Opening night. Cinema City was flooded with excitement from film fanatics rushing in for the 2024 Norwich Film Festival. We all rushed to our seats to delve into Shakespeare in Love (1998), the John Madden riff on Shakespeare that won Gwyneth Paltrow best actress at the Oscars. Even though I hadn’t seen it before, it was clear why so many love it as the theatre was giggling throughout. This enthusiasm lasted all evening as the film led into a Q&A session with the director John Madden and lead actor Joseph Fiennes who was video called in and projected onto the screen. Staring towards a cinema sized screen displaying Fiennes sipping tea in his home was a bizarre and strangely intimate form of Q&A but it all ran smoothly. Sometimes these events can be awkward due to uncomfortable questions but it was one of the few Q&As I’ve attended that felt natural. This is partly a testament to Norwich Film Festival’s (NFF) ability to ground the festival in the city, rather than creating distance between audiences and filmmakers.  

Every NFF screening I attended was sold out. The festival lasts two weeks and has seemingly managed to expand year by year, making itself a cultural staple in the city especially through its use of Cinema City as its sole venue for 2024. Together, they put on the cinema’s first 35mm screening in nearly a decade, showing Peter Greenaway’s The Draughtsman’s Contract (1982), a witty murder mystery that only feels right on film. Getting to experience 35mm film for the first time was surreal. I’m 21 so having grown up only watching digital projection, the grain and texture of film was exciting as it is extremely rare to see film projection outside of London in the UK. The best part of that evening was the pre-film advertisements which were vintage adverts for local businesses.  

NFF is particularly known for uplifting short films through a series of themed screenings such as animated, international, East Anglian, student and more. I attended the LGBT shorts night which featured a wide range of stories. From middle-aged mothers having their first queer awakenings to the secrecy of a Grindr hookup, the lineup introduced the audience to distinctive voices from up-and-coming filmmakers. Some of which attended for a Q&A which was a wonderful chance to learn more about the making of and the inspirations behind these films.  

The final screening I attended was the Cannes Grand Prix winner, All we Imagine as Light (2024), the latest from Indian filmmaker, Payal Kapadia. Kapadia’s meditation on city life gave us a glimpse into the lives of Mumbai nurses as they navigate loneliness, friendship and romantic love. At its centre, Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha give performances that invite us in like a close friend. From East Anglia a window into Mumbai was opened that left me with tears running down my cheeks.  

NFF’s programming has yet to disappoint, and I couldn’t recommend attending the next one enough. Usually film festivals feel unattainable to everyday people but with NFF, they bring the wonder of cinema right to our doorsteps.  

(Image: Unsplash)