Because great films should be for everyone shouldn't they!
At Cambridge Film Festival we really want to make the films we love available to as many people as possible. We'd love to make all CFF screenings free if we possibly could, but sadly putting on a film festival is a surprisingly expensive task (do check out the new Friends of CFF scheme if you'd like to support the Festival).
What we have been able to do this year is offer all morning screeningsat a reduced £3 ticket price (we've also kept afternoon prices as low as we possibly can).
All the films in this newsletter have morning screenings this week, so maybe take a chance on something new for £3.
Lauded director Niki Karimi takes us into a world of tradition, hopes and expectation. Kazem (Hadi Hejazifar) returns from a business trip to discover that his brother-in-law has sold his orchard to a stranger, Shirazi. Kazem finds himself falling in love with Shirazi's daughter but first must face his past. With its intertwined use of Azari and Farsi languages, alongside the fabulous landscapes of North West Iran, this film brings a fresh perspective to Iranian cinema and seeks to build bridges between generations and communities.
The Qingshui Wetland in Jinshan is the best-known farming wetland along the north coast of Taiwain. Situated at the northmost tip of the country, it has become the first stop of the birds migrating south. This vibrant documentary embraces the beauty of eco-farming, and acknowledges the dedication of the locals to the land. From educating school kids, to bringing in scientists to monitor the animal population, director Jessica Wan-yu LIN takes us on this critical journey that champions new ways to protect our envirionment.
"Sara Fazilat gives a thunderbolt of a performance as Nico, a confident German-Persian lesbian working in Berlin as a caregiver. Her effusive personality radically changes after a racially motivated attack ... leaves her with deep psychological wounds. Director Eline Gehring and co-screenwriter Fazilat convey the brutality of the act without being overly explicit, interested more on depicting the emotional damage than the physical scars. Fazilat impresses in every scene as we see how the incident changes her. But her journey is not without hope, fortunately, and a few surprises." SAN JOSE MERCURY
"Son of Monarchs is a visually daring hybrid of science and art anchored by a riveting performance by Mexican actor Tenoch Huerta (Narcos, upcoming Black Panther II)"JUDE DRY, INDIEWIRE
A rare movie that centres science (biology, CRISPR, gene editing, and bioethics) within a very personal, moving narrative. Scientist Mendel (Tenoch Huerta) moves to New York to follow his work, leaving his family behind in Mexico. The death of Mendel's grandmother forces him to return there and face the childhood trauma of losing his parents due to the flooding of the local mine where his brother still works. Multiple awards include the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Film Prize for scientifically-themed work at the Sundance Film Festival.
Esteemed war poet Robert Graves, married to Nancy Nicholson, writes to American poet Laura Riding seeking to rekindle his passion for poetry and writing. As Riding enters the family home and a patriarchal world of London's writers and clubs, worlds are turned upside down. William Nunez's ten-year-long battle to make THE LAUREATE has produced a film that questions who is active and passive in the lives that we lead and the consequences of our actions.
Jordy Sank's multiple award-winning I AM HERE centres on the occasion of Ella Blumenthal's 98th birthday. Surrounded by family, Ella reflects on her astonishing WWII survival story. Transferred between several concentration camps, Ella saw her parents, close family and friends taken away and killed, yet somehow managed to survive and tell her story. Through many nail-biting encounters and a keen ability to be out of the firing line, Ella is liberated by Allied forces to then marry and move to South Africa.
A young Berlin theatre company comes to the "Staatstheater Cottbus" to rehearse for a play about the history of the forests in Germany and how this is tied to culture and identity...[Read more]
A poignant story set in Switzerland follows Beyto (Burak Ates) as he tries to reconcile family expectations and Turkish heritage, with his relationship with swimming coach Mike (Dimitri Stapfer)...[Read more]
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