The Commonwealth Film Festival is delighted to announce this year’s programme. Films have been specially selected from over 1200 submissions to reflect the best filmmaking from across the 71 nations of the Commonwealth, covering every base from drama, thrillers, comedy to animation, documentary and short film making. Not to mention the prestigious gala presentations, industry debates and fantastic parties lined up for all to enjoy.

This years’ festival presents 10 real gems in the form of Gala Presentations, each coming to Manchester for the first time. Opening the festival will be Australian director, Anna Reeves, presenting Oyster Farmer on Friday 29 April. Another highlight from the galas is Frozen, an impressive locally-shot thriller starring a fantastic Shirley Henderson, to be presented by director Juliet McKoen on Saturday 7 May. The festival will close on May 8 with the UK premiere of South African drama Forgiveness.

Mathieu Ravier, Commonwealth Film Festival’s programme director comments,

“The Commonwealth Film Festival is proud of its role in linking Manchester to the wider world through the international language of film. The energy of the festival is vibrant and aims to enthuse and entertain audiences in Manchester and beyond; the joy is getting people involved with the festival, whether that’s at a screening or a masterclass or industry seminar. The scope of the programme is such that there’s something for everyone. I encourage people to ‘pick and mix’ what they like from the festival, and be part of this exciting event in Manchester’s cultural calendar”.

With over 250 films, shown over 10 days in three venues, the 4th Commonwealth Film Festival is set to be even bigger and more wide-ranging than ones previous. Just a glimpse of what’s on offer this year from the 10 strands is highlighted below:

Contemporary Commonwealth Cinema: exciting new features from around the globe. This includes a preview of local hero Danny Boyle’s greatly anticipated new film, the comic fantasy Millions.

Crime Scenes: gang wars, conmen and dangerous liaisons... Catch some brand new thrillers, including The Purifiers, Scotland’s first martial arts flick – presented by award-winning director Richard Jobson.

Cheap, Fast and Out of Control: Britain on a shoestring. This collection shows what young British filmmakers have accomplished with limited resources and unlimited imaginations. There’s also the opportunity to meet the cast and crew of Charlie White, a hilarious satire of the London party scene.

Shorthouse: 20 programmes of new short films, including many of this year’s Oscar-nominees!

Collision: sight and sound – remixed. This is an exciting programme of interactive screenings, live music and experimental cinema.

Queerscreen: the best in recent gay & lesbian cinema, from as far a field as South Africa, New Zealand and India.

Moves: dance on films, films on dance, new section of the Festival exploring movement in its many forms.

Reality Checks: keeping it real with a series of brilliant documentaries on some of the hottest topics of our times.

Diasporama: tales of displacement from Diaspora filmmakers. Don’t miss Pink Ludoos, Canada’s answer to Bend It Like Beckham!

Malaysian New Wave: spotlight on a thriving new scene in world cinema.


The northwest region is represented through new feature films by Juliet McKoen and Danny Boyle and the local filmmaking showcase, North by North West. Audiences interested in what happens ‘behind the scenes’ can also expect a series of debates, masterclasses and industry networking events, as well as the extraordinary Kabaret05 events, Montreal-Manchester collaborations in fast, improvised filmmaking. Filmmakers work tirelessly to bring a whole host of new films to the screen, all made during the festival.