The Ramsgate International Film and TV Festival, running from June 13-16, is now celebrating its third year, thanks to the passion of its founder Sylvie Bolioli and the support of local businesses and the community.
Born in Menton on the French Riviera, Sylvie (pictured below) visited Ramsgate for a weekend, fell in love with the town and subsequently made it her home. In 2017 she then set about organising the first Ramsgate Film Festival.
Ramsgate has already built its reputation with the Royal Harbour being the central location for many film and television programmes over the years. As the festival has developed, so has its followers – film makers and spectators are now coming from across the globe to take part.
The festival working in collaboration with GloTIMEtv as it seeks to inspire and support emerging creative talent and nurture a new generation of filmmakers. Awards are in place to honour up and coming artists, who could go on to make a mark within the industry.
Visitors to the 2019 International Film and TV Festival will be entertained by a captivating programme of events, featuring in excess of 80 films directed by local and International independent film makers. Films will compete in six categories with two new ones – web series / TV pilot and music videos – being added for this year. For the 2019 Festival, film submissions have been received from around the world with successful entrants representing countries including Australia, Brazil, Iran, Martinique, Philippines, South Africa and Taiwan as well the more established film-related European nations and the North American continent. Competition for the festival’s Anchor Awards, created by celebrated local artist Dominic Grant, promises to be fierce.
Festival patron Brenda Blethyn, the BAFTA, Globe and Cannes Best Actress and Oscar nominee, whose most recent role is Vera in the detective series of that name, will again select the Best First Feature Film and will be joined by fellow jury members Dee Anderson (Thunderbirds), Julie Forsyth (Grant & Forsyth), Jan Dunn (BIFA winner), Pippa Cross (BAFTA winner), Stephen Frost and Tracy Russell (Leave Now).
Screenings are scheduled throughout the four-day duration and will be supplemented with talks and seminars from artists and industry professionals. The festival’s main hub will be the Granville Theatre but other venues in and around Ramsgate will also be used. A dedicated schools programme includes a variety of educational submissions from local schools which have run competitions prior to the festival. The Palace Cinema in Broadstairs will host a Youth Programme.
The closing night will feature the UK premiere of American Mirror -Intimations of Immortality starring Susan Sarendon and the awards ceremony.
For the full Festival programme and tickets, check out the following websites;
Talks
Andy Mayson: “Distribution in the Era of Multimedia”
Andy Mayson, who was on the jury panel in 2017, is coming back to the Festival. Andy is joint CEO of Altitude, one of the leading production companies and distributors in the UK. Andy formed the Group with Will Clarke in 2011, producing Big Game (starring Samuel L Jackson) and Exec Produced 13 films including Whitney, Kill Your Friends, The Girl With All the Gifts, 47 Meters Down and Get Santa. Altitude also has its own international sales company having represented over 40 titles. In 2014 it launched its own UK distribution entity theatrically releasing 19 titles to date.
Mark Valley: “Behind the scenes of ZBurg”
As a writer, director and performer, Mark will look at the award-winning web series he made with his local community. Mark is a familiar face to television audiences, having starred in series such as Boston Legal, Body of Proof and Human Target. He has worked with some of the top creators on television including JJ Abrahams (Fringe) and Matt Weiner (The Romanoffs) and is currently the host of the podcast The Live Drop.
Steve Coombes: “The Five Golden Rules of Scriptwriting”
Steve began writing stand up, comedy and plays and spent a large part of the 1980s touring Britain and Europe with the ‘Keen But Nervous Theatre Company’ which he also managed. They performed regularly at the Edinburgh Fringe and Glastonbury. Ever since, Steve has written episodes for a host of comedy and drama hits, including Birds of a Feather, Hustle, Lovejoy, Outlaw and Vera with Brenda Blethyn. Steve has been nominated for various awards including RTS, BAFTA and the British Comedy Awards.
Events
European Premiere of “JFK: The Last Speech”, directed by Bestor Cram, followed by Q&A with Producer Neil Bicknell at Opening Gala night.
World Premiere of “Timmy’s World”, directed by Julie Forsyth with Tim Clark and Brenda Blethyn
On|Off: Mark Stewart from the pop group to the mafia: in collaboration with The Irregular Film Club, celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the movie, in which two local Ramsgate residents are featured. The screening of the movie will be followed by a party at the Ramsgate Music Hall.
Loving Vincent: A screening of the film about Van Gogh as part of the Van Gogh weekend, which will see the unveiling of the Van Gogh statue in Spencer Square, in partnership with The Friends of Ellington Park and the Ramsgate Society.
A retrospective dedicated to Ken Loach and Rebecca O’Brien during the week prior to the festival, together with the attribution of a Lifetime Achievement Award.
A Youth Event will be held in Broadstairs in collaboration with The Palace Cinema, Screen South, Film Hub South East and Kent Film Foundation. This will feature the screening of films made by local children and young people.
Venues
Granville Theatre
Falstaff Hotel
Queens Head
Eats & Beats
McGillan & Woodell Gallery
Albion House
Palace Cinema, Broadstairs
