New date for the Southend-on-Sea Film Festival 2021
Due to the Covid 19 Pandemic we are moving the Southend-on-Sea Film Festival 2021 from May to September in the hope that the Coronavirus restrictions will have been lifted or made easier by then.
The new date for next years SOSFF will be Thursday 16th to Monday 20th September 2021.
The SOSFF will again take place at the Park Inn By Radisson Palace Hotel in Southend-on-Sea. Our intention is to include a lot of the films and events that we was unable to screen at 2020's cancelled film festival.
23rd-27th may 2019
FESTIVAL FRINGE 11TH MAY-3RD JUNE
I am absolutely delighted to welcome you to the eleventh annual Southend-on-Sea Film Festival. From its humble beginnings, back in 2009, this has grown to be the largest in Essex. I am immensely proud of what has been achieved.
As usual, we will be aiming to entice all members of the film-going public, from the youngest to the more mature. For the former, we are introducing Family Friendly Cinema, where Under 14s go free, when accompanied by a ticket-purchasing adult. So look out for these shows and give the kids a treat! At the other end of the spectrum, our more mature patrons are well catered for on Friday, in particular, when the likes of Fred Astaire, Margaret Rutherford and Gordon Harker will bring back the glory days of the 30s and 50s.
I am also delighted to showcase our local filmmakers. You will find their work dotted throughout the programme, including our Opening Gala, Under the Radar , a wonderful documentary about one of Southend’s favourite ‘sons’, Mike Edmonds, and our Closing Gala presentation of short films which have taken our town as their starting point. We also have the usual World Cinema presentations and a raft of fascinating documentaries and heritage events.
Of course, none of this would be possible without the support that you, and our sponsors, provide, and I thank you all most sincerely.
The Festival Team and I look forward to welcoming you to the Southend-on-Sea Film Festival.
Paul Cotgrove : Festival Director
festival guests
In addition to the celebrities and guests who will be joining us for the Opening Gala we will also be welcoming the following very special guests to this year’s festival:
RAY WINSTONE
Southend-on-Sea Film Festival Patron
VICKI MICHELLE
Southend-on-Sea Film Festival Patron
KAREN ANSTEE
director, Approval Needed
STEWART ALEXANDER
co-director, The Bicycle Thief
BRADLEY BARTON
co-director, A Walking Shadow
MARC BLAKE
director, Axman
HOWY BRATHERTON
actor, The Job
MOLLY BROWN
director, Meanwhile, in Southend
SAM BROWN
railway enthusiast, Chasing Trains
TONY BURKE
director, Bottle Boy
CARTER CLARKE
director, The Bandit
LLIAM COKER
writer, Life After
BOB DALGARNO
historian, Old Leigh Through the Ages & The EKCO Story
PEDRO DEL BATTENBERG
director, The Job
MARIE-ANN DEL BATTENBERG
producer, The Job
DARYL EASLEA
writer, DJ and music consultant, RUDEBOY: The Story of Trojan Records and Kojey Radical
JAMIE EVANS
director, It Starts with a Girl
RORY JOSCELYNE
director, Human Cargo
JENNIFER FARFORT
Child of the Sun Films, Circle of Support
PETER FINLAY
director, Not Yet the Hero
KRISTIAN FITSALL
director, Wallace Gets the News
DAVID JACKSON
director, Winterlong
MARK JOSEPH
film collector,
Gerry and Sylvia Anderson - on Film!
MAHENDRA KANNANGARA
curator, The Forsaken Land
DARREN KENT
actor, In Two Minds
TOM KING
journalist, The Battle of the Sexes
ATTILA KIRALY
director, Life After 'Operation Whirlwind'
BEN LETTIERI
director, Life After and Lonewolf: The Awakening
CAROLE MULRONEY
historian, Old Leigh Through the Ages
MICHELLE PASSFIELD
WellbeingMatters, Circle of Support
ROGER ROBINSON
author, The Laurel & Hardy Laughter Show
PAUL RODRIGUEZ
director, Perfect Baby
ALICE RYAN
co-director, A Walking Shadow
CAROLINE SPENCE
writer/producer,
Do Something, Jake
KERRY SKINNER
co-director, The Bicycle Thief
JAMES SMITH
director, Do Something, Jake
DAVID STREAMES
director, In Two Minds
SAMUEL TURNER
director, I’m Coming Home
JOHN WEST
associate producer, Simon Marsden: A Life in Pictures
JAMES WILSHER
director, Pest
NEIL WILSON
director, Lonewolf: The Awakening
MICHAEL J. WOOD-WILSON
director, Sophie and the Danegeld
ADAM RAMET
Lounge music
Film has always helped bring many genres together for wide and varying audiences. Southend-on-Sea also has many audiences within its visitor, resident and business communities. Just like the skilful film director, your Council has to provide the right balance and conditions to succeed.
Over the last year we have been asking what your priorities are in the lead up to 2050. We, with you and other organisations, are now delivering on those short and long-term aims and ambitions. The cultural offer is clearly important in the mix of these priorities that you have told us about.
As well as getting the basics right on our infrastructure and daily matters of public health, education, cleansing and highways, the desire to make Southend a truly brilliant place to live work and visit is right at the heart of what we will all be delivering on.
There are some fantastic films and associated events during this festival so I hope you enjoy this festival as you continue to enjoy the wider Southend cultural offer.
Ali Griffin : Chief Executive, Southend-on-Sea Borough Council
principal sponsors
