Film festival showcases local talent and landmarks

Central Cinema in Fakenham will showcase a variety of Norfolk talent across four weeks

A new film festival will be bringing "local talent" and landmarks to the big screen in a county.

The Fakenham Film Festival, which is organised by Active Fakenham, will take place at the Central Cinema, Fakenham, Norfolk, on Tuesday evenings from 17 September.

All the films shown at the festival will have a connection to north Norfolk and Fakenham and include the work of emerging filmmakers and musicians, as well as feature films shot in the county.

Richard Cook, from Active Fakenham, said: "I hope people will come along and they may see themselves on the big screen."

A variety of short films will be shown during the festival, which feature the duck and cardboard raft races from the 2024 Fakenham Riverside Festival, Fakenham Music Festival 2017 and archive footage of the town.

The first showing of the event will be Seaside Special, which was created by the German film director Jens Meurer, and is about the annual end of the pier show in Cromer, Norfolk.

Other films will include recognisable locations from around the county, including Gresham's School, The Hunny Bell pub at Hunworth, Holt Bookshop, Castle Acre Priory and Walsingham Abbey.

Jens Meurer's film Seaside Special about the characters of Cromer will be shown at the festival

The final night of the event will showcase The Final Reel narrated by John Hurt, which will feature footage from the East Anglian Film Archive about Norfolk's love for cinema.

Mr Cook said the town was "lucky" to have an affordable cinema and it needs supporting.

He said: "We have organised events and activities over a number of years and during that time we have worked with and supported young local filmmakers and musicians.

"This is an opportunity to showcase some of their work as well as to see some excellent feature films made in north Norfolk.

"This is an exciting development for Fakenham and an opportunity to showcase not only north Norfolk but also some local talent. Throughout the four weeks we have some top class films but also some short films that feature many local residents."