As a part of Telford’s 50th birthday celebrations between 14 September and 31 October we have a jam-packed month of screenings and special events in venues all over town, from railway adventures and zombie attacks to camp singalongs and silent classics.
As well as providing an opportunity to celebrate film in all its amazing variety, it’s also a chance to see Telford itself in a new cultural light.
The Telford Film Festival is the result of a collaboration between Telford & Wrekin Council and Flatpack Projects, and is part of Film Hub Midlands’ mission to develop film culture across the region.
All tickets for the Film Festival can be purchased online, alternatively call the box office on 01952 382 382 or pop into the film venues where you will be able to buy in person but please contact the venue directly as opening hours vary.
Friday 14 September, 7pm, All Saints Church.
Legendary silent comedian Buster Keaton is at his absolute best in this 1928 feature, playing a street corner photographer who falls in love with a receptionist at a newsreel production office. Complete with live piano accompaniment from meg Morley bolstered by the acoustics of Wellington's All Saints Church.
Monday 17 September, 7:30pm, Coalbrookdale & Ironbridge Community Centre.
Poet and novelist Mary Webb is perhaps Shropshire's most famous daughter, and Gorge Film Club will be playing homage to Webb with a screening of Powell & Pressburger's Gone To Earth, a gorgeous screen adaptation of her 1917 novel about a woman choosing between two potential admirers.
Friday 21 September, Doors 6pm / Film approx. 8pm, Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.
At the end of September, at a museum not that far away… Immerse yourself in the starry backdrop of space and join Rae, Fin and a few familiar friends in their race to find Luke Skywalker after his lengthy, and mysterious, absence. Part of the RAF Museum Cosford’s outdoor film season.
Saturday 22 September, drop-in all day, Ironbridge Gorge Museum.
A celebration of the town of Ironbridge using newly digitised film from the Media Archive for Central England. From coracles on the Severn to the world famous cast-iron bridge plus a nostalgic visit from one of the town’s most famous sons, football legend Billy Wright. We’ve got your trip down memory lane covered.
Saturday 22 September, Doors 6pm / Film approx. 8pm, Royal Air Force Museum Cosford.
Sunday 23 September, 2pm, Cineworld Telford.
The iconic Japanese Studio Ghibli brings this family friendly classic to life through tales of friendship, family and imagination.
Sunday 23 September, 4pm, Dawley Town Hall.
Two engaging archive films that glimpse into Telford’s past - BBC documentary A Splendid Place To Live, following a Birmingham family as they move to Sutton Hill, and 1971 sales pitch The New Life, commissioned by Telford Development Corporation to lure new residents to the still nascent town.
Sunday 23 September, 6pm, Dawley Town Hall.
A brand new documentary from director Nick Boy that looks at the history of Telford, interviewing town residents, architects and town planners to form a picture of a remarkable urban planning project that began in the 1960s. Boy will also be on hand for a post-screening Q&A.
Monday 24 September, 6:15pm, Cineworld Telford.
Catch this latest film at a special preview before it's inevitably heli-flipped into pop culture. Camille's life as a lonely suburban teenager changes dramatically after she brefriends an all-girl skate crew. With hypnotic skating sequences, authentic performances and a millenial spin on the genre, this is an undeniably cool ad for the female skating community that will send you straight out in search of your first board.
Saturday 29 September, Wine tasting 3pm / Film 4:30pm, Telford Steam Railway / Horsehay Village Hall.
Telford Steam Railway is a fitting location for Kenneth Branagh’s witty take on the Agatha Christie whodunnit, kicking off with a wine-tasting session on board their vintage carriages (evening dress is optional). Suitably primed, you can then make your way round the corner to Horsehay Village Hall for the feature presentation. A most devilish affair indeed.
Monday 1 October, Quiz 6:30pm / Film 8:30pm, Cineworld Telford.
Grab your comfiest dressing gowns, pour yourself a White Russian and enjoy this classic and perfectly cast film that has kept audiences laughing for twenty years and features a performance by Jeff Bridges so enviably cool, it inspired its own religion. Preceded by a 90s movie quiz.
Monday 8 October, 7:30pm, Cineworld Telford.
The town of Telford was born in 1968, the very year that Stanley Kubrick’s space opera 2001: A Space Odyssey was unleashed upon a bedazzled viewing public. Digitally remastered for its fiftieth anniversary, this is Kubrick’s undeniable masterpiece and a film that still baffles and delights in equal measure.
Tuesday 9 October, 7pm, Oakengates Theatre @ The Place.
The Shropshire hills will be alive with the sound of warbling this October, as Midlands legend Barbara Nice (aka stand-up comic Janice Connolly) hosts a screening of the classic Julie Andrews musical The Sound Of Music. Fancy dress is absolutely encouraged. This is event is supported by Shropshire Rainbow Film Festival.
Saturday 20 October, Doors 8:30pm / Film 8:45pm, Telford Shopping Centre.
Wednesday 31 October, 8pm, The Wakes.
Sequels don't come more in-your-face than James Cameron's space monster 1986 follow-up, which sees Sigourney Weaver getting in touch with her maternal instinct before doing battle with the Alien Queen. An explosive blockbuster with a nail-biting finale and solid feminist credentials, Aliens still stands out from the pack over thirty years later.