Roll out the red carpet - Independent Film Festival serves up indie gems during three-day festival

The Indie-Lincs International Film Festival is back for 2024 and will show over 40 original, independent films from across the globe at Lincoln Arts Centre on Thursday 15th, Friday 16th and Saturday 17^th February 2024. Indie-Lincs is now in its eighth year and enables filmmakers and members of the public to watch films made by independent filmmakers.

During the festival, audiences can enjoy a selection of high-quality documentary, drama, and animated films, both short and feature length. The festival also includes filmmaker Q&A’s, networking events and an awards ceremony. The festival kicks off this year with a screening of BAFTA nominated feature film How to Have Sex; a powerful coming of age drama about sexual consent. It was the UK’s only entry to Cannes last year, and it won the 2023 Un Certain Regard Award.

This year’s film selections include comedy/feature film: A Kind of Kidnapping (UK), a Tarantino-esque farce about a kidnapping gone wrong; Discontinued (USA), a sci-fi drama about a depressed millennial who discovers that the world she knows is just a simulated version of reality that is being shut down.

Short films include the atmospheric UK drama Black Dog, documentary film The Last Video Store, and Ukrainian animation Morrow. A popular part of the festival is the selection of comedy short films shown on Saturday evening which include Falling Out (UK), an LGBTQ focused comedy about a bickering couple, and horror/comedy Hide Your Crazy (USA), a film about overcoming one’s personal demons for love.

In addition to films screenings there will be a number of industry talks. Guest speakers include the director of recent hit TV show Archie Paul Andrew Williams, well-known film and TV actors Pauline Lynch (Trainspotting) and Robin Laing (Band of Brothers) and Philip Hoile the Head of Distribution and Acquisitions at Bulldog Films. For those interested in the more technical aspects of filmmaking, cinematographer Jack Shelbourn will be demonstrating how to get the best out of the Arri Alexa; the film industry’s leading digital camera.

The festival is run by local filmmaker, and Lincoln School of Film and Media Senior Lecturer, Dr Mikey Murray, with a team of volunteer coordinators. Mikey said:

“Our festival is very much open for those in the community to attend and we pride ourselves on our welcoming atmosphere. If you love film, it’s a great place to not only see films you wouldn’t ordinarily get a chance to, but to meet others and discuss what you’ve watched. There is great camaraderie at the festival. This year we’ve introduced new judges to the festival who will bring their expertise and unique perspective when choosing our award-winners. Members of the public can also vote for their favourite film.”

This year’s judges include: Jeremy Wooding (creator of Peep Show), renowned film academic Professor Mette Hjort, and the previously mentioned industry guests.

Indie-Lincs is an International film festival that champions low and micro budget feature length and short films. The high-quality programme of independent films are bolstered by friendly networking events where industry guests, actors, filmmakers and the audience can all be found together discussing their work and the programme of films.

The festival is open to all. Day and weekend passes are available. Day tickets are £12 (£7 live pass) and a full Weekend pass costs £20 (£12 live pass). Age restrictions apply. Call 01522 837600 or visit www.lincolnartscentre.co.uk

To find out more about Indie-Lincs visit: www.indie-lincs.com