Partner Article

Major coup for film festival

One the brightest lights in the British film-making scene has signed up to show off his latest work at a major event in the North East later this month.

Belfast-born director and writer Mark Cousins is fast-becoming one of the most promising prospects in UK cinema and is enjoying rave reviews for his newest film, The First Film.

The movie focuses on the impact of war on the lives – and imaginations – of children in Iraq.

A special screening of the film will be introduced by Cousins at this month’s Northern Lights Film Festival (NLFF) and will be followed by a Q&A session with the world-renowned talent.

NLFF takes place between 20-28 March and is funded by the Northern Rock Foundation and Northern Film + Media.

The First Movie was described by The Guardian as “a terrifically enjoyable and engaging film: open-minded and open-hearted and utterly unlike the material on regular commercial release,” while Sukhdev Sandhu at The Daily Telegraph said the film “really jolted me. Reminded me why I first fell I love with and needed film.”

In The First Movie, Cousins goes to an Iraqi village in the Kurdish North to investigate what kids growing up there have in their heads.

He said “Life’s a mash up of fantasy and reality for children and I wanted to know whether living in a war zone curtailed the light sabres and magic princesses. What we discover is amazing, inspiring and full of beauty.”

Alongside a hugely successful film career, Cousins co-founded the charity Scottish Kids Are Making Movies and is a highly sought after writer.

His history of world cinema, The Story of Film, was published in ten countries. At the 2009 Berlin Film Festival he received the Salgeber Award and he was nominated for the Spirit of Scotland Award in 2008 and 200

On coming to Durham, Cousins said: “I’m looking forward to NLFF, which has a dynamic and innovative programme. As well as presenting the film, which will hopefully remind viewers about what the world and its children have to offer, the question and answer session should create interesting debate. I’ll be speaking about cinema, passion and how we are all ageless inside.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .