The first Taunton Film Festival running from Wednesday 9th September to Sunday 13th September is happening at the Wyndham Hall on Castle Green in Taunton
The Taunton Film Festival celebrates our town’s rich cinema heritage while showcasing the exciting vision of the Gaumont Palace Project. Bringing people together through great films, the festival aims to enhance Taunton’s cultural offer, attract new audiences and build support for the future regeneration of the historic Gaumont Palace as a vibrant community arts and entertainment venue.
TAUNTON FILM FESTIVAL – OPENING NIGHT!
Join us on Wednesday 9 September at 6pm at Wyndham Hall, Taunton (next to the Museum) for a magical evening of 1930s glamour!
We’re showing TOP HAT starring the legendary Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers!
The evening celebrates Taunton’s own cinematic heritage, linking back to the opening of the Gaumont Palace Musical Hall in 1932.
🎶 Blitz Time Sally will perform favourite songs from the 1930s before the film!
Sept 9th: TOP HAT (1935)
‘Top Hat ‘ is the first film in our festival – showing on September 9th. We chose this because it’s considered to be a significant film in the history of Hollywood cinema.
‘Top Hat ‘ was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in its second year, 1990, as being “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. The film has also been recognized by the American Film Institute on various lists commemorating the best of American cinema; the film appeared on their list of the twenty five greatest film musicals at number 15, and irving Berlin’s “Cheek to Cheek” appeared on their list of the one hundred greatest songs of American cinema.
Fred Astaire was a strict perfectionist who combined creative routines with perfect grace and rhythm. He gave Ginger Rogers, his famous partner ‘class’ whilst she gave him ‘sex appeal’ – a perfect combination!
Sept 10th : THE THIRD MAN (1949)
Directed by Carol Reed, The Third Man is the 2nd film in our festival . It’s considered to be a landmark of British cinema and film noir. It combines a cynical post-World War II European setting, innovative tilted camera angles, a distinctive zither score, a brilliant Graham Greene script, and Orson Welles’ iconic performance.
Sept 11th : Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)
A story about a beautiful woman who arouses the ardour of three rival suitors in 19th-century rural Dorset. Headstrong, and having flirted and toyed with their affections, she chooses to marry one that leads to trouble. John Schlesinger’s adaptation of Thomas Hardy’s classic novel is a superbly photographed production thanks to cinematographer Nicolas Roeg. The screenplay is faithful to the original story whilst maintaining the wit necessary for it to be engaging. Richard Rodney Bennett’s wistful score works very well. Julie Christie is a fascinating presence. She is convincing as one, under whose spell, many a man could fall.
Thomas Hardy’s novel is brought to life by a who’s who of sixties actors at their absolute peak. Directed with flair also by John Schlesinger, Far From the Madding Crowd has many core themes that make the story Timeless – Core Themes That Make the Story Timeless –
Female Independence: Bathsheba Everdene rejects traditional subservience, choosing instead to run her own inherited farm and openly navigate life with multiple suitors.
Subversion of Victorian Norms: Hardy’s original narrative—and its cinematic retellings—challenged conventional 19th-century prudery and moral expectations through frank depictions of desire, mistake-making, and redemption.
The Rural Landscape: The films treat the Dorset countryside not just as a backdrop, but as a living, breathing force that mirrors the unpredictable nature of human emotion and fate.
Sept 12th : BILLY ELLIOT (2000)
Film and theatre director Stephen Daldry grew up in Taunton from the age of 12, attended local school Richard Huish College (then Huish’s Grammar School), and launched his early artistic career performing and directing with local groups like the Taunton Thespians and at The Brewhouse theatre.
He went on to direct Billy Elliot (2000) a critically acclaimed British film about an 11-year-old working-class boy in Northern England who defies expectations and economic hardship during the 1984–1985 miners’ strike to pursue his dream of becoming a ballet dancer
Sept 13th: Cinema Paradiso
The last night of this inaugural Taunton Film Festival, directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, Cinema Paradiso is a fitting end to this festival.
A Sicilian boy Salvatore returns home as a famous director after receiving news about the death of an old friend and mentor. He reminiscences about his childhood and his relationship with Alfredo, the projectionist at Cinema Paradiso. Under the fatherly influence of Alfredo, Salvatore falls in love with film making, the duo spending many hours discussing films and Alfredo painstakingly teaching Salvatore the skills that became a stepping stone for the young boy into the world of film making.
(In Italian with English subtitles)
Doors will be open at 6pm each night, film starts at 7pm
🎟️ Tickets are just £5 (per film) at the door or search “Wegottickets” for “Taunton Film festival”
Come and step back into the golden age of cinema! ✨
Lights. Camera. Taunton!
There will also be refreshments available prior to the films starting
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Sponsored by Taunton Town Council.
