it came to pick a theme there were just so many things to choose from,’ said Charlotte.
‘There was wildlife as an option, Victor Hugo, Renoir...’ said Lars.
‘In the end we left it to our sponsor, Delimited IT Solutions, and they chose Folklore,’ said Charlotte.
‘Last year we had Occupation and war-related films, such as the locally-made Occupied and The Blockhouse, and this year we will have Nightsiren, which is our opening film, and Woman in Black, as well as Inland and Children of the Night, which stars local-born and raised actor, Harry Giubileo,’ said Lars. ‘We also have the all-time classic British folk horror film, The Wicker Man, from 1973. We’ll be showing the 50th anniversary 4K restoration version.’
Other films include the Iceland-set Godland; Blue Jean and The Inspection, as part of the LGBTQIA+ programme; documentaries Much Ado About Dying, Acid Canal – Discovering the True Cost of Water and Silver Servers; older classics The Man Who Laughs from 1928, based on Victor Hugo’s novel, L’Homme Qui Rit, and the Sark-filmed Appointment with Venus from 1951; On the Line, a thriller set in Alderney; and a couple of Hollywood blockbusters – Nicholas Cage and Sean Connery in The Rock and the sc-fi comedy Galaxy Quest, starring Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.
There will also be films from local, national and international filmmakers.
‘We got a lot of films submitted from all over the world,’ said Lars. ‘A lot of these are shorts that are longer than 10 minutes so, instead of having them in blocks, we will show them around the feature films.’
A number of people are visiting the island specifically for the festival.
‘We have German film student, Lotta Pommerien, who got in touch with us,’ said Lars. ‘She found out about the Occupation and came over to speak to two locals, writer Jag Sherbourne and Anthony Falla, whose family histories are related to the Occupation.
‘She’ll be showing her film In Concrete – The Legacy of the German Occupation of Guernsey, which she made for her final student project.’
‘We’ve also had emails and messages on Instagram from Sweden about coming over to Guernsey to season work,’ said Charlotte. ‘This is what we want to do with the festival. For people to find out about Guernsey. We love film and we love Guernsey.’
Locally-made films include White Rock Productions’ Born of Water, Golden Goat Films’ Bet Your Bottom Dollar and Guernsey Filmworks’ Underground. There is also Encounter, which was directed by Guernsey-born Joshua Fletcher, and the winner of this year’s 48 Hour Film Project.
‘We’ll have a small bookshop where folklore-related books will be for sale and also the Priaulx Library will be holding an expo of local folklore items from their archives,’ said Charlotte.
Lars and Charlotte have been working since last year’s festival to create and curate this one.
‘When we first thought of putting on a film festival, we wanted to create an event for the whole community and for it to be accessible to everyone,’ said Lars. ‘We wanted it to be a gathering of people, an event for locals and non-locals.
‘And the most important aspect of all, is that it’s 100% free for everyone. Anyone can come along and watch as many films they want.’
The Guernsey Film Fest is at the Mallard Cinema on Saturday 7 and Sunday 8 October. Guernsey Film Fest is a not-for-profit event and entry is completely free but there will be a chance to offer donations, which will all go towards next year’s festival. Because the festival is free, there are no tickets. However, you can reserve (for free) a spot so you don’t miss out. For reservations, programme schedule, times and full information about the festival, visit www.guernseyfilmfest.gg.
