Ewell film festival ends with a bang
The Satisfied Eye International Film Festival wrapped up its 4th edition with a bang on Sunday, closing out this year’s event with a thrilling taiko drumming performance.
Festival founder Chris Hastings told us: “We’d wanted to end on a high note and we couldn’t have hoped for a better festival. Having shifted from the delayed Picturehouse in Epsom, we had no idea whether or not Ewell and Bourne Hall would embrace indie cinema but this has been our most successful season ever.* The venue and the community really pulled together to support us. There was a buzz about this year’s event which made it something truly special.”
One audience member noted “I’m no film buff, I just enjoy a good film and the quality here was really exceptional. I will be thinking about the films I saw for days to come.”
In addition to a packed programme of short films, feature films, documentaries and animation, audiences came in large numbers to meet Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, ED209 from Robocop, get a photo in the Back to the Future DeLorean and take their seat in the Iron Throne, while Spiderman thrilled the children who had arrived for free animation screenings.
Following three days of World, European and UK premieres and a host of Oscar winners and nominees, the festival wrapped up with a stunning live show by Aber Taiko and Gongming which literally made the ground vibrate! Followed by a sold-out workshop attended by many of the audience, one participant declared that the event was “absolutely epic, the best thing to ever happen in Ewell, I can’t wait for next year”!
The full list of the festival’s award winners will be announced this week with details available at www.satisfiedeye.com for those attendees eager to discover if their favourite film walked away with any prizes.
*Previous highest box office for SEIFF 88% (in 2019) compared to 92% ticket sales for this 4th season.
The Epsom and Ewell Times was very happy to have sponsored this great community event in our Borough