Northampton Film Festival review: celebrating the misfits and mavericks

Julia Thorley reflects on the success of this year’s Northampton Film Festival and its value to the county and the industry

Delapre Abbey was host to the festival

Northampton Film Festival started as a pilot project in 2019 as a way to showcase everything that is wonderful about the town. Becky Carrier, who runs the festival, says, “We think everybody should be inspired by where they live, and this is the place of misfits and mavericks, rebels and revolutionaries, creatives and changemakers.”

Becky Carrier

In her welcome introduction at the red-carpet gala evening held at Delapre Abbey on last week’s opening night, she said: “We’ve taken inspiration from Bridgerton vibes,” which was reflected in the presence of a footman to welcome guests and a harpist playing gently in the background.

“There are lots of people here who are making films in Northamptonshire, but also lots from elsewhere in the country. We hope it will encourage them to set their next period drama here.”

As well as Delapre Abbey, which was home to the festival for three days, venues for screenings and associated events were the University of Northampton, Northampton Filmhouse, Creative Space in Northampton Market Square - ‘the world’s smallest arts venue’, which hosted screenings for seven people at a time - and Northampton’s Guildhall, the setting for a glamorous red-carpet awards ceremony on the last night.

This year the festival programme comprised twenty events across nine days, and included more films than ever. Many had local connections, but there were entries from all corners of the UK.

There were local, regional, national and even world premieres, short films and features, all thought-provoking in their own way. They encompassed animations and live action, drama, comedy, documentary, musicals, sci-fi and fantasy, the scary and the unsettling. Many were first films for the directors and producers, including some that were graduation films made on very low student budgets.

This year’s festival encompassed International Women’s Day, which was reflected in that day’s programming where all the films shown were female-centric. Becky pointed out that in the 97 years of the Oscars, only three women have won the award for Best Film.

“Something is going wrong somewhere,” she said. “Women are producing brilliant films and the reason we hold these screenings is to highlight that fact and, in our tiny way, accelerate action and encourage people to support women-centric films in the cinema, and to put pressure on the people who seem not to be commissioning these women.”

Speaking at a question-and-answer session, Connor Mclean, writer and producer/director of short comedy drama The Egg, explained the value of festivals like this to film-makers.

“I went to the first Northampton Film Festival and there was a 48-hour film challenge as part of it, which I did. It was a fun start to making films, and those challenges are always good as a way of meeting people and working on short, fun things.”

Andy Oxley, producer/director of short documentary Drainspotting, said:

“For me the value is firstly that it’s nice to come and visit somewhere new, but really it’s about building your profile as a film-maker. When you start making something you never really know how it’s going to turn out. The dream is obviously that it’s going to win awards and then you’ll be taken more seriously as a film-maker. For me, it’s about building up to a feature film, so when you do this you’re showcasing your style and in many ways it’s a bit of a blueprint for what you might do later.”

Pete Carrier from CARRIER-media was one of the sponsors of the festival.

He said:

“There’s a lot of fun involved in doing different sorts of things, and there’s something about sharing what you do with people, especially young folk. For the business, it’s nice to give something back and, at this level, to encourage young film-makers to carry on with something they’ve already started. It’s also supporting something in the neighbourhood we’ve chosen to live in, and what we have is a lovely extended community of people who are making really interesting things.”

One of the Q and As

The festival is about more than simply watching some films. It’s also about promoting the industry, showcasing the talent there is in this county and encouraging people to get involved at some level, whatever their background or gender. One of the key elements is that it offers the chance to talk to people who are involved in the industry, be that in front of the camera or behind. As well as the question-and-answer sessions after each screening with actors, directors and producers, audience members could book a conversation with an expert in the ‘People Library’. There were also plenty of opportunities to chat informally between screenings, whether as a film fan or as someone working in the industry, or aspiring to.

As the curtain falls on this festival, plans are already being made for next year. There are many things in our county that need fixing, but the Northampton Film Festival is something to celebrate as it shines a light on the energy and ambition of its residents and wider community.

Becky says:

“I love this place and really want to support people in doing creative things that will put Northamptonshire on the map.”

Details of all the films shown during the festival and the prize-winners is available online:

https://northamptonfilmfestival.co.uk

* The festival was supported with funds from West Northamptonshire Council funded by the UK Government, Northampton Town Council and Film Hub Midlands through funds from the National Lottery, as well as the support of Northampton Filmhouse, Delapre Abbey, the University of Northampton, CARRIER-media, Sage Communications and Events and Panavision.