2020 Special Events and Guests

The Runaways – Opening Night, Thursday 27th February

Richard Heap has been making outdoor adventure films for over 15 years. Films on subjects as diverse as climbing, mountaineering, skiing, running and environmental issues such as the retreat of the glaciers in Nepal. After a series of documentaries for the BBC on hubris within motorsport he started making short fiction films. The Runaways is his debut full length feature film. It embodies many of feelings evoked of a life lived in the landscapes of Great Britain.

The Curator – Opening Night, Thursday 27th February

It is great to welcome Mike Tweddle back to Keswick. We think Mike is a genius at making very small budgets go a long way and Sparrowhawk last year was a case in point. The Curator represents a change in style for Mike, being a short film with an established star – Derek Griffiths is so familiar to all of us of a certain age.

Mike started with a background in punk rock and later musical and political fanzines and following a hiatus that involved travelling the world on a shoestring, getting a first class degree in Environmental Technology from Durham University, starting a family and beginning a career as a quarry inspector Mike returned to writing. Writing and directing for himself, his production company Broken Scar Productions released its first feature film Damaged Goods in 2013 which was not only screened at Keswick Film Club but went on to be shown across the UK, Europe, the USA and Australasia.

Dance of the Seven Veils - Saturday 29th February

Another old friend of the Festival, we are delighted to see Lisi Tribble in Keswick again. Lisi was born in the USA and was previously married to Ken Russell. She is an actress and musician known for The Fall of the House of Usher: A Gothic Tale for the 20th Century, Boudica Bites Back and Puzzleface.

We are indebted to Lisi for her help in bringing Dance of the Seven Veils to the screen again and for raiding her archive to uncover some other rarely-seen gems from Ken Russell's portfolio.

Derriere Les Fronts (Beyond the Front Lines) - Sunday 1st March

Dr Alan Kessedjian will be presenting Derriere Les Fronts (Beyond the Front Lines) at this year's Keswick Film Festival. He was instrumental in getting Derriere Les Fronts first screened in the UK to a sell out audience at the Screening Rights Film Festival in Birmingham in 2018. He is a Clinical Psychologist, Psychotherapist and Trainer specialising in Acute Mental Health, Complex Trauma and Transcultural Psychology and is widely acknowledged for his contributions in the field of mental health training in the Occupied Palestinian Territories. He is familiar with the work of Dr Samah Jabr who the film features and has co-presented workshops and presentations with her at conferences in Egypt, Palestine and Switzerland.

Photo taken just before the Birmingham screening of Derriere Les Fronts: Alexandra Dols (Director of Derriere Les Fronts) Dr Ghada Karmi (Medical Dr, Author and Academic) Dr Alan Kessedjian and Dr Samah Jabr

Saturday 29th February 2pm

Our annual celebration of local filmmaking. A selection of short films in the running for one of our prestigious Osprey Short film awards, including an audience award voted for by you.