sunday 7 june
MOSTLY MADE IN SOUTHEND PART ONE
CERTIFICATE 15​
12.30 : BALLROOM, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
What talent we have! Eleven locally made short films for you to enjoy.
+ DOGGERLAND: THE DEAD & THE LONELY
UK : 25m : Director Adam McHattie
Set in the wake of a viral outbreak that has ravaged the world, a failing survivalist, thinking he's the last human alive meets another who forces him to confront his grief and achieve his greatest goal - Not just to survive but to live.
+ WHY WE PRIDE
UK : 9m : Director Natalie Scarsbrook
A short documentary film by Blatella Films, co-produced with Southend-on-Sea Pride, that explores the history of LGBTQ+ rights in the UK, highlighting key milestones and ongoing struggles, emphasising why Pride events remain crucial for equality.
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+ ECHO
UK : 5m : Director Andy Salamonczyk
On a cold Sunday morning, a teenager and her mum share a rare walk to the shop.
+ DON'T BURY IT
UK :10m : Director Kristin Fitsall
Dumped by his girlfriend, Doug's mental health deteriorates and he begins burying his problems, quite literally, in his garden; unpaid bills, dirty dishes, it all goes in, until what started as simple avoidance escalates to a murder spree..
+ WHITE HORIZON
UK : 10m : Director Terry Mendoza
From the world’s northernmost town to the limits of icebreaker travel toward the North Pole, White Horizon is a personal journey through vast polar landscapes, offering an intimate and engaging encounter with breathtaking vistas and extraordinary Arctic wildlife.
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+ COUNTENANCE WORLD PREMIERE
UK : 17m : Director Pete Key
Asha is a young man with the ability to feel and resonate other people's emotions through physical contact. Turned into a recluse by the burden of his abilities, he is constantly plagued with the predicament of whether he should strip people of their negative emotions but consequently bare the burden himself or does he turn a blind eye, and leave people to their suffering?
+ PAPER JAM WORLD PREMIERE
UK : 6m : Director Jude Dulake
An examination of the writing process, Paper Jam is a Švankmajer inspired stop motion short about procrastination - a project which took four years to complete for which it's subject accurately reflected.
+ SURPRISE!
UK : 11m : Director Dave Gardner
A mum comes home to the worst surprise party ever
+ FUNGI FORAGE
UK : 3m : Directors Molly Brown and Cy Henty
An animated musical number about the dangers of foraging wild mushrooms unless you really know what you're doing.
+ GOOD CHOICE, JOSPEH
UK : 6m : Director James Farrell
Joseph’s indecision has brought his life to a standstill, until he finds a mysterious tape player that can tell the future. It seems like the answer to all his problems, but as the device begins to dictate his every move, Joseph is forced to confront the reality of a life without free will.
+ SHE DOESN'T KNOW UK PREMIERE
UK : 4m : Director Cerys Gadsden
A personal reflection on rewatching home videos. Cerys Gadsden watches and reflects on her younger self as a separate entity, one that lives forever in nostalgic preservation. Knowing how her life and the world are now, she envies the innocence that younger Cerys is shown to represent.
HORROR-ON-SEA: 13 BLOODY YEARS REVISED
UK : 1h 30m : 2026 : Certificate 15
Directed by Alexander Churchyard and Michael Holiday
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12.00 : ROYAL VIEW SUITE, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
PLEASE NOTE EARLIER START TIME
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Charting 13 wonderfully terrifying years, with interviews with Paul, his festival team and many of the fans and filmmakers, this was a huge hit at HoS in January – and it’s being reprised in a new, updated version. So do come along, and find out how all the madness started!
+ ESTUARY RATS WORLD PREMERE
UK : 1h 10m : 2026 : Director Will Power
Once a testing ground for pirate radio, underground clubs, and a scene that shaped global fashion, Southend has always punched above its weight. Now, after decades of austerity, its nightlife has collapsed. This film traces what was built, what was lost, and whether a place can still create culture when the infrastructure is gone.
