The first Pompeywood Film Festival is set to take place at The Groundlings Theater on Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23.
It is the brainchild of acclaimed local filmmaker and festival director Sam Mason Bell and is produced by TrashArts Productions in partnership with HB Films.
Sam said: “TrashArts is known mainly for making horror films, but also for other arts events, including open mic nights in local public spaces, so we wanted to create a film festival that focused on that particular genre, but was also open to entries. for other movie genres.
“I’ve been lucky enough to meet a lot of great independent filmmakers when I’ve been to other festivals around the country, so I wanted to create something that was about showcasing those kinds of films and getting people to see them. Portsmouth so they can see what a great city it is. It should also be a great networking event.”
The festival will feature a range of feature films across the weekend, including the work of iconic Portsmouth filmmaker Michael J. Murphy, who died in 2015. Murphy’s work is set to be celebrated in a major box-set retrospective, but Pompeiiwood will be a rare adaptation of his 1982 horror film An invitation to hell.
Sam added: “His films were made at a time when it was much more difficult for small, unfunded, independent filmmakers to make films than it is now, so we want to use the festival to highlight his work as well as the great films being made today.”
Other shows include For fury directed by Darren Ward, Mask of the devil Richard Roundtree, In the dark Sam Mason Bell and India Kim, and Powertool Cheerleaders vs. The Boyband of the Screeching Dead Pat Higgins.
In the dark, Sam’s own film, directed by India Kim, is an anthology documentary about other filmmakers. “Given the idea of the festival, it seemed appropriate to show this rather than one of my narrative films,” added Sam.
In addition to the screenings, there will be a short film competition in the horror, non-horror and trailer categories.
Festival administrator Martin W. Payne said: “The Pompeywood Film Festival is all about encouraging as many filmmakers as possible to submit their short films for screening, so entry fees remain very low and screening ticket prices will also be low. is kept as low as possible.
“We are keen to encourage filmmakers from across the UK and the world to submit their work, but there is a particular focus on local films from Hampshire.”
The winners will be announced on Sunday night with awards for Best Performance, Best Film, Best Sound and Best Makeup. One of the last awards to be decided will be the best film based on the audience’s choice.
Tickets are priced from £5 per session, £8 each day or £15 for the whole weekend and can be purchased by calling (023) 9273 7370 or from groundlings.ticketsolve.com.
