BLOG: "enthusiastically received by all living in the area" - Raworths LLP

As the second Harrogate Film Festival approaches, Raworths staff felt they would get in the mood with some of their favourite film moments and some thoughts as to why the Harrogate Film Festival is such a great event to be involved in.

We started off by asking people what recent films they had seen and which had been most memorable. Needless to say there were no two answers the same, illustrating the amazing ability of film to connect with people in different ways. Some mentions included the incredible Oscar winning WW2 story Hacksaw Ridge and Oscar nominated, The Darkest Hour. There were also gritty dramas that tackled prejudice such as Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri and Hidden Figures, which celebrated the true-life achievements of three brilliant African-American women working at NASA who served as the brains behind the launch into orbit of astronaut John Glenn.

We also asked people what their favourite childhood films were and no one hesitated to recall their fondest childhood film moments. The answers included a massive variety of all-time greats including Fred Astaire and Ginger Rodgers in their timeless classics - and fast forwarding a few decades - Saturday Night Fever with John Travolta’s rather different dance style! As expected there were also plenty of action adventure films including Indiana Jones, Back to the Future, The Never Ending Story and the all-time favourite E.T.

When asking the team about the Harrogate Film Festival, an event still in its infancy, the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. The short film competition in particular was highlighted for its ability to showcase up and coming talent and for letting local people enjoy amateur film that they would otherwise never see.

The more mainstream film viewings were also applauded for their ability to bring film to new locations from restaurants and bars to the Pump Rooms, enabling people to enjoy the films they loved with friends in a unique way, further enhancing the town’s reputation as a cultural hub.

One member of staff commented that: “These events complement the already vibrant cultural scene Harrogate enjoys, providing fun and quirky experiences that you would normally only enjoy in cities.”

For many of us life without film would be impossible to imagine. The experience of seeing a great film and the emotions it can conjure up make it such an important art form. Perhaps this explains why the Harrogate Film Festival has been so enthusiastically received by all living in the area.