10 - 25 October 2014

The Purbeck film festival got off to a wonderful start with a national premier of Emma Thompson’s film, Effie Grey, introduced by the British screen legend, Edward Fox.

Edward, President of the Rex Cinema and great supporter of the festival, praised the programme saying that even in London you would find it hard to see films of such high quality as those in PFF’s 2 weeks. The 2 galas played to packed houses and the weekend culminated in a wonderful Day in Venice, with John Julius Norwich and director, Christopher Miles. 

The Purbeck Film Festival’s screenings in community venues began last night - Saturday 11 October.

Once again, Stoborough Village Hall was buzzing with a record FULL (and it was) house basking in the warm Italian sunshine for the screening of ‘Under The Tuscan Sun’.

Villagers and visitors alike expressed appreciation of the transformation of the Stoborough village hall into a cinema for the evening. 

Many thanks to Chrissy & Steve Widmer for ‘hosting’ such a successful evening – the wine was excellent and so were The Purbeck Ice Creams!

Purbeck Film Festival is proud and excited to announce a national premiere of Effie Gray to open the 2014 festival.  The distributors, Metrodome, have given us permission to screen this long-awaited film, previously only previewed at National Gallery of Scotland and Tate Britain, at the same time as its London release.  Described by the Edinburgh reporter as “a deftly crafted period drama that flourishes in the hands of its screenwriter and co-star, Emma Thompson”, the cast is star-studded; James Fox, David Suchet, Dakota Fanning (Effie), Robbie Coltrane, Julie Walters, Claudia Cardinale, Derek Jacobi, Greg Wise (Ruskin), Tom Sturridge (Millais) and of course Emma Thompson. 

The legal controversy surrounding the film has been well documented.  It dramatises the love triangle involving Britain’s leading Victorian art critic, John Ruskin, his virginal wife, Effie (Euphemia) and the Pre-Raphaelite painter, John Everett Millais.  Appropriately, for this year’s festival, the film includes exquisite locations in Venice.

The film will be introduced by James Fox’ brother, Edward Fox, (President of Rex Cinema) whose film A Month by the Lake is screened later in the festival on October 24.

The film is preceded by a screening of The Six-Sided Triangle, a short parody on film style.  Oscar nominated, this film is introduced by its director, Christopher Miles.