The Cambridge Film Festival at Home initiative is available to everyone throughout the UK. It features the popular online version of ‘A Film I Love…’ series, which has a Pay What You Can Afford pricing structure for each film chosen by a special guest who introduces the film and explains why it means so much to them during a Q&A prior to the screening of the film.
During a screening from 6pm 16 Apr until midnight 18 Apr, Dr Isabelle McNeill Chair of the Cambridge Film Festival and Philomathia Fellow in French at Trinity Hall, where she has taught film studies and French literature since 2005, introduces Desiree Akhavan’s THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST.
Described by The Guardian as ‘Poignant, witty and defiant’ and by The Atlantic as ‘A graceful coming-of-age tale’, this is a must-see film. The story centres on Cameron Post (Chloë Grace Moretz), who, after being caught with another girl in the back seat of a car on prom night, is quickly shipped off to a conversion therapy centre that treats teens ‘struggling with same-sex attraction’. At the facility, Cameron is subjected to outlandish discipline, dubious “de-gaying” methods, and earnest Christian rock songs—but this unusual setting also provides her with an unlikely gay community. For the first time, Cameron connects with peers, and she’s able to find her place among fellow outcasts.
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Further to the ‘A film I love…’ screenings, CFF at home are also launching their retrospective season ‘Rewind’, which is a look back at some of the greatest films from 40 years of the Cambridge Film Festival as it builds up to the anniversary later this year. As with the ‘A film I love…’ these unique snapshots of the Festival are offered on a Pay What You Can Afford basis.
The new monthly series launches on 23rd April with two Films:
DEAD CAT by local director and friend of CFF Stefan Georgiou. This was screened as part of CFF 2013 and is a wonderful romantic comedy introduced by the director with a Q&A recorded by CFF. Dead Cat tells the story of Michael and Kristen who were childhood sweethearts but haven’t spoken in 10 years. Thrown back together as they both begin their 30s, is there still anything between them? With nothing but a gang of dysfunctional friends as allies will they discover if this second chance is love or just nostalgia? Dead Cat is a quirky take on contemporary relationships in London.
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RAFIKI (Swahili for 'friend'), a 2018 Kenyan drama film directed by Wanuri Kahiu. Rafiki is the story of romance that grows between two young women, Kena and Ziki, amidst family and political pressures around LGBT rights in Kenya. This film was screened at CFF in 2018 as part of the African Film Festival. The introduction, recorded during CFF 2018, is by Estrella Sendra from the African Film Festival.
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The Rewind season of 8-10 films is being framed as ‘a look back at some of the greatest films from the past 40 years of Cambridge Film Festival’, building up to the 40th Festival anniversary this autumn.
Unlike the ‘A film I love…’ films which screen from Friday evening to Sunday night, the Rewind films will be screened for a whole week, from Friday through to Thursday night – which means from now on there will always be at least one amazing film available to watch in the CFF at Home Screening Room. The idea is to offer film-lovers a place to visit for interesting and alternative cinema.
Speaking ahead of the Rewind launch, Matthew Webb, CFF Executive Director said: “We are thrilled to be launching the Rewind season. Since 1977, the Cambridge Film Festival has been a key anchor in the Cambridge and UK film calendar, providing a unique gathering of established directors, filmmakers, new talent and festival goers. We have hosted thousands of UK premieres and key retrospectives. Many directors who first showed in Cambridge have since become household names. And with so many films available today, the Festival continues to play an even more important role in launching new titles, supporting new, diverse voices and audiences.
“Throughout lockdown, we have presented accessible, affordable screenings for everyone across the UK, hosted and presented discussions on film with top film critics, and delivered training and outreach programmes serving communities throughout Cambridge. We are thankful to all our partners, donors and sponsors who have made this possible. Their generosity and our audiences support are essential as we come out of the pandemic.”