Dunoon Film Festival returns for its 11th edition this Spring
A host of free film screenings, special previews, live music, animation and family workshops come to Dunoon Burgh Hall, Studio Cinema and Uig Hall 24-27 April
Dunoon Film Festival will host its very first Spring edition in its 11th year, bringing an unmissable selection of films and events to the town 24-27 April.
From animation workshops and master classes to a flapper party, line dancing, singalongs and live music, there is something for all to enjoy. The film programme offers up cinematic classics and brand new award-winning releases on the big screen, presenting various lives from around the world in feature films, shorts and silent films across the varied weekend. Dunoon Film Festival is proud to welcome special guest Neil Brand (Sound of Cinema, BBC Radio 4s The Film Programme). The silent film accompanist and presenter will present and perform live at three fascinating events across the weekend. Dunoon Film Festival’s opening night embraces the Roaring Twenties with a screening of It starring Clara Bow. The sparkling comedy will include live piano accompaniment from Neil Brand, and will be followed by a flapper-themed party. Three of the greatest silent comedians come together in a family friendly Silent Comedy Triple Bill. Featuring Charlie Chaplin’s classic The Rink, Buster Keaton’s The High Sign and Harold Lloyd’s Never Weaken, audiences can hear Neil Brand tell the stories behind three iconic slapstick classics alongside live piano film accompaniment. A celebration of silent film and comedy culminates with Laurel and Hardy, Neil Brand’s all-new show about the immortal comedy duo portrayed in the hit film Stan and Ollie. Illustrated with live music, clips and silent short films Big Business and Liberty. Festival goers can also get a first look at two special preview screenings of films that will have their UK release in May and both explore friendship and love. Firstly, in Natja Brunckhorst’s light-hearted ensemble comedy Two to One starring German A-lister Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of A Fall). A story set in 1990 Socialist East Germany follows three close friends as they hatch an elaborate plan to make a fortune after finding a bunker full of soon-to-be-worthless currency. And secondly in Rúnar Rúnarsson’s When The Light Breaks. The Cannes Film Festival Un Certain Regard Award nominee follows Una, a young art student who grapples with grief, harbours a secret and encounters love, friendship, sorrow and beauty. Other highlights across the packed weekend include Oscar winner I’m Still Here, a wrenching true-life saga of a Brazilian family torn apart by military rule; feature documentary A Sudden Glimpse to Deeper Things that tells the remarkable story of Scottish painter Wilhelmina Barns-Graham voiced by Tilda Swinton; and Louise Courvoisier’s debut feature Holy Cow that won the Cannes Un Certain Regard Youth Award Prize 2024.Promising to bring classics to the big screen, Oh, Brother Where Art Thou? will celebrate its 25th anniversary where audiences can party into the evening with line dancing post-screening. Paying tribute to the late master of cinema, David Lynch, The Straight Story will screen, celebrating the magic of everyday life and the resilience of spirit. Creative Blethers, all-inclusive creative experiences for the elderly, carers, and adults with disabilities or mental health concerns, will also screen a 70th anniversary singalong of Oklahoma!.
Multi-award winning feature animation Flow about a cat who finds refuge on a boat with other animals after a flood destroys their homes will also screen at the festival. Families can take inspiration and guidance from Aardman Animation’ Jim Parkyn to create their own aquatic friends at a model making workshop post screening. Model making continues with a Feathers McGraw workshop following Vengeance Most Fowl, the first new Wallace and Gromit in 16 years that has proven just as popular with audiences old and new.
Dunoon Film Festival will also spotlight young local talent while providing new opportunities to young people to access the creative industry. Dunoon Grammar School S2 pupils are set to attend a Creative Industries Day presented by Screen Argyll & Dunoon Burgh Hall Trust to hear from a range of speakers in the industry before a selection of 12 pupils premiere their new short films at Studio Cinema later in the festival.
Jen Skinner Festival Programmer from Screen Argyll said: “We are delighted to be supporting the brilliant Dunoon Film Festival bringing an exciting programme of films and guests to Dunoon. There is something for everyone, from a celebration of silent cinema with special guest, Neil Brand, through to preview screenings from around the world and classics like O Brother Where Art Thou? Oklahoma! and The Straight Story. We will even have an appearance from Feathers McGraw! It is fantastic to see the community come together and we look forward to sharing the magic of cinema with you all very soon!”
Ann Campbell, DCDT Partnership Manager said: “Dunoon Community Development Trust is delighted to be supporting this new partnership approach to Dunoon Film Festival with our friends from Dunoon Burgh Hall, Studio Cinema Dunoon, Screen Argyll and POP Shop CIC. Having been involved in the festival since its first edition in 2013, I know that it provides so much more than just a programme of great films and activities. It brings our community together for new shared experiences, shows us different lives from across the world, and helps to spark conversations about our town and our aspirations for the future. We can then use these conversations to help inform community-led action for the benefit of our people and our place.”