Cheltenham Film Festival

Wychwood Magic

2010-06-20T14:10:00.000-07:00

With the sun shining down over Cheltenham race course (and one dramatic thunderstorm!!), CFF's festival debut took place the weekend of the 4th, 5th and 6th June at the Wychwood Festival, a predominately family event which attracted old favourites such as the Happy Mondays, local bands, aspiring comedians and the famous Pimms bus! CFF were asked to run the cinema tent over the weekend which screened family favourites such as Finding Neverland to the modern day cult, Life Aquatic. The cinema also screened a series of UK Film Council's short films.

The weekend was a huge success with the climax taking place on Saturday night when a local band, "The Travelling Band" gave a musical accompaniment to the classic film "The Devil Bat." This "musical experiment" attracted a large eclectic audience who responded positively to the performance. Martin and Adam filmed the evening with a view to producing a music video for the band. Watch this space!

The weekend was a great learning experience for Martin and Adam and gave the people of Cheltenham a little taste of what is come in October at the main event.....!

New promotional videos

2010-06-14T06:09:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the marketing guys at Target Marketing (http://www.targetgroup.co.uk/) who have created some fantastic marketing material for our website to freshen it up.

Taking on the concept of making a star out of Cheltenham and it's population by recreating famous scenes from films with Cheltenham as the back drop, they have created some fantastic results with support from both P4 films and Slaters.

Check out the videos and see if you can guess the films they are mimicking.

http://www.cheltenhamfilmfestival.com/trailer.html

More films added

2010-06-10T15:54:00.000-07:00

We are currently in contact with some very exciting distributors to screen a wide array of films - many of which have never been screened in Cheltenham before. This is a really exciting time for the festival and we are hopeful of releasing some more information soon - stay tuned!

Congratulations to Martin Horwood

2010-06-10T15:51:00.000-07:00

Although slightly belated, we wanted to congratulate Martin Horwood MP for a successful election campaign that saw him stay as the MP of Cheltenham on a higher majority. Martin has been a supporter of the festival from the very start and we are extremely appreciative of everything he has done for us. Here's to another successful term.

Another celebrity endorsement

2010-04-29T15:23:00.000-07:00

James Bond himself has now voiced his appreciation for the festival……Sir Roger Moore, famous for playing the highly acclaimed secret agent has stated:

“I first visited Cheltenham a couple of years ago during the literary festival, and found it a charming and thriving place to be. I hope the film festival generates as much 'buzz' as the other festivals in Cheltenham do, and that along with celebrating classics it might also help unearth new talent and classics of the future too."

His statement displays how far the festival has grown in stature already as Sir Michael Parkinson has similarly voiced his appreciation for the event. Watch this space for more famous faces!

Exciting meeting with Mickey Mouse

2010-04-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Fresh from the success of the launch party in March both Martin and Adam were invited to a meeting at the Disney offices in Hammersmith! The meeting took place with the technical director and marketing manager and the boys even met Mickey Mouse in the flesh and got a peek of the Disney/ Pixar board room where ideas for classics such as Toy Story and the Incredibles may have taken shape.

Martin and Adam hope that Disney will be able to participate in the festival in some capacity and have their fingers crossed for a development some time soon.

First official launch party

2010-04-29T15:18:00.000-07:00

Hello my name is Laura and I am the new official blogger for the Cheltenham Film Festival. Such a lot has happened since the last entry as we draw closer to the big event……

On an evening in late March, Martin and Adam staged the CFF launch party at the prestigious Queens hotel in the centre of Cheltenham. Representatives from over thirty local businesses attended the exciting event which kicked off with a champagne reception in the Regency Suite. This was followed by speeches by both Martin and Adam which portrayed to the vast audience both their passion and drive behind the event and their future exciting plans for the forthcoming months.

A special thanks to Target who without their support this event could not have taken place. The evening was also given a special mention in the local newspaper “The Echo” the next day along with photographs of the evening which was enjoyed by all. The event has already attracted the interest of many key local businesses who have now committed to supporting the festival both financially and with in kind support. There are still opportunities for businesses to get on board so if you are interested, don’t delay get in touch now!

