Interview with Neil Jeram-Croft of the Nottingham International Film Festival
The Nottingham International Film Festival 2020 is the fifth edition of the prestigious annual event that is taking place 13th – 15th November 2020.
Taking into consideration the current situation with Covid-19, this year the festival will take place entirely online, with all screenings happening virtually through the NOTTIFF website.
We speak to Festival Director Neil Jeram-Croft who explains about the festival’s previous years and the filmmakers that submit from all over the world to this local celebration of global films.
Midlands Movies: Hi there Neil! Can you tell me a bit about yourself?
Neil Jeram-Croft: Hello. I am originally from Somerset but went to University in Manchester, I had friends at University in Nottingham and regularly visited both during my time at University and after.
MM: So how did you get into arranging the Nottingham International Film Festival?
NJC: I started the Manchester Film Festival back in 2015 after touring a film at festivals and I realised there wasn't a major festival in Manchester. Following the success of the Manchester Film Festival I looked around the country at other cities that didn't have a broad genred film festival. I had previously attended the Mayhem film festival and new Nottingham has a great cultural scene, so it seemed like a great fit for an independent film festival.
MM: And so what attracted you to focusing on global films?
NJC: As mentioned above we knew there was a strong genre festival in Nottingham with Mayhem, I've always loved cinema from all over world and it just gives us even more scope to find the best stories to share with audiences.
MM: You’ve also got films from all over the world. How do they come to you and who chooses the line-up?
NJC: We screen all our films from open submissions, so filmmakers send us their films to be considered. We then have a great programming team who view all the submissions and choose the best!
MM: In 2020, Covid has of course affected many Midlands festivals. What has been the most difficult hurdle you have had to overcome this year?
NJC: Switching the festival to be fully online has been really tricky as part of the appeal of the festival is that communal experience, plus we normally have loads of the directors attending and Q and A's etc. So, trying to replicate that experience online has been hard.
MM: Can you tell us a little bit about previous years’ highlights?
NJC: Last year at the Contemporary was a big highlight for me, it's a fantastic venue to show film and the audiences were fantastic. We had a great space for networking and loads of filmmakers attending. The opening night film Le Champion with a Q and A with the producer was also a real highlight. First year was also amazing with filmmakers travelling from the USA and all over Europe, the opening night party at Das Kino was one to remember!
MM: And do you get to meet many of the filmmakers? And what have they thought of the fest and Nottingham in general?
NJC: As mentioned above we are always delighted to be able to welcome many of the filmmakers to Nottingham and when they come, they love to explore the city and take in the history. We have also had many filmmakers come back to show their next films as well, so we must be doing something right!
MM: Is it just yourself who arranges the festival or do you have a team?
NJC: There is a small team of us who work year-round on the festivals and then we have a few regular contributors, such as Nottingham filmmaker George Howard, who works with us on the actual event each year.
MM: Returning to the local. What are your favourite Nottingham-based films or Nottingham filmmakers?
NJC: It seems obvious to say Shane Meadows and his body of work so I’ll give another shout out to George, he made a great short called Archer last year and I expect big things from him!
MM: Last but not least, what do you hope for the festival in the future?
NJC: We hope to continue to grow the festival in our new venue at the Contemporary and carve out our niche within the cultural scene of the city.
MM: Thanks Neil. All the best for the festival!
Continuing scrolling below for info on the screenings and line-up...
As usual the festival will screen a selection of over thirty films across the weekend in a lineup made up of feature films, documentaries, short films, animation, experimental and music videos. The films selected represent all corners of the globe and the best filmmaking talent from the world of cinema.
Included in the 2020 lineup is the UK Premieres of three narrative feature films. Israeli film SNOWLAND, about a long time friendship put to the test during wartime, Canada’s THE MARINA, about a unique relationship between a struggling wakeboarder and a local marina employee and German film ZU DEN STERNEN, which tells the story of a famous musician accused by his former friend of betraying him to the Stasi.
This year’s documentary selection includes the world premiere of the UK’s own A SPACE IN TIME, which focuses on a parents journey to create a magical home for their two sons after they receive a diagnosis of a progressive and fatal muscle wasting disease. Also included in the documentary selection is A VETERANS JOURNEY HOME: LEAVING IT ON THE LAND, about military veterans doing a wilderness Vision Fast ceremony, and MY BLOOD IS RED, a Brazilian music documentary that follows a young indigenous rapper as he tries to make sense of the violence being meted out against his people.
Along with the feature film selection there will be three short sessions across the weekend. Highlights from the selection include THE LAST CHORD, about dreams and unhealthy parenthood, THE DAY YOU LONG FOR, about a man spending the festive season in hospital after a car accident, coming of age story ADOLESCENCE, and the world premiere of THE FRUIT FIX, about a piano player with anxiety preparing for a life changing audition.
For full line-up details and to see what time screenings are taking place follow the links below.
Tickets and Official Pages:
http://www.nottiff.com/
https://twitter.com/nottiffofficial
https://www.facebook.com/NOTTIFFOFFICIAL
