Film festival to get thrilling start in fifth outing

A FILM festival which will be back in Newcastle for a fifth year this autumn is set to launch with a spine-tingling chiller.

- BARBARA HODGSON

The North East International Film Festival has built upon its reputation over the years.

It has also widened its scope with screenings beyond the city centre of work by homegrown and international talents alongside a programme of workshops, talks and industry meet-and-greets, culminating in an awards ceremony with prizes going to winners selected in a range of film categories. This year’s run will get under way on October 20 and festival director Lisa Marie Tonelli has announced its opening film.

In an apt choice for the month of Halloween, the new erotic horror-thriller Bone Lake is to have an exclusive pre-release screening on October 21 at Tyneside Cinema. The film, described as one of the most provocative and already-talked-about films of the year, features a couple whose holiday plans at a lakeside retreat descend into a dark world of sex, lies and survival when they find the property they're in has been double-booked by another couple.