We've loved putting on the 2020 Harrogate Film Festival

We've loved putting on the 2020 Harrogate Film Festival and after its fourth year we're delighted how the event is growing.

Expanding to a ten-day event for 2020, the Festival welcomed over 20 filmmakers from across the world from as far as America. This year’s programme also welcomed the BAFTA award-winning Directors, Ken Loach and Tony Palmer as well as the larger than life actor, Brian Blessed, to Harrogate’s 1000-seat Royal Hall.

In partnership with Cause UK, Ken Loach wowed over 300-people, in conversation with Dan Weldon, a lecturer at Leeds Beckett Universities Northern Film School – the official education partner of the Festival. The event raised over £1000 for The Harrogate Homeless Project.

Harrogate based filmmaker, Lewis Robinson, won the ‘Audience Choice Award’ at the Festivals truly worldwide competition, with the ‘Best Film’ award going to London filmmaker, Robert Hackett. There were also award winners from Spain, Russia, America and Canada.

An evening with the BAFTA award-winning Tony Palmer, was enjoyed by a sold out audience at Cold Bath Brewing Company. He told stories of his times filming with The Beatles. Jimmy Hendrix and Paul McCartney to an engaged and enthused crowd.

The Festival’s innovative events such as the film escape room, was also a huge success with more then 40 teams taking on the challenge at Harrogate’s Cedar Court Hotel. We love that audiences was a return of this concept for 2021.

We also created a two-minute animation with children from across the Harrogate area to go into the worldswide ASIFA competition - we will be sharing that very soon.

Finally, the Festival closed at the glittering Royal Hall, where Brian Blessed was as brilliant and larger than life than ever, his charisma (and voice!) carrying through the building on a special evening.

We had many other events happen over the Festival too, which we hope you enjoyed.

Thank you for coming and supporting us, 2021 starts now!