The festival opened with a screening of Bone Lake, setting an exciting tone for the week ahead. Guests were welcomed with complimentary champagne and cake, creating a warm and celebratory atmosphere. Following the film, the audience had the chance to watch a Q&A session with the director, offering an engaging insight into the creative process behind the production.
Bone Lake opened with an intriguing premise, a romantic weekend that takes a turn when another couple accidentally double-books the same Airbnb. What started as a promising setup quickly slipped into familiar territory, with predictable storylines and characters who made me more frustrated as the film went on. The first three quarters of the film moved pretty slowly for me, as the tension failed to build.
Things picked up slightly in the final act, when the film finally leaned into some horror elements. The violence was striking and brought some energy, though at times felt a bit too polished and safe to be genuinely unsettling. The absurd twist towards the end (B-tech version of Oldboy) felt very unnecessary and ruined it in my eyes. While there were fun moments, I left wishing it had taken a few more risks, as it lacked depth.
Dozens of short films were screening over the course of the festival, as part of strands exploring similar themes and ideas. I was lucky enough to see two blocks of shorts, one over at the Alphabetti Theatre called Difference of Opinion and the other at Tyneside Cinema called What If?, and it was so great to see so many interesting shorts by up and coming filmmakers in just one weekend.
Some of the highlights for Difference of Opinion included a brief but beautiful animated short Wavelength, directed by creative team Toffee Hammer, and Cian Llewellyn's highly unusual but emotionally stirring food-related piece Duck Press, about a 65-year old widower hosting his birthday lunch to distract from a terminal diagnosis. There were also some cast and crew there to discuss their work: Thomas Bugg discussed Dulce, his comedy short about an awkward house-party, and Northern writer and actor Josh Barrow gave insight into the hilarious coronation-themed Heathen Land.
What If? showcased an even greater variety of films. We had political satire with City of Pigs, an anti-gambling story with Terminal, and a gorgeous story of pride with A Little Bit of Glitter. There were two standouts for me: the heartwarming and inspiring Truckload, written by and starring Evie Jones (as well as Jodie Whittaker!), and the one-take All Change directed by Joe Molander, who the film section had the pleasure of interviewing recently. It was great to see their film on a cinema screen, and indeed every film from all artists who put their names out there out the festival. It was such an eye-opening and fun weekend.