Margate Film Festival returns with 50 films at 5 venues

Margate Film Festival returns for its sixth edition next month with a five-day celebration of film and moving image.

The festival will be exploring themes of cultural politics, feminism, music, creativity and compassion.

Running since 2018, the not-for-profit festival brings bold independent cinema, live performance and immersive events across Margate.

The 2025 programme features 40 events and more than 50 films at five venues, with films from across the globe, screening from November 26-30.

Opening & Closing Night:

• ‘Bird’: Academy Award-winner Andrea Arnold’s tender coming-of-age fable starring Barry Keoghan, opening the festival with an exclusive introduction.
• Chumps Double Bill: ‘King Rocker’ and ‘Oxide Ghosts: The Brass Eye Tapes’ with Q&A from comedian Stewart Lee and director Michael Cumming.

Local Spotlight:

• ‘Blue Has No Borders’: World premiere documentary by Jessi Gutch exploring identity and community in Folkestone, presented with Folkestone Documentary Festival.
• ‘Dragonfly’: Eerie British thriller starring Academy Award® nominees Andrea Riseborough and Ramsgate-born Brenda Blethyn in tour-de-force performances exploring elder care, alienation, and the potential for both kindness and cruelty.

Diverse Voices:

• ‘Move Ya Body: The Birth of House’: Elegance Bratton’s electrifying doc tracing house music to its Black and queer Chicago roots, with afterparty presented by Margate Pride.
• ‘Palestine Comedy Club’: Six Palestinian comedians tour a stand-up show amidst occupation and conflict.
• ‘Monk In Pieces’: Visionary composer Meredith Monk’s profound cultural influence explored through interviews with Björk and David Byrne.

Notable Features:

• ‘The Marching Band’: Moving French drama about two brothers united through music.
• ‘I Am Martin Parr’: Intimate portrait of Britain’s most provocative contemporary photographer.
• ‘La Piscine’: Jacques Deray’s 1969 cult erotic thriller set on the sun-drenched Riviera.

Live Cinema Experiences:

• ‘The Magician’ Live Score: 1926 silent horror classic with live musical performance from AUTOHAUs.
• ‘The Snowman’ Interactive Performance: Cabinet of Living Cinema’s beloved family workshop and screening for ages 4+.
• ‘Attack of the Crab Monsters’: Roger Corman’s 1957 creature feature at The Crab Museum with vintage bug-themed shorts.

Shorts Programmes:

• Five curated shorts programmes including ‘Defiant Depths’, ‘From Where She Stands’, and ‘Crossroads’ featuring local and international films.

Venues:

• ARK Cliftonville
• Tom Thumb Theatre
• The Crab Museum,
• 101 Social
• CAMP
• Fort Rd Hotel
• Turner Contemporary

Festival Partners:

• Folkestone Documentary Festival, Margate Pride, Worm Factory, Cabinet of Living Cinema & Margate Black Pride, Fort Rd hotel and many more.

Full programme and tickets available at www.margatefilmfestival.co.uk

Sea monster workshop

October 22, 10am to 4pm, Turner

Award-winning theatre and animation company 1927 is taking over Turner’s Clore Studio for a drop-in stop-motion animation workshop inspired by Anna Boghiguian’s illustrative style and world-building

Lurking in the depths, down in the kelpy gloom, strange beings dwell.

Creatures of your imagination. Beings from your dreams. Monsters that coil and gyre – inexplicable, mysterious, unfathomable and unseen… until now!

Join members of the artistic team behind the renowned theatre company 1927, in collaboration with Margate Film Festival, for a free drop-in animation workshop like no other.

Create your own animated Sea Monster, inspired by the depths of imagination and the mysteries of the ocean. Bring your monsters to the surface – it is time we saw them and said hello.

Free – drop-in Book now