Brighton has long been a home for artists, creators and the alternative. The Brighton Rocks Film Festival hopes to capture the spirit of the city and become the UK’s premier destination for underground and independent film. This young event highlighted a great number of aspirational artists with real gems to be found in its comedy and drama.
The Brighton Rocks Film Festival achieves its goal of recognising up and coming talent that dares to be itself
The festival has an ambitious 16 categories including best Brighton film and LGTBTQ+ film. The only rules being that every entry was filmed after January 2015 and is either in English or with subtitles. The result is an interested and varied selection of films from all over the UK and beyond. However, the strength of each category varied. This is to be expected and not every single piece here will take Cannes Film Festival by storm. However, there is plenty to be enjoyed and being able to speak to directors of performances transforms Brighton Rocks into both an inspirational and educational experience alongside its visual splendour. Praise must be given to some of the stand out pieces of the show. I Tramp, Therefore I Am by Core of Monkos was a delightfully funny ‘Hitchcockian thriller’ about a homeless man with a grudge and at the other end of the spectrum, In Humans We Trust by Tim Kent was an interesting look into the humanity of refugee crises, the difficulties of trust and how none of us are all angel or demon but simply human.
There is real potential in the future of this event. It attracted some fantastic talent and has space to grow in future. The chance to experience new and exciting media should never be turned away and Brighton is an ideal location for the creation of such an event. If you ever get the chance, watch one of the earlier mentioned films or other stand outs from the show, such as the unsettling Dunroamin by Oliver Milburn or mini-movies such as the relatable Maelstrom by Carlos Gomèz or even the quirky Veronica by Sofia Milone.
I could list shorts and films all day that were worth the admission alone, but for £15, the Brighton Rocks Film Festival achieves its goal of recognising up and coming talent that dares to be itself. While not all its films are successes, there is enough to keep fans of any genre inspired and happy as they leave the theatre.
