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(back row) Carol Cleveland, Caroline Munro, (front) Martine Beswick, Madeline Smith, Caron Gardner, Vera Day, Renee Glynn.

Leicester, 13th - 14th July 2012

By Adrian Smith

An impressive array of stars and an eclectic lineup of Hammer films at the Phoenix Square cinema in Leicester marked the launch of a brand new innovative collaboration between Hammer and the De Montfort University. Their Cinema and Television History (Cath) Research Centre have become custodians of the Hammer script archive, meaning they will curate and catalogue the collection and make them available for research purposes. They have also received a collection of Jimmy Sangster items donated by his widow Mary Peach, including written materials and photographs covering not only his time with Hammer but as a successful independent writer and director.

In order to celebrate this new relationship the university hosted a two day Hammer festival attended by fans and academics keen to explore...

Joining the Fantasy Film Weekend for a second year, I knew what to expect, plenty of films and a Monday where your body feels like it wants to sleep for a whole week. The film festival is quite a rare gem in the festival calendar as it focuses not only on the new, but the classic and at times the downright strange films. This year there were Attractions such as a 70mm print of Big Trouble in Little China, Coraline 3D, The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm in Cinerama and most other films on 35mm where possible so this of course is one for the lovers of film of all types.

The first day was quite a leisurely stroll into the strange and horrific, just to ease into proceedings, but with Pieces being on the bill for the day it was sure to push up the gore value to a good level.

The National Media Museum in Bradford is, from 15th – 17th June 2012, set to play host to the 11th Fantastic Films Weekend, giving horror, fantasy and sci-fi fans in the North their annual fix of thrills and spills.

This year the festival will focus on schlock, women in horror and sci-fi, and feature a festival first – a Cinerama screening of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm. Other highlights will include an evening of giallo treats new and old, family fun with Coraline 3D and live make-up demos, and a Hammer strand packed with rare and premiere Hammer screenings.

Special guests will include Renée Glynne who worked for many years as continuity/script supervisor for Hammer before going freelance. Her work includes The Nanny, Legend of the Golden Vampire and The Quatermass Xperiment, the HD premiere of which will be screened following her screentalk. She will be in conversation with Hammer archivist,...