Cheltenham International Film Festival

About

The Cheltenham International Film Festival will take place 24 May - 5 June 2021.

Film fans can look forward to a programme of new, acclaimed films by emerging filmmakers from all over the world. Screenings will be supported by live conversations with directors, producers and actors.

This year the event will pay tribute to Stephen Frears, one of the great directors of British cinema. As in previous years (Poland 2019, Italy 2020) the plan is to have a “Country Focus” in 2021. Given the uncertainty of travel restrictions because of Covid-19, the “Country Focus” in 2021 will be the UK, highlighting the work of emerging British filmmakers.

Full details for 2021, including the Cheltenham Youth International Film Festival, will be revealed soon on the CIFF website.

What is the Cheltenham International Film Festival?

The festival launched in 2019, in 2020 the festival went online due to the pandemic. Audiences had the opportunity to watch up to 35 new films from some of the world’s best emerging filmmakers. Many of the films screened during the festival were not available on any other streaming platform and audiences had the opportunity to question filmmakers after selected film screenings.

The programme included films from: France, Tibet, Australia, Ireland, Iceland, Finland, Lithuania, China, Romania, Austria, Belgium, Rwanda, Slovenia, Iran, Chile, Poland, Sweden, USA, UK and more. And, there was a special focus on Italy, which included a tribute to the great Italian director, Federico Fellini, in the centenary year of his birth.

Audiences were invited to vote for their favourite films which included features and shorts, narrative and documentary.

Festival Director, Leslie Montgomery Sheldon, said: “During these days of self-isolation, lockdown and self-distancing, we wanted to bring the best of independent cinema to audiences who are not able to watch films that are often only accessible at live event film festivals. By going online, we are able to broaden and deepen our reach with the aim to attract new audiences to the best of world cinema”.