Here we go again ladies and gentlemen. I have been sitting on the biggest secret for nearly a year, and with the prep to deliver CineWyre on the home straight over in Fleetwood, I now have the all clear to reveal something just a little bit special, effectively bringing it all home in a full circle moment here at TheJackSmit.com. We're thrilled to once again be partnering with the Lancashire Film Network on the next 'big one' as a Media Partner, in the form of Lancashire Firestorm Film Festival - right in the heart of Preston.
Sitting alongside the Prestige Award-winning Lytham International and CineWyre as part of the wider Lancashire Film Network ecosystem, Firestorm is a bold celebration of storytelling and films that dare to challenge, entertain, educate, and encourage discussion. It'll have all the hallmarks of a LFN event - the warm and welcoming atmosphere for visiting filmmakers and curious cinema fans, Q&As, the networking, the Foot in the Door Masterclasses, the festival awards, and some truly world class content from around the globe, bringing the best local talent together with the hottest up and comers from across the heartlands of the film industry. But where this one differs is its venue. We've covered festivals in brilliant venues like the Lowther Pavilion for LYIFF's first three years, and the Marine Hall will be our home shortly for the CineWyre weekend - this bit is incredibly bonkers to write in all honesty, as the festival will be held at a place we know very well here at TheJackSmit.com.
It will be held at a venue with 8 fantastic screens, laser projection, fully recliner seats, and, well... the biggest screen in the city. Our home on a conventional review day, will be Lancashire Firestorm's home on that first weekend of February 2027.
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| You're welcome, Preston. |
Creativity Ignites at Animate
Yep. We only went and officially partnered with The Arc Cinema. An unbelievable, city centre venue for a festival that brings the best of local and global cinema together. Their mission statement - for the love of film - has never been more apt, and I am so so so so proud to be involved in this one, not just as a customer but as part of the wider LFN team as we build this event up. The staff on-site and at head office in Hucknall are fantastic, the setup is world class, as we profiled last year when Animate opened to the public, and I can't wait to actually work alongside Arc's teams more formally to not only cover the event, but run the Festival's social media presence. Our jury will consist of four incredibly well versed industry professionals, who know the festival scene inside and out - award-winning filmmakers in their own right, alongside experience programming film societies in the region, and we'll introduce you all to the team as we go on this road to Firestorm together. But every journey has a beginning, and the journey to Preston starts, as LFN seniors would say, "imminently... almost imminently... maybe even semi imminently" - as this isn't your ordinary festival buildup. Here in the North, we do things just a little bit differently, and over the next year, Firestorm will bring even more cinema to Preston's city centre.
It all begins on March 27th, with the festival's official media night and launch showcase. One of the things that Firestorm will do is resurrect the monthly independent film nights that were trialled by the Lytham team last winter, bringing the best short and feature films from all over the world, in prime time - 7pm on a Friday night, to The Arc. In essence, these are bite-sized, two hour long tasters of a festival block, very similar to how a screening will run at the full event - a perfect introduction to the world of the festival circuit for those who are experiencing it for the first time.
This first Lancashire Firestorm Presents screening features some very recognisable films from across the LFN portfolio of festivals - from the Bafta-winning Rock Paper Scissors, the surrealist comedy The Man That I Waved At, local filmmaker Jake Mark's award-winning short Bonfire, and other top tier content that has been showcased across previous LYIFF and this year's CineWyre selections. Plus, as is protocol - there will be a post-screening Q&A with Lancashire Film Network founder Ed Greenberg, Arc Cinema's UK Regional Manager Malcolm Riedlinger, and a few industry professionals who will be announced in due course, to reveal the full plan for Firestorm 2027 - knowing what's going to be revealed, there are some unbelievable opportunities for filmmakers to get their work seen through Firestorm.
This launch event will set the scene for the opening of FilmFreeway submissions in earnest, and from there, we're gonna cover it all as usual for TheJackSmit.com, as we've done for LYIFF and CineWyre events over the last four years or so. It's a thrill to be able to bring something like this to my hometown, I suppose you could say that we are indeed Bringing Cinema Closer.
Join us at The Arc Cinema Preston on March 27th for the Lancashire Firestorm Launch event - tickets on sale now at Preston.ArcCinema.co.uk, for just a fiver.
DATES FOR THE DIARY
- Firestorm Launch - Friday March 27th, 7pm
- Lancashire Firestorm Presents... - Indie Film Nights, on the last Friday of every month
- Lancashire Firestorm Film Festival 2027 - February 4th - 7th 2027
You can sign up to the mailing list to find out get the first news on Festival ticketing and programming at firestormfestival.com.
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