Wed 29th Sept

Community & Charity

11:00am @ Bolton Museum & Library
We’re proud to support charities and community organisations with FREE entry to Bolton Film Festival, to help their films reach new audiences and to raise awareness of the issues and causes the films bring into the spotlight. 

Student Animation 1

11:00am @ Light Cinema Screen 1
From monsters, ghouls and things that go bump in the night to a hedgehog obsessed with a balloon. The imaginations of student animators from around the world go wild in this one hour block. 

VR & 360

11:00am @ Unit Base Gallery
Step into the immersive world of 360 and VR with projects from around the world. Walk the streets of Kinshasa or the back alleys of Jakarta. 

Experimental 3

11:00am @ Unit Base Gallery
An eclectic mix of experimental shorts using landscapes of sound and imagery to evoke sensations of ‘searching for’, ‘belonging to’ or ‘escaping from’ a collective experience.

Culture Vulture 1

12:00pm @ Unit Base Gallery
This selection of shorts examines the power of the gaze through the foreplay of fashion film, music and dance. Embark on a journey between the voyeur and the viewed within the mirror of aesthetics, art and culture.

Student 3

12:15pm @ Bolton Museum & Library
Our ‘Student 3’ block looks at the upcoming film makers of the

future with a showcase of stories about the connections we have with people and place.  We visit the East End of London where a man gambles with a life of crime to make ends meet, and watch a painful operati ...

Animation 3

12:20pm @ Train Station Platform 5 Gallery
Take a trip into the far-out imaginings of our Animation 3 programme with this unique collection of creativity and song.  We explore troubled relationships through the epic performance of operatic cocks, to the dream sequence of Korean pop, and the futuristic world of Puerto ...

Doc 60 – 1

12:20pm @ Light Cinema Screen 2
A documentary programme observing various power struggles from a family pet witnessing the break up of her family, to an A.I experiment for dealing with grief. We watch a black ballerina describing her struggles in the industry and witness a sports facili ...

Experimental 1

1:10pm @ Unit Base Gallery
An experimental extravaganza observing the collective experience of the human condition from an existential awareness regarding the futility of life to the need of communicating our desire for freedom.

Student 1

1:40pm @ Light Cinema Screen 2
Postgraduate students offer up this programme of diverse stories and styles – a pseudo-documentary searching for a forgotten parent , the macho arm that flexes in the school hall gym , a black singer disillusioned with her audience, and a migrant-wo ...

Past and Present (1)

2:00pm @ Train Station Platform 5 Gallery
No two journeys are ever the same with this retrospective look at the past five years of Bolton International Film Festival. This programme celebrates the emotions of mankind embracing both the laughter and tears as we travel towards our changing destinations. 

Doc 60 – 2

2:00pm @ Bolton Museum & Library
A selection of indie-docs which tease out the inner reflections relating to loss and renewal, immigration, and a sense of belonging.  From a South Asian gaze on representation, to a couple searching for their son’s heart.  We observe a retiring clown who no longer needs to wear his mask ...

Culture Vulture 2

2:25pm @ Unit Base Gallery
Through the ever evolving and conditioning of people and place, this program of shorts looks at the relationships we have with each other as-well as ourselves.  Is it time to re-connect with reality or continue to be plugged into the feed?

Animation 1

3:10pm @ Bolton Museum & Library
This animation block reimagines the notion of division where a love letter is written confronting feelings of rejection, to a kidnapping crime between friends. We see fashion victims ruling the land and take a peep inside a neuro-diverse artists’ world.

International 1

3:20pm @ Light Cinema Screen 2
A programme of international shorts that take us hitchhiking on tractors in Turkey, to meeting secret lovers on the shore of a Vietnamese river.  We see an arranged marriage in the cotton farms of Sudan, meet a Canadian family built on ...

Experimental 2

3:45pm @ Unit Base Gallery
A transformative and meditative experience observing the elements of chance and control between the mechanical and the natural form.

UK Shorts 1

4:20pm @ Light Cinema Screen 1
Comedy, drama and thrillers’ make up this programme of UK shorts from tap dancing through the streets of Milton Keynes, to the frantic search for a missing daughter.  We follow ‘Roy’ who cold calls strangers to deal with his loneliness and watch Amy struggle as she processes the aftermath ...

UTC Showcase

4:30pm @ Bolton Museum & Library
A showcase from UTC Media City join us with a showcase of their films and panel of current students and graduates.

Culture Vulture 3

5:00pm @ Unit Base Gallery
This textual tapestry of the human spirit combines music, dance and fashion to express a feeling of empowerment.  Now is the time to take back control and release yourself from the box.

UK Shorts 2

5:00pm @ Light Cinema Screen 2
The brightest stars of the UK indie short film circuit are revealed in this block where conflict, secrets and hidden agendas collide.  British storytelling at it’s finest with dramas that relate to social acceptance, missed opportunities and stolen moments.

Made up North 1

6:00pm @ Light Cinema Screen 1
Our ‘Made Up North 1’ programme showcases the talent and diversity of northern filmmakers.  From a story about a clown who has given up on the world, to a troubled writer who loses his grip on reality. We follow Mancunian’s talking frankly about the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement, and ...

Made in Bolton

6:45pm @ Light Cinema Screen 2
During Black History Month last year, the Octagon Theatre, working in partnership with Bolton Solidarity Community Association (BSCA), launched a new project – The Fabric of Bolton. The project aimed to platform and celebrate Bolton’s industrial heritage, from a fresh and less commo ...

Opening Night

8:00pm @ Light Cinema Screen 1
Bolton International Film Festival returns with an opening programme of selected shorts from the 300 films that make up the festival.  Whether it’s comedy, drama, documentary, animation, community or surrealist experimentations, we can guarantee there will be something for everyone with these ...