A 10-DAY celebration of film will begin this week.

The Tyne Valley Film Festival, which is taking place between March 18 and 27, will comprise of 35 screenings and events at 17 venues across the Tyne Valley.

The festival, led by the Forum Cinema in Hexham, will bring together rural film clubs, venues, and community organisations.

Chris Kelly, marketing officer at the Forum Cinema, said: "It's completely community-orientated. The festival is led by the Forum but we are working with 26 different community organisations."

Highlights of the festival include a screening of the 1925 silent film 'The Phantom of the Opera' at Hexham Abbey, accompanied by a live organ score from Jonathan Eyre, on Saturday, March 19.

And to celebrate the 1,900th anniversary of the building of Hadrian's Wall, The Sill: National Landscape Discovery Centre will be presenting a screening of 'The Living Wall', which depicts life on Hadrian's Wall in the 1970s, followed by a guided walk along part of the wall on both Sunday, March 20 and Sunday, March 27.

On Saturday, March 26, the North East Film Archive team will return to the Forum Cinema with two screenings of 'Hexham on Film'. Audiences will be able to see archive footage of Hexham and surrounding areas from the 1960s onwards.

The films shown throughout the festival will range from pre-sound classics to new releases, with other venues including Forum Books in Corbridge and the Old Booking Hall in Haltwhistle.

The first festival took place in 2019, but it was unable to go ahead in 2020 and 2021 festival due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Tyne Valley Film Festival is supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network. Further support comes from various community organisations.

For more information, visit the Tyne Valley Film Festival website or pick up a programme from the Forum Cinema.