Cambridge Film Festival has launched a new collaborative online movie showcase as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Hunts Post: Falling can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalFalling can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

Organisers of the Cambridge event have joined forces with three of the UK’s largest regional film festivals to create AMPLIFY!.

Co-curated by Cambridge, FilmBath, Brighton’s CINECITY and Cornwall, this collaborative online festival will bring their distinct regional voices to a wider audience across the UK.

The inaugural virtual festival offers an entertaining and diverse programme of films online from Friday, November 6 to Sunday, November 22.

While Cambridge Film Festival’s 40th edition may be on hold, Tony Jones and Matthew Webb from the festival are confident AMPLIFY! can more than fill the void.

The Hunts Post: The AMPLIFY! Film Festival starts online on Friday, November 6. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalThe AMPLIFY! Film Festival starts online on Friday, November 6. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

They stated: “2020 would have marked the 40th Cambridge Film Festival and it is only right that during these times we are working, side by side, with our friends FilmBath, Brighton CINECITY, and Cornwall Film Festival to offer an exciting film experience for you all.

“We hope to see you at AMPLIFY!”

AMPLIFY! Film Festival is the most ambitious collaboration between UK film festivals ever undertaken, and will see a truly diverse programme of films, many of them UK premieres, available to audiences across the country.

Thanks to a BFI Audience Award, using funds from the National Lottery, to support this new online activity, the festival will reach a wider range of audiences throughout the UK.

The Hunts Post: Cambridge Film FestivalCambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The festival will stream with a full programme of films, Q&As, masterclasses, and industry events.

Programme highlights include several UK premieres of festival gems such as Viggo Mortensen’s directorial debut Falling, a Cannes 2020 official selection fresh off its successful screening at San Sebastian International Film Festival, where Mortensen was honoured with the Donostia Award for his work.

Following its Sundance Film Festival screening earlier this year, Luxor, starring Andrea Riseborough, will hit the UK screen for the first time along with Patrick (De Patrick), which casts Flight Of The Conchords’s Jemaine Clement in a Belgian dark comedy about a nudist camp.

The documentary strand includes Chilean film The Mole Agent, winner of San Sebastian International Film Festival’s Audience Award for Best European Film, and Caught in the Net, a compelling story of a virtual flytrap set for online paedophiles.

The Hunts Post: Caught in the Net can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Milan Jaroa, Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalCaught in the Net can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Milan Jaroa, Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Milan Jaroa)

Since 2011, Catalan cinema has been an important and popular element of the Cambridge Film Festival.

AMPLIFY! will present a selection of new films from Catalonia, including the UK premieres of The Innocence (La Inocència), Keith Haring 1989 Barcelona, and My Mexican Bretzel.

Audiences will also have the opportunity to see six short programmes free of charge, including the prestigious IMDb Awards from FilmBath.

The UK premiere of I Still Breathe, London-based filmmaker Alfred George Bailey’s response to the death of George Floyd, is featured with a score from composer Nicky Brown and Academy Award-winning sound designer John Warhurst.

The Hunts Post: The Audition can be seen as part of the online AMPLIFY! Film Festival. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalThe Audition can be seen as part of the online AMPLIFY! Film Festival. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The Young People’s Jury Programme seeks to nurture visual literacy, criticism and decision making in the next generation and will culminate in the Young People’s Jury Prize awarded to one of the eight nominated features in competition.

In addition to a comprehensive programme of feature and short films, AMPLIFY! will also deliver a range of director Q&As, workshops, and networking events including a roundtable discussion with noted journalist Charles Gant entitled Distribution In Uncertain Times, and a Q&A with German director-producer Jens Meurer following the UK premiere of An Impossible Project and hosted by Bill Lawrence, former creative director at Showroom Cinema, and head of film at the National Museum of Photography.

Holly Tarquini and Philip Raby, the co-directors of FilmBath, said: “The COVID crisis has threatened all of our organisations, so it’s an absolute joy to be able to work together and put on such a juicy online festival — with tons of Q&As and special events.”

Tim Brown, from CINECITY Brighton, added: “Working with new partners in a completely new way is the best response to events and an exciting way to take audiences on new adventures in world cinema.”

The Hunts Post: The AMPLIFY! Film Festival starts online on Friday, November 6. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalThe AMPLIFY! Film Festival starts online on Friday, November 6. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

Director of Cornwall Film Festival, Louise Fox, believes AMPLIFY! will be a celebration.

“The joy of film sits at the heart of this year’s celebratory festival programme, a great example of how we can come together whilst being apart to be engaged and inspire our local and national audiences.”

AMPLIFY! is offering reduced ticket pricing for all 16 to 30 year olds, as well as those who are unemployed, living on state pension alone, single parents, refugees, and students.

Ticket pricing begins at £5, with full pricing information available on the website.

The Hunts Post: I Still Breathe can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalI Still Breathe can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

Visit www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk for the full programme.

The Hunts Post: I Still Breathe can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalI Still Breathe can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The Hunts Post: My Mexican Bretzel can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalMy Mexican Bretzel can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The Hunts Post: I Never Cry can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalI Never Cry can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The Hunts Post: The Innocence can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalThe Innocence can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)

The Hunts Post: The Innocence can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film FestivalThe Innocence can be seen as part of the AMPLIFY! Film Festival online. Picture: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival (Image: Supplied by Cambridge Film Festival)