A North East film company is all set to host a film festival at Darlington Hippodrome this September.
Rianne Pictures is the company behind the festival which has been going since 2013 and the festivals have been going since 2019.
The idea behind Women X Film Festival is to highlight film-making talent from established filmmakers and those at the start of their careers looking to break into the world of film.
For each film that has been submitted, and there have been over 500 from all over the world, either the film’s director, writer or producer must be female.
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Caris Rianne, director of Rianne Pictures and festival director explains this is to level the playing field in the male-dominated film industry.
Caris said: “We’re really excited to be at the Hippodrome this year. We were meant to be there in 2020 but because of Covid we had to go online.
“As part of our market research we spoke with schools and colleges and about 80 per cent of students said they’d never been to a film festival but they wanted to and they don’t have to go to London to do that.
“We’re really open about the films we accept because you never know what gold you’ll find. We’ve had so many authentic stories by women, for women, for everyone that are different and fresh.
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“There aren’t that many events like this in the Tees Valley and we want to keep people engaged and interested in film and highlight what the North East has to offer. We don’t want people to give up on their ambitions.
“We wanted to create a platform that gave women an even playing field. It’s not to say they’re better or that we only want to showcase the work of women.”
Workshops and networking opportunities and Q&As with filmmakers will also be available, showing the behind the scenes work that goes into making films.
Film students are encouraged to participate in the workshops and networking opportunities available from September 2 - 4. This should provide a good opportunity for early-career filmmakers to get a good understanding of different avenues involved in the industry
Categories of film include comedy, drama, horror and documentary, so even for those who just fancy attending the festival to watch some independent short films from the North East, there is sure to be a big variety.
For more information, visit: https://riannepictures.com/womenx
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