Cinema-free zone hosts first film festival.Byline: By David Whetstone whetstone, natural or manufactured stone used as an abrasive solid to sharpen tools. It is used dry, with water, or with oil. Such a stone of the finer grade used with oil is usually called an oilstone. A city without a cinema is hosting its first film festival, as David Whetstone reports. Sunderland is a city without a cinema - an extraordinary state of affairs which will be rectified next year when a 12-screen multiplex opens as part of a pounds 15m leisure development on Lambton Street. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , some of its cinema-starved citizens have been taking matters into their own hands. The first Sunderland Film Festival opened yesterday but has a programme of screenings and talks throughout this weekend. The seeds for the festival were planted last year by Sunderland Fans Against Racism (SFAR SFAR Société Française d'Anesthésie et de Réanimation (French Society of Anesthesia and Intensive Care) SFAR Special Federal Aviation Regulation SFAR Swiss Foundation for Alpine Research ) and the Unity Organisation which campaigns for social and ethnic inclusion. SFAR acting secretary Mark Metcalf said: "We had a couple of events with writers Jimmy McGovern Jimmy McGovern (born 1949) is a BAFTA award-winning English television scriptwriter from Liverpool. He is particularly known for writing powerful and thought-provoking dramas often based around hard-hitting social issues or controversial real-life events. and Irvine Welsh which went well. We thought we would try to do something bigger this year." It was decided a general theme of multi-culturalism would further the aims of the football supporters' group and cater for as wide a cinema-going audience as possible. Grants from organisations including the Community Foundation, Northern Film and Media and Sunderland's Unison branch helped towards the festival's pounds 15,000 cost. The rest will have to be raised through the box office. Films are being screened at the Customs House, South Shields South Shields, city (1991 pop. 86,488), South Tyneside, NE England, at the mouth of the Tyne River. It is a significant port. Shipbuilding and marine engineering are the main industries; chemicals and paints are manufactured. , the Stadium of Light and two university students' union venues - the Bonded Warehouse and the Manor Quay. There are two gala films at the Customs House today, One For The Road and Grand Theft Parsons. This evening at the Bonded Warehouse there will be a screening of the horror movie Dog Soldiers and a chance to meet North-East director Neil Marshall. After a series of events at Manor Quay tomorrow, including screenings of The Shining and Dark Star, documentary film-maker Gary Horne will talk about Sweet FA, a TV expose of football corruption. Sunday at Manor Quay sees screenings of The Shawshank Redemption, In This World, City Of God and a series of short films by local people. A couple of Bollywood epics, Sholay and Baghban, will be screened at the Stadium of Light from 2.30pm. For more details, tel. (0191) 565-5510 or (07967) 886-257. Or log on to www.sfar.org.uk. |
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