Big Picture Festival is the first event of its kind and scale to take place in Warwick and aims to offer a new cultural experience in the heart of the county. The packed festival programme includes a discussion with director Marc Zammit about his new film HOMELESS ASHES, a preview screening of documentary THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM and a special event centred around cult 80s classic BACK TO THE FUTURE.
The festival opens with a BFI Musicals! screening of THE WIZARD OF OZ followed by a Saturday evening screening of BACK TO THE FUTURE - a rare chance to see the film on the big screen and audiences are encouraged to attend in their finest 80s gear. An introduction from Barrie Wills (author of John Z, the DeLorean & Me and the final chief executive of DeLorean Motor Cars Ltd) will cover the iconic DeLorean's place in pop culture and explore the drama that took place behind the scenes.
Emerging UK director Marc Zammit will attend the festival for the Sunday evening screening of his new film HOMELESS ASHES. The film shines a light on homelessness, and Zammit commented, "I am so proud of all the cast, crew and all our supporters who did such epic work for this film by going above and beyond - they believed in my film and trusted in me, and joined me on my journey to make this story of one homeless boy. Each person living homeless has a story and deserves to be heard - It is dedicated to them."
The rest of the festival programme features opportunities to catch films they didn’t catch in cinemas on first release, BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD, Taika Waititi’s HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE and MADELINE'S MADELINE. Animation is covered too with screenings of MY LIFE AS A COURGETTE and THE BREADWINNER. The programme also includes the critically acclaimed directorial debuts of two British filmmakers; Richard Billingham and Francis Lee with screenings of RAY & LIZ and GOD'S OWN COUNTRY.
In recognition of the host venue Warwick School the festival will also screen adaptions of two coming-of-age novels, WONDER and LOVE, SIMON.
The core themes of family and discovery run throughout the whole programme, right through to the specially curated packages of short films which are featured over the course of the weekend.
Live & Local is very grateful to its funders and sponsors who have made Big Picture Festival possible, and for their recognition of Warwick as a cultural hub in the Midlands. The festival has been granted funding from the BFI through Film Hub Midlands and The Henry VIII Endowed Trust. The festival is generously sponsored by several local businesses including Dough & Brew, Inspired Villages Austin Heath, Moore & Tibbits Solicitors, Russell Lane and Happy Puccia.