Northern Lights Film Festival set to shine

Feb 13 2010 by Sam Wonfor, The Journal

FILM fans, experts and professionals will converge once again next month for a mixture of mischief and rule breaking at the seventh Northern Lights Film Festival.

The nine-day event, which will run from March 20-28 will make a very welcome return – particularly so given the uncertainty which had hovered, following the departure of American festival director, Brian Gordon last summer, after less than a year in the post.

The fact that it wasn’t going ahead as scheduled (usually in November), coupled with a reluctance to commit on a new calendar location, set a few alarm bells ringing in some quarters.

Thankfully though, any uncertainty has been sat on, quashed and shot down, with the announcement of a thought-provoking programme for the 2010 gathering.

Having become accustomed to the festival, which was established in 2003, signalling that the dark nights have taken hold, it’s perhaps unsurprising that a new spring slot comes with a “fresh focus and appeal”.

For starters, there’ll be events happening in Durham for the first time (Gala Theatre, Clayport Library and the Oriental Museum will all play host to screenings and associated loveliness). In addition, it’ll be the first time that a Mercury Music Prize nominee has been involved.

Newcastle-based and bred Maximo Park are bringing “Music and Mayhem” to Newcastle’s Star and Shadow Cinema on the closing weekend of the festival.

Exact details and timings are still being finalised, but we can confirm that the band, fronted by Billingham-born Paul Smith, will be remixing a classic silent movie for the audience’s pleasure. Exciting eh?

Other highlights announced so far, include a two-day session called Ad Men, at Baltic on March 20 and 21, from 10am-4pm, which will offer audiences the chance to see the world’s oldest surviving advert (with sound), which just happens to have come from up-the-road Ringtons, who will also be supplying refreshments.