Films from around the world this weekend in Hastings film festival

Promoter Nadene Ghouri said: “Putting on a film festival in the middle of a pandemic is no easy feat, but that is exactly what local filmmaker Francis Saunders has achieved.

“South Coast Film Festival, the first of an annual event, will see an exciting array of local and international filmmaking talent on display with a range of short-films, sitcoms, TV pilots and mini-documentaries screened at the Electric Palace Cinema in Hastings this weekend.

“The international line-up includes films from Iraq, Iran, Italy, Austria, Romania, American and India to name but a few.

“Established and new Hastings local talent is included, as are young filmmakers shooting on smartphones.

“South Coast film festival is the brainchild of Writer Director Producer Francis Saunders and Co-writer David Wurawa. Francis is a former Mixed martial arts champion and began his career as a professional actor working in TV Film and Theatre. He has won various awards for his Writing- Filmmaking. His feature film ‘Uncaged’ is set to shoot on the South Coast in 2021.”

Francis said: “The idea of South Coast film festival is to bring great films together regardless of their budget. And to bring together a mix of local and international talent here in Hastings. Due to Coronavirus everything was cancelled but I was absolutely determined to go ahead, albeit with full safety measures in place. All audience members will be given visors on arrival.”

Javid Sobhani is a young filmmaker from Iran. He says: “As a young filmmaker who is in the first steps of his work route it’s like a dream come true for his work to be recognized and shown for larger range of audiences. To me films are made to show the perspective of their creators on a matter, so it is vital for filmmakers to be able to screen their works for their voices to be heard. A festival is the perfect place to do that! Screening films from around the globe in international festivals can bring people from different cultures together and connect them more to each other. So, when I heard that my film is going to be screened in South Coast festival in UK, I was really proud and excited.”

Baz Black is a director from Ireland, showing his short film Reflection. He says: “It is such an honour to have my film REFLECTION as an Official Selection at South Coast. It is not just a thrill for myself but also my crew and cast. The current situation is tough on both the organisers and film makers. Most of my Official Selections have gone online, unfortunately this cuts out the in-person networking that festivals are designed for. South Coast have been amazing with regards to updates and communication. It is amazing they have managed to keep their Live event going ahead with the upmost precautions in place to keep everyone safe and they should be commended for doing so. We can't wait for the screening of REFLECTION amongst all the other brilliant films lined up over the weekend.”

One of the short documentaries being screened is Age is Just a Bingo Number, written and directed by Simona Palladino. She says: “Reaching the audience of the South Coast of England is really interesting for me, as the documentary features the lives of older people in the North East of England, so I am really curious about knowing how this will be received.”

Kerron Andrews is a First Time Director from California. His short, Deploy, will be shown:

“I took a leap of faith and left many things behind to pursue this new love for storytelling”, he says. “So being selected for the South Coast film festival is definitively a sign that I'm on the right path. It's extremely important as a new Director because it serves as Validation that I love what I do.”

South Coast Film Festival screens from 12-6 on Saturday and 12-3pm on Sunday. Due to social distancing there will be a minimum of 25 tickets available. Booking advisable in advance. Email: [email protected]

For those who miss out on a ticket there will be an online screening, with details to be published after the event.