Festival showcases the best (From Stroud News and Journal)

Festival showcases the best

A PERMANENT cinema may yet be a little way off for Stroud but those yearning for a concentrated taste of the silver screen should make their way to the Subscription Rooms next weekend. The third Cotswold International Film Festival has again attracted entrants from all over the world and the pick of the best will be on show on Friday, September 13 and Saturday, September 14. The festival is publicised around the world and this year received 126 entries from 19 different countries. There will also be local talent on display, with Chalford animator Rupert Lewis Jones scooping a silver trophy award for The Failed Magician as well as work from a number of amateurs from Cheltenham and Gloucester. HTV newsreader Peter Rowell will be coming to the Saturday showing to present awards to the prize winners. The programme on Saturday will showcase the top award-winning films while Friday will see the best of the rest, as well as three of the top films. Festival organiser Lee Prescott, from Stonehouse, says the content of the films is a varied as their creators' addresses. Light hearted comedies will rub shoulders with serious documentaries and there is even an erotic movie, Passion Fruit, which substitutes food for sex. German drama Steins Abschied wins the award for best film overall and tells the story of a teacher. Nature documentary Pelicans of Guana takes the Jessops Award, cleverly setting this bird ballet to music. Another natural history film, Antarctic Viewpoints, has won the PSA Gold Medal for best Photography while British film Two Days in September, charting the reaction to and aftermath of the September 11 attacks, wins the award for best sound. Tickets for the Friday event cost £2.50 while Saturday's show cost £3.50 with concessions at £1.50 on both nights. Doors open at 7pm on both evenings. Tickets are available from the Stroud Tourist Information Centre on 01453 760900.