The fourth Derby Film Festival takes place at Derby Quad between 28th April and 7th May. A mix of previews, the obscure and much-loved classics, it’s a festival which has been quietly doing great things. Incorporating Fantastiq’s great mix of old and new horror, sci-fi and fantasy, there’s a focus on the works of David Lynch this time out. This includes Mulholland Drive and Inland Empire, along with a new documentary about the iconic director.
With a tribute to Derby’s finest, John Hurt, special guests, quizzes and much more, it should be another great event. Here are a just a few of the highlights:
Mindhorn
When MI5 Special Operative Bruce Mindhorn was captured in the late 1980s, his eye was replaced by a super-advanced optical lie detector, which meant he could literally “see the truth.” He escaped and fled to the Isle of Man, to recuperate in the island’s temperate microclimate, and today has become the best plain-clothes detective the island has ever seen.
Mulholland Drive
Naomi Watts (Birdman, Funny Games) gives a career-making performance as aspiring actress Betty, who after arriving in Hollywood, befriends an amnesiac woman (Laura Harring) and tries to help her recover her memory. The film establishes these characters but then proceeds to subvert any certainty about them, instead offering a swirling atmosphere of increasing surrealism.
FantastiCozzi
Luigi Cozzi loves Science Fiction and Fantasy since childhood, and his dream was to one day become a director of this kind of movie. Over five decades, Cozzi pursued this dream facing tight budgets, greedy producers and modified scripts. His story, told through his films, is a story about the obsession of a man for making science fiction films in a country that did not care for it.
Phantom of the Opera with Live Organ Accompaniment
Following the success of last year’s Hunchback Of Notre Dame silent film screening, Derby Film Festival returns to the Cathedral for another silent classic with live musical accompaniment on the Cathedral organ, courtesy of Donald Mackenzie, organist of the Odeon Leicester Square.
After the Storm
Dwelling on his past glory as a prize-winning author, Ryota wastes the money he makes as a private detective on gambling and can barely pay child support. After the death of his father, his aging mother and beautiful ex-wife seem to be moving on with their lives. Renewing contact with his initially distrustful family, Ryota struggles to take back control of his existence and to find a lasting place in the life of his young son – until a stormy summer night offers them a chance to truly bond again. Multi-award winning and critically lauded director Kore-eda Hirokazu returns with a sensitive and powerful story of family ties remade.
The Red Turtle
Through the story of a man shipwrecked on a tropical island inhabited by turtles, crabs and birds, The Red Turtle recounts the milestones in the life of a human being.
Spaceship
Lucidia is a teenage cyber-goth whose mother died mysteriously seven years ago in the family swimming pool. Her father Gabriel is an archaeologist who can’t move on. When Lucidia disappears in an apparent alien abduction, Gabriel is forced to confront her strange outsider friends and meets Tegan, a girl obsessed with unicorns and black holes.
Holy Terror
Believing the strange disturbances in their home are their deceased son reaching out from the other side, a young couple, Molly and Tom ask a medium to make contact. But instead of their child, the three invite a vengeful demon to cross over. After the demon violently possesses Molly’s younger sister, the couple enlists the help of a disgraced priest and his mentor Sister to attempt a dangerous exorcism.
For further information about the festival, and to buy tickets, visit the website.
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