Ipswich International Film Festival opens with Halloween vampire classic

Why it matters: The fortnight-long festival brings premieres, previews and restorations to King Street Cinema in Ipswich - one of the only remaining UK cinemas that can still screen 35mm film.

The details: Directed by E. Elias Merhige, Shadow of the Vampire reimagines the making of F.W. Murnau's Nosferatu as "a dark fable of artistic obsession", according to organisers, who describe it as "the perfect Halloween movie".

• Richard Johns, a veteran film producer, is also the festival's executive producer.
• Academy Award-winning filmmaker Mat Kirkby and documentary filmmaker Sophie Fiennes are the festival's patrons.

What to look out for: The festival runs until Saturday, 14 November. Highlights include:

• The UK premiere of Moi-même, completed by Mojo Lorwin, son of original director Lee Breuer, on Friday, 6 November, at 19:00, with Lorwin and original cast member Kevin Mathewson in attendance.
• Previews of films not yet released, including Think of England, with an in-person Q&A with director Richard Hawkins, as well as Vincent Munier's Whispers in the Woods, Sophie Heldman's The Education of Jane Cumming and Markus Schleinzer's Rose.
• A 35mm screening of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey on Thursday, 12 November.
• A 35mm screening of Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds on Saturday, 14 November, followed by a Q&A and book signing with Jay Glennie, author of The Making of Inglourious Basterds.

There will also be conversations with filmmakers Sophie Fiennes and Howard Berry, media consultant Adam Gee, and Ghostbusters documentary makers Claire Bueno and Anthony Bueno.

The programme includes tributes to filmmakers Russ Meyer, John Waters, Barbara Hammer and René Laloux.

What they're saying: Dan Champion, the festival's founder and artistic director, said: "Our inaugural year celebrates the outsiders, the pioneers, the mavericks and the rebels – those filmmakers who have challenged convention, expanded the language of film and redefined the way we see the world."

Organisers said the festival represents "confidence in cinema as an art form, in audiences as curious participants, and in the belief that the most enthralling stories are often found at the edges rather than the centre."

Lee Walker, chief executive of festival sponsor Ipswich Central, said: "We look forward to the IIFF being a milestone event in the calendar going forward."

What's next: Businesses across the town will offer discounts and deals to ticket holders, with full details to be published on the All About Ipswich website.

The bottom line: Ipswich's first international film festival opens on Halloween with a vampire cult classic, kicking off a fortnight of premieres, previews and 35mm screenings at one of the few cinemas in the UK still able to show them.

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