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Chronicle Live
Entertainment
Daniel Hall

Northumberland film festival returns for third time with screenings in a train station, pubs and village halls

A total of 13 unique venues in the west of Northumberland will host films across ten days in March as a "celebration of film".

The Tyne Valley Film Festival returns for the third time with screenings spanning the 1920s to 2023. This year, there will be films from eight different countries making up a programme that has been chosen by the community.

Led by Northumberland's only full-time independent cinema, The Forum in Hexham, there will be screenings there every day of the festival, which runs from March 17 - 26. Other venues include The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre in Northumberland National Park, Hexham's Queen's Hall, the Old Booking Hall at Haltwhistle Train Station, and a handful of village halls and pubs.

Read more: Northumberland film festival to fully return for first time in three years

Highlights include the launch of the festival at The Forum on Friday 17, with a preview screening of surreal Filipino comedy-drama Leonor Will Never Die, due for release later this year; followed on Saturday with a screening of The Wizard of Oz. Movie purists can indulge in an early work of Alfred Hitchcock's at the Queen's Hall, as silent film The Lodger: A Story of London Fog, is accompanied by a live piano accompaniment, while fans of ITV series are in for a treat as Vera author Ann Cleeves will introduce The Edge of the World at Tarset Village Hall on Thursday March 23.

The festival will close on Sunday March 26 with a screening in collaboration with Kids Movie Fest Ukraine. Svitlana Pohasiy arrived in Hexham in April 2022 after travelling from Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and will give a brief history of Ukrainian cinema before introducing comedy and closing film My Thoughts are Silent.

Chris Kelly, festival coordinator and marketing officer, said: "It’s wonderful to be hosting our third Tyne Valley Film Festival this year. We have had some changes at The Forum since the last festival but the core message of creating community through cinema experiences remains at the heart of everything we do!

"As always it has been a pleasure to work with the wide range of community organisations, businesses and film clubs to curate a unique, diverse and exciting programme."

Chris Kelly pictured at The Forum Cinema in Hexham (Craig Connor/ChronicleLive)

Faye Carr-Wilson, festival programmer, said: "Being able to support community organisations and film clubs across the region, sharing our collective love of film, feels really special. We've got some really exciting events in this year's edition; including a couple of special previews and filmmaker Q+A's. It's going to be a party!"

For more information on the Tyne Valley Film Festival, pick up a programme from Hexham's Forum Cinema or visit the website.

Where's the most unusual place you've watched a film? Let us know!

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