David Farnor | On 24, Jan 2021

The Cambridge Film Festival is going online with a string of events lined up for the start of 2021.

The Cambridge Film Festival at Home initiative, which is available to everyone throughout the UK, kicked off on 8th January with its A Film I Love… series. It showcases special guests who choose, introduce, and talk about a film they love and why it means so much to them – often introducing a screening of the film in question. The film then streams with a pay-what-you-can-afford pricing structure.

This fortnightly strand will continue over the coming months, with film critic Anna Smith talking about Booksmart, which will be available to stream from 22nd January to 24th January.From 5th to 7th January, film critic Simran Hans will showcase Time, an American documentary film produced and directed by Garrett Bradley, which will stream for pay-what-you-can-afford cost. From 19th to 21st February, film critic Amon Warmann will showcase Damien Chazelle’s Whiplash, which will be available to stream for free.

CFF at Home is made possible by BFI’s Film Audience Network, with the support of The National Lottery.

The A Film I Love… series will be followed by two other initiatives later in the year. Cambridge Film Festival In Your Community is a partnership with Cambridge City Council to present free film screenings in communities across north Cambridge, alongside a training scheme to develop the skills necessary for young people across Cambridge to deliver film events themselves in their own communities.

CFF Youth Lab, which launched in 2019 and is being expanded this year, is an film education initiative focusing on young people’s film evaluation and criticism skills as well as encouraging communication and team working. Open to anyone aged 16 to 24, it will give participants access to filmmakers and industry professionals through workshops, talks, and discussion groups.

Matthew Webb, Executive Director at Cambridge Film Trust said: “We’re incredibly excited to have the opportunity to bring a series of fantastic films and film events to audiences in Cambridge and across the country, especially in these challenging times. We hope our wonderfully loyal Film Festival audience will love them.”

The 40th Cambridge Film Festival will take place later in 2021.

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