Cross-county film festival to attract thousands

A film festival is expecting tens of thousands of people to attend movies from across the globe in more than 20 venues across Herefordshire, Shropshire, Malvern and the Marches.

In its 24th year, the Borderlines Film Festival will host nearly 300 screenings of 70 films - from Oscar-nominated flicks including One Battle After Another to documentaries, short films and international movies.

It will run from 6 to 21 March, and in 2025 it saw visitor numbers hit 21,450, not far off its 2020 peak of 23,264.

"We love cinema and love sharing exciting new films from across the world that our audiences may not otherwise have an opportunity to see," said Naomi Vera-Sanso, its director.

"Even with the immensely loyal core audience that we have built up over 24 years, our aim is to reach out further, to different age-groups and demographics.

"A festival generates excitement. Year on year, new people discover the magic that Borderlines can offer and are hooked."

This year will see three new venues in Shropshire - SpArC Theatre in Bishops Castle, Cleobury Mortimer Parish Hall, and the new Maona Cinema in the former Kinokulture Community Cinema in Oswestry.

Despite going though an extensive £20m redevelopment, Malvern Theatres in Worcestershire will host more than 80 screenings across the event.

The event is funded by the British Film Institute's audience projects fund, National Lottery Funding, the Elmley Foundation and Hereford City Council.

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