Lights, camera, action for festival

LUCY ROUE

A HIT online movie will enjoy its national premiere at the opening of a film festival to showcase the region's talent.

The Stoke Your Fires festival, which gets underway this Friday, gives aspiring screenwriters the chance to develop and produce their scripts.

It runs until Tuesday next week and will include film premieres as well as master-classes from industry professionals.

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The event, which is funded by Stoke-on-Trent City Council, is a celebration of regional, national and international film-making.

It will open with the UK premiere of a new British comedy, Pulp, which has been produced by Longton-based company Reels in Motion and Dare Productions, also based in Staffordshire.

The film was shot in Stoke-on-Trent and already has a huge following online, having received more than one million views on YouTube.

Reels in Motion co-founder and Pulp producer, Phil Bland, said: "We are very honoured to be able to open Stoke Your Fires Film Festival.

"Pulp is the culmination of a lot of hard work from cast and crew, many of who come from the region.

"A lot of the filming was done right here in Stoke-on-Trent, so it is a truly local film and we're really proud that people at the festival will be able to see it before it's released to millions via Xbox in March."

Other local films being screened include Last Shop Standing: The Rise, Fall and Rebirth of the Independent Record Shop. The movies Tortoise In Love and Turbulence will also be shown and there will be a question and answer session with the directors.

In addition, film fans will be invited to pay homage to legendary British actor Michael Caine on his 80th birthday at screenings of his films, including The Italian Job and Funeral In Berlin.

Councillor Mark Meredith, cabinet member for economic development, culture and sport, said: "The festival embraces innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship across all forms of animation, digital media and filmmaking. It's a great opportunity for talent in our city to be spotted."

Tickets to the festival have already gone on sale. For more details, visit www.stokeyourfires.co.uk