Sheffield movie buffs urge fans to feed their film festival fix online

With countless big events postponed or cancelled, film fans will be longing for their festival fix.
A scene from Apollo 11A scene from Apollo 11
A scene from Apollo 11

Fortunately, festival organisers have come to the rescue with a range of lockdown-compliant versions to keep us entertained:

Tribeca Enterprises and YouTube have announced more than 20 film festivals from around the world are joining forces to form We Are One: A Global Film Festival. Launching on May 29, the free 10-day streaming extravaganza will feature films curated by some of the world’s biggest film festivals including Cannes and Sundance.

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If you’re gutted at the thought of not being able to get your annual Sheffield Doc/Fest fix in June, sheffdocfest.com provides some solace with a great list of films from previous editions that are available online. From Hail Satan? to Midnight Family, there’s lots of choice. We’re starting with the stunning Apollo 11, streaming on Netflix, a reminder of the incredible things humanity can achieve when we work together.

The Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield city centreThe Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield city centre
The Showroom Cinema, Paternoster Row, Sheffield city centre

Leeds International Film Festival is currently curating a programme of Stay Home Shorts available online. Up first is an 80-minute selection of nine films from previous festivals. The whole programme is great, but if you watch just one, make it The House of Small Cubes, a Japanese animation about memory, family, and home that’s heartwarming and melancholy in equal measure.

Birmingham’s Flatpack Festival is also pivoting to digital with its Flatpack 2020: Home Entertainment Edition. Running until May 17, the special online festival brings Flatpack’s short film competition direct to your home, completely free. One title we’re planning to check out is A Sonic Pulse, a sensory experience following the ways deaf people connect to electronic music.

The My Darling Quarantine Short Film Festival, curated by Talking Shorts, presents seven short films a week. They’ve just moved into week eight, which features a mix of animation, sci-fi, and surrealist dystopia created by filmmakers from around the world.

To watch any of our top picks, just search the name of the festival online.

For more on the Showroom, visit showroomworkstation.org.uk