Cinema bosses have just the ticket for classic movie buffs – the first-ever Inverclyde Film Festival.

Staff at the Waterfront Cinema will welcome people to the Greenock picture house from March 13-15 to see an array of vintage flicks, many of which have local connections.

The programme includes special screenings of Ken Loach’s Sweet Sixteen, which was filmed in Inverclyde and launched the career of Greenock actor Martin Compston in 2002, and 1988 film Down Where the Buffalo, starring American A-lister Harvey Keitel, which was also filmed in the area and was written by legendary Scottish playwright Peter McDougall, who grew up in Larkfield.

The line-up also features a late-night showing of Kiefer Sutherland in The Lost Boys, shown in ultra-high-definition; Martin Scorsese’s The Last Waltz, about the iconic 1976 finale concert from The Band; and 1942 classic Meet Me in St Louis, starring Judy Garland.

John Cunningham, manager of the Waterfront Cinema, said:

“It’s the very first Inverclyde Film Festival and we’re hoping it will be a success and become an annual event, perhaps running for a full week.”

The festival has attracted funding from Regional Screen Scotland, sponsorship from Inverclyde Chamber of Commerce and Kip Marina, and backing from Inverclyde Council, the Watt Institution and CVS Inverclyde.

IFF Programme

It also ties in with Scotland’s Year of Coasts and Waters 2020 with films paying tribute to Inverclyde’s rich maritime and industrial past, including Sean Connery’s 1967 documentary The Bowler and the Bunnet about Clydeside shipbuilding.

Tributes to world-renowned Greenock engineer and inventor James Watt and an exclusive preview of a major new TV documentary about the rise and fall of IBM at Spango Valley are among the other programme highlights.

There will be a free workshop at Greenock Central Library on Saturday, March 14 from 10am-noon with BAFTA-nominated BBC screenwriter Danny McCahon, an event at the Beacon Arts Centre – ‘Screen Scene’ – on Sunday 15, and West College Scotland has teamed up with St Ninian’s and Ardgowan primary schools for a special ‘showcase’ film.

Cinema boss, John, pictured with marketing officer Carys Knox, said:

“There are so many highlights – we’re packing a lot into the weekend.

“We hope the good people of Inverclyde will come out and support the festival.”

For full listings, click here.

This article and image appeared in the Greenock Telegraph.