Live & Local is working in partnership with Warwick School and Warwick School Venues & Events to host the festival, and it will take place at the Bridge House Theatre. This venue - opened by Dame Judi Dench in 2000 - is located at the heart of the Warwick School campus and has grown into a leading local arts space. Audiences will enjoy a professional cinema experience with a large screen, Blu-ray picture and 5.1 surround sound.
Big Picture Festival’s programme will have an accessible mix of mainstream, independent, British and international films. Family favourites are being shown alongside modern classics, and the weekend includes street food, wraparound activities and creative collaborations with Warwick School.
There is currently no permanent cinema in Warwick town which makes access to film difficult, especially for younger people who don’t have their own transport. Big Picture Festival offers a diverse range of films from the likes of Taika Waititi, Josephine Decker, Francis Lee and many more; the event also includes packages of short films and Q&As with industry figures. In order to gain a similar experience currently audiences would have to travel to a major city like Birmingham.
Volunteers are at the heart of all Live & Local activity and volunteering is proven to increase wellbeing. Therefore, the festival will offer volunteering roles to young people providing skills and experience, and in collaboration with Inspired Villages Austin Heath (a sponsor of the festival), the event will also offer volunteering opportunities to residents from their retirement community.
Live & Local have been granted funding for the festival from the British Film Institute (BFI) through Film Hub Midlands and The Henry VIII Endowed Trust. The festival is generously sponsored by several local businesses including Dough & Brew, Inspired Villages Austin Heath, Moore & Tibbits Solicitors, Russell Lane and Happy Puccia. Such support is a wonderful investment in Warwick and its development as a cultural hub in the Midlands.
Big Picture Festival takes its name from Live & Local’s rural community cinema scheme, Big Picture Show. Big Picture Show enables communities in Staffordshire and Warwickshire to programme films in local halls and community venues. The scheme provides state-of-the-art technical equipment, the rights to show the films and friendly professional support. These events offer a much-needed lifeline to isolated people in rural areas, enabling them to be part of the community on their doorstep – something many people, but especially retired and elderly members of these communities, find particularly valuable.
Tickets are available at: bridgehousetheatre.co.uk/production/big-picture-festival/
A full programme will be released very soon at: bigpictureshow.org.uk
Date: Sat 23 – Sun 24 November 2019
Address: Bridge House Theatre, Myton Road, Warwick CV34 6PP
Twitter: @BigPicShow1
Facebook: ‘Big Picture Festival’
#BIGPF19