Peckham Nunhead Free Film Festival, what a treat.
Birthed in Peckham and Nunhead, The free film festival is a community organization started in 2010 aiming to connect community members with unlikely films in unlikely places.
For the last eleven years it has drastically grown as each year, the volunteer-led organization encourages new communities and neighborhouds to join the free film festival.
This year’s Peckham and Nunhead Free Film Festival, PNFFF for short, has been going on from the 9th of September to the 19th of September. Made for everyone, PNFFF is an opportunity to experience film with good company and no cost.
This week I caught up with Ann Lazim, one of the main organizer of PNFFF, to see how this year’s festival is going.
So How is it going in general?
The 2021 festival is going well and attendance is generally good. Many people in Peckham and Nunhead are happy to be able to attend live events again although understandably it will take a while for everyone to feel comfortable about this. Venues we’ve used before, including Peckhamplex, the Ivy House, the Veolia Waste Management Centre and the Old Nun’s Head are glad to have us back. Our festival was mainly online in 2020 and we were able to put on some excellent events with local connections. For a community festival like ours it feels good to be back in person though!
Compared to the first festival in 2010, how is 2021 different?
Bringing people in our community together to watch interesting films in a variety of venues has always been at the heart of our festival. We’ve built on our links and relationships with local people and organisations over the years and we’re always making new friends too. The Peckham and Nunhead Free Film Festival inspired others to set up their own local free film festivals and we share ideas, information and expertise and have a collective website www.freefilmfestivals.org
Anything in particular that you were especially excited about happening this year?
Our screenings in Nunhead Cemetery always pull in an appreciative crowd. This year was no exception when we showed a little known gothic Czech version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’. Another highlight is the hilarious ‘Alien on Stage’ which will be screened as this year’s closing event at Peckhamplex with a Q&A with the filmmakers.
The best part of PNFFF for you is?
Bringing people in our community together for free events so cost doesn’t prevent them from attending. On a personal level, working with a diverse group of people, making friends with people I probably wouldn’t have got to know otherwise.
If you could speak to someone who hasn’t been to the festival yet what would you tell them?
Come and experience the creativity in Peckham and Nunhead and beyond in some unexpected settings. If you’d like to get involved in volunteering for next year’s festival, please get in touch via pnfff@freefilmfestivals.org as we’ll start to plan for 2022 soon after the 2021 festival ends!
Anything to say to recurring visitors and volunteers?
Thanks for supporting the festival and contributing in so many ways. You are what the Peckham and Nunhead Free Film Festival and its sister festivals are all about!
There are still a few days left of the festival this year, follow this link to see the program and catch some flicks!
Again many thanks to Ann Lazim and to all the volunteers of PNFFF. Thank you for taking the time to curate inclusive spaces for everyone to enjoy creativity. And also for starting such an exciting movement as the Free Film Festivals.
If you’re interested in starting one in your own neighborhood make sure to visit their website and get in contact!
Words and Illustration by Mona Neilson