Hastings debut for Dear Future Film Festival

Forest In MeForest In Me
Forest In Me
The Electric Palace cinema in Hastings Old Town invites you to join the first Dear Future Film Festival running from November 4-7.

Curators of the festival, Rebecca E Marshall (director of Electric Palace cinema) and Clare Whistler invite you to join an extended weekend of looking ahead to the future with a selection of curated films, Q&As and special events.

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Rebecca said: “We have been living in a year of deep uncertainty. We come together to discuss and share thoughts and ideas about you, our future, and to find some fun in these strange and disconcerting times. We have collected a selection of films and events for a small festival, as a way of thinking forward together.”

All films in the festival will include an introduction and Q&A with Rebecca and Clare, and there’s even a forest bathing external workshop at Powdermill Wood in Battle, with a short film screening included.

Hastings-based filmmaker Rebecca will also present a rare opportunity to see her new film The Forest In Me, for which she ventured to the Russian wilderness to meet the elderly recluse, Agafya Lykova, who lives alone in the Siberian Taiga.

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“The only thing from the outside world that had really intruded into Agafya’s otherwise pristine forest was loads of fallen space junk amongst the trees,” says Rebecca.

“Born in the Siberian forest in 1936, Agafya didn’t meet another person outside of her family until the age of 38. The last of her family died more than 30 years ago and since then she has chosen to remain in the forest on her own.

“I had so many questions for Agafya, and I managed with the support of a successful Indiegogo fundraising campaign to travel to meet and film with her in 2015.”

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You can see The Forest In Me on Saturday, November 6, as part of the Dear Future Film Festival.

Other films handpicked for the event are Agnès Varda’s The Gleaners and I, musician Laurie Anderson’s Heart of a Dog and This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection.

Films and events in the festival:

· After Life (Nov 5): With humour and tenderness, filmmaker Koreeda challenges the viewer to reflect on the experiences that most make life worth living.

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· To Go Back In Time To Dream Forward – woodland workshop (Nov 6): Go on a woodland meditation and indulge in some forest bathing in the heart of the East Sussex countryside in this special workshop and short film screening. External Workshop, Powdermill Wood, 1.30pm to 4pm.

· The Forest in Me (Nov 6): A screening and talk with Rebecca E Marshall about her film focusing on elderly Siberian hermit, Agafya Lykova, and a warm meditation on time and space. Clare Whistler talks to Rebecca E Marshall and invites questions from the audience in this special friends and family screening of her film.

· Heart of a Dog (Nov 7): Multimedia artist and musician Laurie Anderson’s beloved dog Lolabelle is remembered in this touching, cinematic personal essay.

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· This Is Not a Burial, It’s a Resurrection (Nov 7): An intimate drama about an 80-year-old widow fighting development plans that will obliterate her village.

Book now for all films in the festival: https://www.electricpalacecinema.com/latest/dear-future-film-festival-2021

The Electric Palace is a community interest company, an independent cinema in Hastings Old Town that screens a wide range of films for the local community to share and enjoy.

Book tickets for upcoming screenings: www.electricpalacecinema.com

Donate to the cinema: www.peoplesfundraising.com/donation/electric-palace-donations