Creativity and innovation is in Kingston’s DNA and it is wonderful to be hosting an event of such significance right here in our borough.
It is a fantastic opportunity for communities, film buffs and industry great and good to come together to see some of the most exciting emerging talent and celebrate cinema.
The Royal Borough of Kingston has a rich film history, as home to the father of the moving image Eadweard Muybridge.
Our university, college and countless community groups are supporting and empowering the next generation of film-makers, innovators and creatives, and our creative industries sector is thriving.
Kingston International Film Festival underlines the important role that screen industries can play in our borough’s economy and culture – especially as we celebrate Kingston 2025.
We have a strong film and TV sector, with the number of businesses in this and associated industries growing by a quarter between 2015 and 2022, to around 180.
We’re also well placed to support future growth from a healthy film industry, with around 4,000 jobs and more than 1,400 businesses classed as creative and cultural, across the spectrum from artistic to tech and design, providing fertile ground for the film sector.
Alongside this, we have a growing reputation as a film-friendly borough, welcoming and supporting productions of all sizes through Kingston Film Office.
In a year that we celebrate culture through our Kingston 2025 programme, I’m also delighted that, working with Kingston primary schools and Kingston Music Service, Ciné Schools has created a primary school film unit and ensemble for this special project.
Ten talented young musicians will play live music over a silent film of archive footage from the 19th and 20th centuries following a short documentary about the father of film, Eadweard Muybridge.
Supporting archive material has been storyboarded, performed and filmed by members of Cine Schools’ primary Film Academies in Kingston.
Another exciting element of our Kingston 2025 celebrations, FUSE International, kicks off on June 28, until July 6.
This festival of live performance and creativity is packed with inspiring, funny and thought-provoking shows that bring us together.
There will be theatre, dance, comedy, cabaret, visual arts and more, all created by young and emerging artists from around the world.
I’m really pleased to say that this year’s programme features a special collaboration with partners from South Korea, including a night of Kingston hip hop and Korean K-Pop with dancers from Vital Signz and the Siheung City Youth Foundation.
Audiences can also look forward to an eclectic evening of classical Korean music meets iconic UK pop by the world-renowned South Korean conductor Jong Hoon Bae and the Seocho Philharmonic Orchestra.
You can find out more about the Kingston 2025 programme at www.kingstonheritage.org.uk/Kingston2025.
