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Festival coverage

Northern Lights Film Festival

2008

Helen is among the films screening
Helen is among the films screening

2008 sees the Northern Lights Film Festival broaden its scope. Previously focussing on films from northern Europe, the Newcastle and Gateshead based event has branched out to include films from across the globe this year. They aim to pick films from up and coming filmmakers and to encourage new talent - and there are plenty of inclusions from these shores this year, including Helen. In order to further boost young talent they are also running a national competition - Moxie Makes A Pitch - which will green light a feature film through pubic vote.

In addition to the features listed below, there is an additional shorts programme.

The festival has also welcomed a new director, Brian Gordon, this year, who aims to build "the Northern Lights Film Festival into one of the most highly anticipated film festivals in the UK and the rest of the world".

View complete schedule

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Wrecking Crew
    Review preview for The Wrecking Crew

    This is clearly a labour of love.

    Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
    Examination of the influential group of LA-based session musicians who worked alongside many of the greats, including Elvis Presley and The Byrds.
  • Blood Car
    Review preview for Blood Car

    For the first hour, I was spellbound by its audacity, the thumbing at convention, and never knowing where it was going next.

    Chris · 3 out of 5
    Troma-esque weirdness as a vegan invents a vehicle more reminiscent of Audrey II in Little Shop of Horrors. Minus the crap Broadway songs, of course.
  • Better Things
    Review preview for Better Things

    Hopkins marks himself out as a man of unique vision who isn't afraid to try something different to encourage an audience to think.

    Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
    Award-winning short filmmaker makes his feature debut with a story of fractured relationships.
  • sleep furiously
    Review preview for sleep furiously

    The farmers are not in good condition. They look tired and their equipment looks exhausted.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 2 out of 5
    Rural Wales faces change from all sides as the population ages.
  • Mum And Dad
    Review preview for Mum And Dad

    A savage deconstruction of Thatcherite beliefs in family.

    Scott Macdonald · 3 out of 5
    Brit horror, sees an airport worker face the perils of a close-knit family. In cinemas and on DVD this Boxing Day. Plus read our with Perry Benson.
  • Helen
    Review preview for Helen

    The film resembles a portrait in stillness, as the fate of the alleged victim is replaced in the mind of the audience by the reality of this other girl’s life.

    Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
    A missing girl's police reconstruction prompts her proxy to fill in the psychological gaps in herself.
  • Patti Smith: Dream Of Life
    Review preview for Patti Smith: Dream Of Life

    Some sections of the film feel like a soapbox for her to stand on, to proselytize her personal politics; to bolster her image as a radical poet.

    George Williamson · 3 out of 5
    Intimate portrait of the icon.
  • Captain Abu Raed
    Review preview for Captain Abu Raed

    Sawalha excels as the mouse who at least contemplates a roar as he tries to make a difference in the lives of his young audience.

    Tony Sullivan · 4 out of 5
    Uplifting tale about an airport janitor who spins stories for street kids after being mistaken by them for a pilot.
  • Año Uña
    Review preview for Año Uña

    Feels like one long trawl through the photo album of somebody else's holiday.

    Ben Sillis · 2 out of 5
    Personal photograph album becomes the basis for an unconventionally told romance.
  • Deficit
    Review preview for Deficit

    Bernal proves to be a vibrant director, his swooping steadicam and queasy close-ups placing the viewer right in the middle of the party.

    Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
    After a spoiled, rich kid hosts a party, unexpected guests bring tensions to boiling point.

A–Z of Northern Lights Film Festival 2008 reviews