'Help save our movie capital!'

MANSFIELD TOWN FILM FESTIVAL ORGANISER CALLS ON PEOPLE TO SUPPORT EVENT

- By GEORGE PALMER-SOADY

THE founder of a Nottinghamshire film festival has called on local people to rally behind him and warned that a lack of a interest could mean it doesn’t go ahead next year.

Jay Martin founded the Mansfield Town Film Festival in 2023 to showcase local talent and change perceptions of the town.

Held at the Palace Theatre, the annual festival screens hundreds of independent short films from around the world, including many made in Nottinghamshire.

The festival brings in visitors from across the world. But with a key source of funding being removed, Jay fears this year’s event, which takes place this weekend, could be the last.

The festival was borne out of an impassioned speech Jay made at the premier for his own documentary, Redt'Blue, at Nottingham’s Broadway Cinema in 2022.