February Highlights

It’s almost February, which means, it’s pretty much Spring. Nearly.
Kind of. Which means you’ve got but a month left to use the excuse that it’s
too cold outside to do anything vaguely exerting, ambitious etc. We’ve made it
so you don’t even have to go foraging around for the best events happening this
month, so put off the summer self-consciousness a little long and wallow in the
remains of the winter.

Borderlines Festival is celebrating the big 10 this year
with a spectacular array of films and special events across a hefty array of
venues in Hertfordshire and Suffolk. The festival has a ridiculous amount of
features showing from the 24 February through to early March in
just about any space that they can find, be it village halls, community centres
and theatres. All the big name Oscar nominations will be shown as well as
golden age cinema and a celebration of the best of British. Special events
include a live score accompaniment to German expressionist piece The Cabinet of Dr Caligari and “In Glorious Technicolour,” a trip through cinema with the festival
patron. Everything you could possibly need to know is on the festival homepage
here.

Stoke on Trent has been unceremoniously mentioned on the events page up
until this point, and so it is with pleasure that we can mention this years’
Stoke Your Fires festival that is running for two weeks from the 10 Feb. Heavy on the workshops and masterclasses, the film festival similarly
disregards themes to get as many different types of films to the screens of
Stoke as possible. We’re talking summer blockbusters, low budget travel films,
domestic realism, Japanese animation and overseas romances. There’s a free
animation workshop as well as a 72 hour film making contest and some generous
industry experts who are giving a bit of time to tell you how it’s all done
properly. Pop to the festival page for the full programme, although tickets are
yet to be released.

Keswick film festival this month is a little shorter but apparently size
doesn’t matter with it’s lofty array of previews and premieres. The themes for
the 2012 festival revolve simply around being good. Looking good brings in some
of the best of the international festivals, Sounding good is all about those
films where the soundtrack feels like a character itself and Feeling good deals
with the unashamedly uplifting genre. Perhaps not falling into the latter
category are showings of Tyrannosaur and Spanish prison drama Cell 21, but
there is a lovely sampling of global cinema for most tastes as well as an
homage to John Hurt where the gentleman himself will be popping in for a
conversation with visitors. Find out more here.

The exposures festival in Manchester is still taking submissions for its
showcase of new talent. The exhibitions might not boast the weight of the
academy or critical acclaim but is a fantastic platform for the keen filmmaker
to get started. This student festival takes place between the 21 – 23 Feb, and all there is to know can be found here.

Back to London we go, where you will land bang in the middle of the
Prince Charles Cinema silent film season. Each screening comes with a live
performance within the theatre and runs until March. Watch John Sweeney’s piano
accompaniment to The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wed 22) with
similar performances running across the country. Find ticket information here.

The BFI as usual is showing off with its February programme. Having
already kindly provided you with their Valentine’s Day listings, the southbank
venue will also be hosting a season dedicated to the happily opinionated David
Lynch, putting on showings of the innovative and the uneasy with Blue Velvet,
The Straight Story and Eraserhead on the agenda. In similar respectes to the
Exposures festival the BFI Future Film Festival will be back for a fifth year
on the weekend of the 18^th of February to present work exclusively
from 15-25 year olds. Full listings of all events and showings can be found at
the BFI southbank website.