Across four action-packed days, the festival transforms the town into a thriving hub of culture, combining special film screenings, filmmaker Q&As, interactive arts, and outdoor entertainment designed to offer an unforgettable experience for visitors of all ages.
Step Beyond the Frame: Immersive Worlds and Micro-Cinema
This year’s festival invites audiences to challenge their perceptions and step directly into stories that push the boundaries of traditional filmmaking. The dedicated Virtual Reality Suite gives festival goers a chance to don immersive headsets and explore deeply personal and ecological themes, from a woman’s journey through a city shaped by everyday fear to surreal explorations of memory and the natural world.
For fans of concise, punchy storytelling, the Pocket Cinema Microshorts Showcase brings together a vibrant selection of international short-form cinema. Packed with humor, invention, and heart, these handcrafted animations and experimental comedies prove that powerful cinematic moments often come in the smallest packages.
Adding to the lineup is the renowned One Bum Cinema Club, part cinema and part art installation. Conceived by artist Anna Vartiainen and brought to life alongside Paulie Musselwhite and Matthew Simkins, this miniature theatre originated in an under-stairs cupboard before setting off on the road. Offering a simple yet extraordinary setup—one seat, one viewer, and one unforgettable screening—it shines a spotlight on independent animated shorts that might otherwise go unseen, creating a truly personal bond between artist and audience.
B-Roll on Marina Road: Expanded Activities In The Town Centre
Beyond the dark rooms of the cinema, the festival extends into the sunshine along Marina Road, which will be closed off to become B-Roll, a vibrant creative playground for the local community. Visitors can browse a bustling Makers Marketshowcasing exceptional regional craftspeople, including ZeroFaded, Handmade Vinyl Crafts, BreezeyRugs, 3DGT, SenPieArt, AJ’s Lens, Involve Active, Suffolk Cottage Soapery, and Norfolk Prints.
Running alongside the market is the daily Open Studio, offering a full schedule of entirely free arts, crafts, and interactive workshops for all skill levels. Craft lovers can build working Zoetrope animation toys, construct their own mini clapperboards, sculpt custom claymation characters, press festival badges, weave personalised lanyards, and even craft a miniature replica of the One Bum Cinema Club. To heighten the cinematic magic, special pre-screening craft sessions allow guests to fold origami koi fish before watching Flow or craft delicate origami lotus flowers ahead of Little Amélie.
Family Fun Day: A Massive Sunday Finale
The festival reaches its climax on Sunday, 23 August with a massive Family Fun Day, wrapping up the four-day weekend with a celebration tailored specifically for young people and parents.
Running continuously until 4:00 PM, the grand finale adds an array of extra, free activities on top of the daily making stations. Families can enjoy traditional Punch & Judy puppet shows, jump into interactive circus skills workshops, craft custom sock puppets, and play with giant street games laid out along Marina Road. To top off the celebration, the Marina Theatre will host a special free screening of the acclaimed animated hit The Wild Robot on the big screen in honour of the National Year of Reading.
