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Monday 20th May 2024
Pretty Red Dress
In the vibrant streets of South London, a family grapples with desire,
identity, and the allure of a single crimson garment. “Pretty Red Dress” weaves a tale that dances between heartstrings and secrets, all set to the toe-tapping rhythm of Tina Turner’s iconic hits.
After serving time in prison, Travis (played by rising star Natey Jones) returns home to his partner, Candice (portrayed with understated flair by X Factor winner turned chart-topper and stage/screen star Alexandra Burke). Candice, an ardent Tina Turner fan, is on the cusp of a dream role—an audition for the lead in a West End show about her idol.
But it’s not just any dress that catches Candice’s eye. It’s the titular red dress—a tasselled, dazzling creation that beckons from a shop window. As she contemplates this extravagant purchase, Travis’s face reveals a whirlwind of emotions. Is it the price tag that worries him? Or perhaps something deeper, something he can’t even admit to himself?
Dionne Edwards, the writer-director, centres her film around shame—the hidden burdens we carry and the costs of suppressing our true selves. The characters—Candice, Travis, and their teenage daughter Kenisha—navigate the delicate balance between self-perception and societal expectations. Their struggles mirror the complexities we all face when reconciling our innermost desires with external judgments.
Imagine the anarchic spirit of Some Like It Hot blended with the incantatory edge of Peter Strickland’s In Fabric. Dionne Edwards crafts a tender, expressive drama that resonates long after the credits roll.
So slip into your own metaphorical red dress, let the music guide you, and join this London family on their captivating journey.
FREE MAKES IT INCLUSIVE, DONATIONS MAKE IT HAPPEN
As part of this year’s Herne Hill Free Film Festival we are pleased to be supporting again the Norwood & Brixton Food Bank, helping to raise awareness for this most worthy of local causes. Any spare change collected at each of our screenings would be greatly appreciated and donated* to help this wonderful charity continue the admirable work.
*After we have covered our production costs
Film Quiz
Wilding with Q&A
8:45PM
A Complete Unknown
8:00PM
48 Hour Film Challenge
12:00PM
Hundreds of Beavers
8:30PM
Getting It back: The Story of Cymande + Q&A
8:00PM
Shaun of the Dead
8:45PM
Short Film Night + Filmmakers’ Intros
8:00PM
We Live in Time
8:00PM
The Outrun
8:00PM
People’s Film Choice: Stand by me or Galaxy Quest or Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind
8:45PM
The Wild Robot
4:00PM
My Kind Of Black: A Night of Short Films by Young Black Londoners + Q&A
8:00PM
Love Lies Bleeding
8:00PM
Cycling Shorts
8:00PM
Phantom of the Open
8:45PM
Film Quiz
Off the Cuff Bar – Herne Hill
We are very excited to launch this year’s Free Film Festival with a film-themed pub quiz at the brilliant Off The Cuff. Hosted by…
Wilding with Q&A
Brockwell Park Community Greenhouses
Wilding documents the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old Knepp Estate. They battle entrenched…
A Complete Unknown
Carnegie Library Hub
A Complete Unknown is a stunning biopic of one of music’s great enigmas. In 1961, an unknown 19-year-old Bob Dylan arrives in New York…
48 Hour Film Challenge
Prince Regent Pub
Make a Film in a Weekend! The Herne Hill Free Film Festival’s 48 HOUR FILM CHALLENGE is back to continue its search for the…
Hundreds of Beavers
Brockwell Hall
Paying homage to Hollywood’s silent era and the golden age of animation, this slapstick epic sees a down-on-his-luck applejack distiller forced to become North America’s…
Getting It back: The Story of Cymande + Q&A
Off the Cuff Bar – Herne Hill
Listening to 6 Music one day, it was surprising to learn that a band named Cymande, formed just down the road in Brixton in the…
Shaun of the Dead
Brockwell Lido – Herne Hill
Shaun of the Dead has, over the last 21 years, become a classic zombie comedy, with pints, Queen, blink-and-you’ll-miss-em cameos, memorable lines and a weaponised…
Short Film Night + Filmmakers’ Intros
Prince Regent Pub
We think this will be our 11th Short Film Night at the Herne Hill Free Film Festival (sorry for not being entirely sure, it’s…
We Live in Time
Herne Hill Baptist Church
We Live in Time, starring Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield, explores how the fleeting moments of our lives weave together to shape our identities and…
The Outrun
Coldharbour Blue
The Outrun is a compelling drama that follows Rona, portrayed by Saoirse Ronan, as she returns to Scotland’s Orkney Islands after battling alcoholism in…
People’s Film Choice: Stand by me or Galaxy Quest or Eternal Sunshine of the spotless mind
Herne Hill Velodrome
With so many great films to choose from, we just couldn’t decide, and so it’s over to you! Please help us select this year’s outdoor…
The Wild Robot
Herne Hill Station Hall
The Wild Robot is a film for all the family that is as thoughtful as it is entertaining. The story follows Roz, an intelligent…
My Kind Of Black: A Night of Short Films by Young Black Londoners + Q&A
198 Contemporary Arts and Learning
Join us at one of our new screening venues, 198 Contemporary Arts and Learning gallery for an evening of short films showcasing the voices…
Love Lies Bleeding
Bird House Brewery
Love Lies Bleeding is a neon-soaked, adrenaline-fueled thriller that dives headfirst into passion, crime, and obsession. When reclusive gym manager Lou (Kristen Stewart) falls…
Cycling Shorts
Herne Hill Velodrome
Now in its third year, the ever popular Cycling Shorts returns to the historic Herne Hill Velodrome. (That’s short films about cycling of course!) Expect…
Phantom of the Open
Edward Alleyn Club
Our local hero Mark Rylance stars in this amiably daft film The Phantom of the Open about real-life golfing eccentric Maurice Flitcroft, who gatecrashed…
