Archive: Keswick Film Festival

Accelerate

Filmed in and around Keswick and starring local people Accelerate was made by Northern Soul Productions to celebrate our 10th birthday.

Watch Accelerate

The Accelerate Story

It all started at the 2007 festival when a full house screening of Grow Your Own with writer and producer Carl Hunter. Carl collaborated with script writer Frank Cottrell Boyce on Grow Your Own and so we invited them both back to the 10th Festival to show the film again and for Frank to do Q & A sessions of his films Millions and Hilary & Jackie.

As Carl Hunter told us 'Frank and I were having a pint one evening and we thought - wouldn't it be nice to make a short film as a 10th birthday gift to the Keswick Film Festival, so Frank wrote the script.'

Northern Soul Productions, Carl and Frank's company, got in touch to say they wanted to come to Keswick to start making the film. So with the help of the Keswick Drama Group and the drama course at Cumbria University about 14 people were rustled up for auditions, a bus was hired for the set and filming began. Over the next couple of weeks filming was finished and the film put together. Cumbria Tourism were keen to be involved as the film is shot in and around Keswick and in the future will be used to advertise the Lake District.

Everyone involved had a great time filming on the bus and seeing how a low budget film could be put together. One of the messages in the making of the film, say Carl and the photographer, Clare Heney, is that film-makers should not shy away from making low budget, short timescale films, if the idea is right and the story is sound it doesn't have to have a Hollywood style budget.

The film was premired at 10th Keswick Film Festival to much audience acclaim. Carl and Frank also hope the film will be shown at other Film Festivals and hopefully pick up an award or two along the way.