2010-03-11T10:29:00.000-08:00

Greetings all! Sorry about the long wait but there’s been such a lot going on and now I bring plenty of news!

First of all, Martin and Adam are busy organising a launch party for our potential sponsors and current affiliates (plus some special guests I hear!), to be held at the prestigious Queen’s Hotel in April.

Secondly, the festival is currently in negotiations with some exciting distributors who will show some exclusive films at the festival. This will be fab in creating lots of diversity within the festival programme!

Major progress has been made now that 2 of the screens have their schedules almost in place, and I hear the others are not far behind! In the next few months the full film schedule will be totally complete and you will find out what's in store!

And now a bit of mystery for you...the festival is close to announcing yet another industry partner of the festival...more shall be revealed in due course!

Don't forget to follow us on Facebook and Twitter! Stay tuned for further updates!

2010-01-04T07:40:00.000-08:00

Hello! Hope you all had a lovely Christmas and new year! Just to let you know about a couple of recent developments:

The BFI is now officially one of our industry partners and they will be kindly aiding us in the “Classic Screen” part of the festival.

Established in 1933, this world-renowned organisation is famous for its archive (the largest of moving image material in the world!), cinemas, festivals, films and its publications. It is dedicated to the promotion of understanding and appreciation of Britain’s film and television heritage and culture and as such we are thrilled to have them on board!

Their involvement means that we will be able to utilise their huge range of films, lecturers and fellows!

For more info on the BFI, have a gander at the website (link below)

www.bfi.org.uk

Also, with regards to news I posted a month or so ago about Sir Michael Parkinson lending his support to the festival- the Echo had a feature last month:

Hereth is the link: http://www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/gloucestershireheadlines/Michael-Parkinson-backs-Cheltenham-Film-Festival/article-1591181-detail/article.html

Stay tuned for further developments!

Sir Michael Parkinson offers support!

2009-11-20T15:21:00.000-08:00

Exciting news! Broadcaster, journalist and BFI fellow Sir Michael Parkinson has offered his support for the festival- stating that he is "looking forward to seeing it take shape"!

Parkinson (or "Parky" as he is often known) has had an incredible career in the broadcasting industry - starting out in television in the 1960s, presenting in particular Granada's late night film review programme Cinema, before moving on to present his famous Parkinson series where had the opportunity to interview the likes of Orson Welles, Woody Allen and Clint Eastwood. Such a career has clearly given him insight not only into the lives and experiences of such people but also into the world of film itself and as a result, we are delighted to have his support!

UCAS on board!

2009-11-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service- www.ucas.com), the company responsible for managing applications for higher education in the UK is now on board as an educational partner! They are the world's leading shared admissions service for higher education and consequently their support and involvement will be extremely valuable!

2009-11-13T05:00:00.000-08:00

Hello all! This is Amy- the new “official blogger” for the Cheltenham Film Festival here- things are really stepping up with regards to the festival now and so I’ve volunteered to help out with keeping everyone updated!

First off, last week Martin and Adam met with Target (the festival’s marketing agents) as well as 11-55 (our commercial branding agents). A variety of matters were discussed regarding the festival’s advertising campaign, along with business-to-business fundraising, distribution progress, and various graphics concepts. The ball is definitely rolling!!

I’m very excited to say that progress is also being made with regards to the educational aspect of the festival. Gloucestershire College hope to come on board as educational partners and so Adam and Martin met with Andy Ginn from Gloucestershire College to discuss the possibility of delivering workshops where students can produce work that will later be showcased within the Shorts Cinema Screen! This would be a very exciting opportunity for students to get involved and have their work screened to a large audience!

Don’t forget that we are also on Facebook and Twitter so please sign up!

2009-09-22T03:33:00.000-07:00

Oh...P.s we now have a Facebook site you can follow us through ... so crack on and sign up!

2009-09-22T03:28:00.000-07:00

Last week we met with Target, our marketing agents and finally signed off on festival contracts. They have proposed some truly fantastic ideas and concepts to engage our festival with Cheltenham! We really can't wait to launch into the public realm and hear the public response!! Keep an eager eye out for festival happenings!

