Bristol’s annual festival of short films and animation is taking place this week, marking its 30th anniversary.
Encounters Film Festival will run across Watershed, Arnolfini and Bristol Beacon from Wednesday until Sunday.
Founded in 1995, the five-day celebration of independent film will showcase more than 100 films from local talent.
Opening night will reunite Oscar-winning filmmakers Charlie Kaufman and Michel Gondry for a special screening of their acclaimed film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. The duo will also unveil their latest works, premiering exclusively at the event.
Other big names featured in the line-up include actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Clare Foy and Domhnall Gleeson.
The festival will also put a spotlight on new films from more than 50 countries as well as filmmakers from the West Country through the ‘Go West’ strand.
Among them is True story Surviving Earth by Thea Gajic which follows harmonica player Vlad who flees conflict in Yugoslavia and becomes a part of Bristol’s thriving 90s music scene.
BBC Radio Bristol’s Joe Sims will appear alongside the cast of psychological thriller Blockhead in the debut feature by Matt Harlock, which was produced in Bristol.
The festival will also include a special screening of Steve, a feature film following a headteacher played by Cillian Murphy and scored by Bristol composers Geoff Barrow and Ben Salisbury.
Filmed locally in the south west of England, the screening will be followed by a question and answer session on Friday.
As well as a wide range of independent short and feature films, there will be a competition for super short films of under 90 seconds, a series of masterclasses and a range of short films for kids.
Showcasing work created with people living with dementia, learning differences, and neurodivergent filmmakers, Different Voices will also include a film preview of Big Jeff The Musical.
Jeff Johns, known as Big Jeff, is a well-known Bristol gig-goer, artist, musician and filmmaker, who was badly burnt in a house fire in 2022.
He suffered fourth-degree burns on his upper body and had to be placed into a three-week coma at hospital.
Mr Johns, said he “wanted to tell a story about a period” of his life and thought “why don’t we do a musical?”.
“I thought the best way to tell it would be through song to show to people that, if you can overcome barriers you can probably do much greater things than you first of all realise,” he said.
“There’ll be hopefully a lot of heart, a lot of passion. Maybe punk attitude.”
Credit: BBC
