The Slow Film Festival gives a platform to filmmakers whose work engages with time and duration on screen. The festival is a space to view and discuss films that are pushing the boundaries of “slow film” as well as those that have defined its history. It aims to be a meeting point where the uses of duration in film can be debated and where new friendships and potential collaborations can take root. We are committed to expanding the world of experimental film and welcome both aficionados and newbies alike. 

The programme for this years festival is now up on our website and tickets are available to book: www.slowfilmfestival.com

The festival will take place 5-6 Oct at Good Shepherd Studios in Leytonstone, East London.

This year many of the films in the programme are connected thematically in thinking about the relationship between personal family histories and wider political events. They explore how history can be made comprehensible through a focus on everyday events, ordinary lives, and family histories. In Saturday Evenings film Weightless a woman travels around Rural Ukraine on foot (before the current conflict) scanning the images people hold in their family photo albums and collecting their stories, building up an archive that tells a complex story of Ukraine’s recent past. In the short film Hit Him On The Head With a Hard Heavy Hammer a woman reads from her father’s memoire recounting a childhood in rural wales, moving to London in the late 40’s and experience of work, trade unionism and jazz.

We are holding the festival at Good Shepherd Studios, a community arts space and café in Leytonstone for the second year running. It is a perfect space for the festival. A building with a rich history run by a community of dedicated people, wonderful cinema screens and located right on the edge of Wanstead Flats. We will be making use of this proximity to nature this year by venturing beyond the cinematic realm and out into the forest for a sonic meditation session led by local artist duo Blanc-Sceol.

The weekend will be a chance to discover the creative potential of slowing down. There will be workshops, filmmaker Q&A’s, pizza and lots of really great films. We hope to see you there.