Indie film festival enjoys record-breaking year

The Sunrise Film Festival gave independent directors the chance to showcase their work

A vibrant movie festival has celebrated a record-breaking year after thousands of film fans came together to share their love of independent cinema.

The Sunrise Film Festival in Lowestoft took over the Marina Theatre and Sam’s Wellbeing Hub and Café to champion mental health, environmental issues and more through the screen.

The event was attended by more than 2,000 people and screened 124 short movies, including three filmed in East Anglia, giving directors the chance to showcase their work.

Joshua Freemantle, co-founder of the Sunrise Film Festival, said: "This year has been nothing short of extraordinary.”

Beth Perkin and Natasha Perkin won the Best East Coast Short Film award for their comedy Seeing Read

The four-day festival, run by a team of 25 dedicated volunteers, also saw awards presented for the first time as a British Independent Film Awards qualifying festival, handed out during a red-carpet ceremony.

A total of 18 prizes were presented, including 10 competition category awards and eight craft awards for the highest-scoring films of 2024.

One of the winners was Seeing Read, a short comedy created by sisters and directors Beth and Natasha Perkin, from Lowestoft.

"We are so honoured to have won our first award at our hometown film festival,” they said, after winning the Best East Coast Short Film prize.

“This award means so much, and we were pleased to have been able to take it away with our own comedy, which is quite rare on the UK film festival circuit."

The festival was co-founded by Joshua Freemantle and Patrick Johnson

Following a triumphant year, organisers are already looking towards the fourth edition of the festival with “the same enthusiasm and dedication”.

Mr Freemantle added: “The passion and commitment from our volunteers, the support from our community, the incredible talent showcased and support by filmmakers have all contributed to making this the most successful year in our festival's history.”