INAUGURAL NORTH EAST INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL REVEALS COLLABORATION WITH KISS, GALLAGHER, JILL HALFPENNY, GET CARTER, OUR FRIENDS IN THE NORTH & FILM ENTRIES FROM OVER 90 COUNTRIES
Get Carter director Mike Hodges will be back in the region this spring for a special screening of the classic. Hodges, whose 1971 crime thriller starring Michael Caine is now a cult favourite, is to be one of the star attractions at the inaugural Newcastle International Film Festival. March 29th will see the 85-year-old back in the heart of the region where he shot the film that made his name and where he will open the Newcastle International Film Festival with a showing of the only remaining 35mm copy of Get Carter. It has been announced that Hodges will also talk about the film at the opening event which will be attended by celebrity guests whose identities are currently under wraps.
The news will delight not just Get Carter fans but all North East film buffs as excitement builds over the debut festival whose special guests will also include the North East-born award-winning screenwriter Peter Flannery and director Neil Marshall. The March 29-April 1, four-day festival programme will screen all genres of films and events at venues across Newcastle upon Tyne, including not just cinemas but also museums, clubs, restaurants and pubs. Since the first reveal of the ambitious festival last summer - at an event attended by Hollywood actress Caroline Goodall and local favourite Craig Conway - the festival team have received more than 2,000 film entries from 87 countries around the world. Boston festival director (who only just wrapped the 43rd edition of the Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival) has whittled down the submissions with the ever growing team. Delivering a wide-ranging programme featuring independent cinema, award-winning films, world premieres, shorts - including a British short film which was just been nominated for an Oscar - and a 4K digital restoration of Night of the Living Dead to mark its 50-year anniversary where ticket holders can dress up in their best ‘Walking Dead’ get up for the chance to win a fantastic prize.