In addition to that, its been all hands on deck with discussions with potential financial backers and film distributors.... continue to watch this space! Things are moving quickly!

2009-09-22T03:25:00.000-07:00

A little belated, but thought we'd throw these pic's up here. These were taken at the ISSA (International School of Screen Acting) Graduation ceremony at BAFTA in July. In the second image is David Craik, course leader at ISSA. Once again David thanks for all your support!!

2009-09-06T09:50:00.000-07:00

Firstly, to all those who may have been referring to the BLOG and wondering why there's nothing on it ... REALLY SORRY! Things have been absolutely flat out at our end, and so its taken a while to get ourselves organized in launching. From here on in we're going to aim to update our followers every week-end. Thanks for understanding and for coming back to keep posted.

The following is a retrospective update relating to key events and meetings that have got us to the stage at which we find ourselves now. Its a little prescriptive and text heavy but I guarantee the future to be much more dynamic!

BAFTA HQ – 23^rd July 2009

One of the festival’s first official affiliates was the International School of Screen Acting. We were in turn invited to the 2009 graduate screening of the work of this year’s student’s at BAFTA.

www.bafta.org

Martin Horwood – 20^th July 2009

Martin Horwood, local Liberal Democrat MP for Cheltenham gives us his backing after a really positive meeting. Martin has been extra-ordinarily generous in his support for the festival, for which we are really grateful. We look forward to meeting again soon ... hopefully at his parliamentary offices next time!

www.martinhorwood.net

Joanna Page / UCAS – 24^th July 2009

Promising meeting with UCAS – remain hopeful that they’ll become a sponsor or partner; now in the throes of drafting an official proposal and document for them, to be submitted mid September.

www.ucas.com

Website launch – 5^th August 2009

The festival website goes LIVE!! And it looks great…Thanks to Paul at Ventana Design who’s done a spectacular job given the tight time frame we gave him.

www.ventanadesign.com

Viewfinder – 10th August 2009

After a meeting with Tico Romao of the University of Gloucestershire we can confirm that Cheltenham Film Festival and VIEWFINDER Film Festival are now working together to establish an evening dedicated to showcasing the short films of FE and HE students.

www.viewfinderfilm.info

Kevan Blackadder – 10^th August 2009

We can confirm that Gloucestershire Media are now our primary local media partner after meeting with Kevan Blackadder. Looking forward to a long lasting relationship during the build up and launch of the festival!

www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk

You can read the most recent story about Cheltenham Film Festival at...

www.thisisgloucestershire.co.uk/search.html

BFI – 25^th August 2009

Success! Having been in dialogue for a while we can confirm that we’re now working with the BFI to enhance our festival program and will be developing this relationship over the coming weeks.

www.bfi.org

The Queens Hotel – 26^th August 2009

Met with Trudy Heenan of the Queens Hotel Cheltenham who very kindly gave us a tour of the hotel and its facilities. As a consequence of the meeting the hotel has agreed to be a core affiliate of ours during the festival.

www.mercure.com

Cheltenham Ladies College – 4^th September 2009

Amanda Naylor confirms that we have booked usage of the Cheltenham Ladies College locations – that is the Princes Hall where our Classic Screen is to be situated and their new Bayshill Performing Arts Centre where our Short Film screen will be located.

www.cheltladiescollege.org

TARGET Marketing Agency – Signing off this month

We’re looking forward to signing off contracts officially with our marketing agency TARGET who we are working closely with to develop our advertising strategy and we hope a plethora of exciting forthcoming endeavors! Cheers to ZAK and Sarah especially for their enthusiasm and passion for our project!

www.targetgroup.co.uk

ElevenFiftyFive – Signing off this month

Another momentous step this month will be the signing off on contracts with our commercial / branding consultants ElevenFiftyFive. We’re really looking forward to developing our relationship with them, and building upon branding strategy.

www.elevenfiftyfive.com

Facebook site launched

Watch this space! The Cheltenham Film Festival Facebook group will be launched REAL soon!! Hopefully by the 11^th of September. We’ll be sure to launch the news here first!