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AND FULL SUPPORTING PROGRAMME
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Presented by Chris Izod
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15.00 : BALLROOM, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
Local film historian Chris Izod will take a nostalgic look back at the 50s and 60s, when a trip ‘to the pictures’ meant a double bill, with the ‘big’ film supported by a short or a ‘B’ picture. His fully illustrated presentation will take a look at how our city featured in these ‘full supporting programmes’, with the pier and its trains, Southend Lifeboat, Peter Pan’s Playground, the Kursaal and infamous ‘Wall of Death’ motorcycle rider Tornado Smith among the featured attractions
SWORD OF VENGEANCE
Serbia : 2h 8m : 2024 : Subtitles : Certificate 15
Directed by Nemanja Ceranic
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15.00 : ROYAL VIEW SUITE, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
This post-apocalyptic, post nuclear war, action adventure tells of a humble farm hand who is forced to leave his home to embark on a quest to save those he loves. The familiar storyline is given a decidedly ‘Serbian’ slant, blending that country’s culture, style and folklore with a more modern ‘Western’ look and feel, but manages to forge its own identity.
MOSTLY MADE IN SOUTHEND PART TWO
CERTIFICATE 15​
17.30 : BALLROOM, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
Another eleven locally made short films for you to enjoy.
+ REINED IN
UK : 21m : Director Richard Stride
Reined In follows shy farmer Archie, whose proposal to glamorous, TikTok‑obsessed Amanda erupts into a chaotic village spectacle. With meddling families, horse‑fuelled feuds and viral livestreams, their big day spirals into mayhem. A sharp romcom about love battling hashtags, pride and countryside chaos.
+ MERCY
UK : 6m : Director Aaron Shrimpton
An elderly woman shares memories of her life with her grandson, yet as her final moments arrive, she burdens him with a painful last act.
+ [H.O.G.] WORLD PREMIERE
UK : 5m : Director Dopflam
A giant hand is summoned to cause destruction on a world of their own creation.
+ D R A W !
UK : 9m : Directors Alexander Chettur & Roberto Mann
D R A W is a Comedy Western that follows a group of Bounty Hunters that have travelled far all in the hopes of capturing a notorious outlaw named The Grey Death.
+ KENDRA'S ADVENTURES IN INFLUENCERLAND
UK : 12m : Director Francesca Astraea
When Callum's sister Kendra is too busy on a YouTube livestream to pick up the phone, Callum crashes the stream to get Kendra's attention... and ruins her reputation in the process.
+ STAIRWELL UK PREMIERE
UK : 6m : Director Theo Hartmann
This dramatic short film starring up-and-coming actor Matthew Lloyd is a brooding Film Noir set in modern-day London. A strange woman moves through the streets to rendezvous with a man in a stairwell, where a terrible secret is revealed and fear takes over.
+ BIN DAY OF THE DEAD
UK : 3m : Director Kate Sullivan
To Your trash is coming back to take YOU out.... A trailer for an imagined film, made by the Southend-based, Contemporary Elders.
+ YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND UK PREMIERE
UK : 5m : Director Kimberley Lieb
A complex relationship means a difficult decision has to be made!
+ HA'PENNY DIP
UK : 10m : Directors Miles Berkely Smith & Jodie Woodall
During a cost-of-living crisis, three unlikely individuals are forced to team up with the local psychopath to rob a bank - the bank they all work at.
+ WAX, WHIPS AND MY HAIRY BITS
UK : 15m : Director Michelle Devadas
After discovering erotic fiction, a Blackpool woman - disillusioned with her love life - embarks on an erotic adventure to find her very own Mr Uninhibited.
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+ MAN
UK : 14m : Director John Swinnerton
A short journey into the evolution of intelligence and imagination.
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THE OTHER WAY AROUND
Spain : 1h 54m : 2024 : Subtitles : Certificate 12
Directed by Jonás Trueba
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17.30 : ROYAL VIEW SUITE, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
After 15 years as a couple, Ale and Alex decide to throw a party to celebrate their separation, leaving their loved ones perplexed.
EVIL DOES NOT EXIST
Japan : 1h 46m : 2023 : Subtitles : Certificate 12
Directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi
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20.00 : ROYAL VIEW SUITE, THE PALACE HOTEL : TICKETS £7.00
Takumi and his daughter Hana live in Mizubiki Village, close to Tokyo. One day, the village inhabitants become aware of a plan to build a camping site near Takumi's house, offering residents a comfortable escape to nature.
The White Bus Ltd
The Old Waterworks
North Road
Southend-on-Sea
Essex
SS0 7AB
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What3Words///colleague.they.sport
