AN EVENT celebrating filmmakers across the south west will be held in Bridport.

A special evening of screenings at Bridport Arts Centre on Tuesday, November 1 will showcase recent regional cinematic talent and fundraise for the next generation of local filmmakers.

The main feature will be Bait, the story of a struggling Cornish fisherman whose brother has taken their father's boat for tourists' day trips and allowed their childhood home to be used as a holiday rental.

Bait is the 2018 breakthrough full-length film by acclaimed Cornish writer-director Mark Jenkin. It received outstanding reviews from critics including Mark Kermode in The Guardian calling it; 'One of the defining films of the decade'.

The evening will open with a wide-ranging collection of locally filmed shorts including films for music like A Picture is Drawn/ Going to the Fayre' by renowned folk musicians Jack Harrison, Aidan Simpson and Matt Benjamin as well as Surrender, a live performance in the Carrifran Wildwood in southern Scotland of a new song by Bryony Moores O'Sullivan who is part of Bridport-based Chasing Cow Productions.

Bryony also takes the lead role in Chasing Cow's 2019 black comedy Brink By Brink as a young woman turning to ancient rituals to reverse the pain of unrequited love.

Director and cinematographer Fred Warren said the short was made and inspired by Bait: “This was our group’s first official project after coming together as Chasing Cow. We had no real budget and all the main creative roles on both sides of the camera were filled by just four of us, but these limitations also gave us freedom to adapt and improvise as we filmed.

"Due to the pandemic, we had to premiere the film online so it’s a real pleasure to be able to show some of it on the big screen in Bridport.”

Other local screen acting talent is captured in Sudden Light, filmed by Sophie Littman around Abbotsbury with a central performance by teenager Millie Ashford that secured her a role in the upcoming Ridley Scott film 'Napoleon'.

Another West Dorset-made film Kitchen Remedies was also selected for inclusion in the Cannes Film Festival where it received a nomination for this year's Best Indie Short.

As well as celebrating a wealth of South West filmmaking excellence the evening will launch an initiative to develop 'BACScreen', a new Bridport Arts Centre scheme to teach and facilitate more young people interested in creating their own films.

Celebrating South West Filmmakers' is at 7pm on Tuesday, November 1. Tickets cost £6 and can be brought from Bridport TIC or online at www.bridport-arts.com