One-day film festival PompeyWood brings folk-horror thrills and more to Portsmouth

​It’s a nice dream, but it’s one that Portsmouth-based film maker Sam Mason Bell wants to make a reality (perhaps without the giant sign...).

Sam is festival director of PompeyWood, a one-day film festival taking place on Sunday is showcasing the best of horror with a pair of feature film screenings, and a short film competition taking in all genres.

It is the second year of the event which was created by TrashArts and HB Films. Last year they used The Groundlings Theatre, this year they’re based in The Wedgewood Rooms, Southsea.

“All the indie film community, film makers I know from around the country were really interested in it,” says Sam explaining its ethos, “but I want the local community to see the showcase of all the work from across the country on the independent side, and then I also want the independent film makers to find validity in coming down to Portsmouth. To me, it's trying to cross both sides.”

Last year’s event highlighted the cult writer/director Michael J Murphy, who was from Portsmouth. This year’s theme is “folk horror” and they are screening the 1968 Vincent Price-starring classic The Witchfinder General, and recently released The Pocket Film of Superstitions, directed by Tom Lee Rutter.

“This year we wanted to screen something which is a classic and we wanted to focus more on folk-horror as well, and it's quite nice to have that classic from 1968 paired up with a new folk-horror movie by Tom Lee Rutter, who's a film maker from the Midlands.

"His new movie is essentially the best of indie horror – lots of people from across the country were involved in it, these little vignettes that talk about different superstitions and fears, and it also stars people like (horror acting legends) Caroline Munro and Lynn Lowry, scream queens and classic actors from back in the day which we thought would be a nice kind of mirroring.”

Sam is aiming to tap into the energy of the existing network of small film festivals he’s experienced through his own production company, TrashArts.

"The fortunate thing with there being horror festivals across the country, in particular Horror on Sea in Essex is that you go there with your own work, you meet new film makers, you network with them and then you find ways to be able to showcase their work. With Horror on Sea we’ve had films selected for the last four years, so again we've made lots of friends there, and I just want to showcase their work down this way too.”

And Pocket Film also has a local connection – it was part shot at Foxes Forest in Hilsea.

“The weird thing is, with Tom the director, in particular, he has a lot of respect for Portsmouth because of the old film maker Michael J Murphy. So it's nice for them to see some sort of film scene in Portsmouth because of him.

“As independent film makers we always have to reflect on legacy – especially with horror, you have people who had their moment and then because of the snobbery in the industry towards the genre, they get lost. So when these new film makers come along, they respect the legacy of it – films get revived, and that happens for actors too. It's fortunate that they're still around for the new generation to work with.”

While TrashArts, who specialise in horror, have been involved in a dizzying array of projects recently from working with an American company on Devil May Care, to producing Sunderland director SN Sibley’s psycho-drama Deadly Display, via their own folk-horror, I Curse This Land and Incessant, about a parasitic sound which drives people insane, they won’t be screening of their own work this time.

“We did originally talk about screening one of ours, but the truth is that this is a showcase for independent film makers and not just to rub my own ego! We run a monthly film club now at Southsea Cinema, which is free, and we've showcased one of our films there, and we will show more, but in between more national film makers and localised film makers.

“I've never seen the appeal of running a film festival called PompeyWood and shoving our films right in front of people's faces when really it should be about what we've seen from around the country and bringing it to Portsmouth.”

TrashArts is also involved in the wider arts community with Open Ya Mouth, which hosts open mics and an annual fair in the city’s Victoria Park. Sam hopes things he does on that side could filter back into the film work.

“From doing the stuff with Open Ya Mouth, we do a lot of workshops that could lead into our festival. I want to do more workshops that can lead into the film festival – workshops are important because the talent is going to come from the younger people. To be able to mentor them with other independent film makers that would be great, and then to be able to showcase them at the festival alongside the independent short films and selected feature films."

And he wants PompeyWood to have legs: “I'd like to keep going for years if I can. I would love for people to be driving into Portsmouth and there it is: ‘PompeyWood’, on billboards.”

Sam ultimately wants people to treat seeing an independent film the same way you would going to see a local band.

“You may have a network of film makers who know each other and communicate with each other and work with each other, but at the end of the day we need the public to be in the cinema and watching the screenings. Regular people need to see independent cinema in the same way they'd go to see a local band – that would get that interest going.

“You get people saying, ‘I don't know anyone in it, why would I see it?’ But you get people going to gigs and they don't necessarily know who was playing. We need that same sort of mentality.”

Sam believes that linking the local to make it national is crucial.

“When you work nationally with other film makers who have their own little scenes, you're only going to be helping to support their scenes by connecting the dots. If we get too stuck on the local perspective you end up just thinking about cliques that don't click with the rest of the national scene.

“The horror scene in this country is incredibly strong – and there are film makers everywhere, all making films independently that aren't just one genre. We're not getting a flock of slashers, or just creature features, the films I've been seeing are so varied with these unique voices coming through.

“The opportunity is there to just walk in and see something different, but there's always that bit of a barrier because people don't want to take that risk when it comes to a film. I think with streaming we have so much access to so many things, that we don't to go out there and discover.

“For example, on Sunday, we've got 17 short films and trailers from across the world – and we've got some fantastic films from Portsmouth and the surrounding area. You just need to go with the vibe and see what you might see.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​”​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

Schedule for the PompeyWood

1-3pm: Short Film Competition.

3-3.20pm: break

3.20-4pm: Short film awards.

4pm: Break

5-7pm: The Pocket Film Of Superstitions (plus a Q&A)

7pm: Break

8-9.30pm:The Witchfinder General.

​Full day ticket: £10

Short Film Competition: 12.30pm to 4.30pm: £5

The Pocket Film of Superstitions + Q&A: 4.30pm to 7.30pm: £5

The Witchfinder General: from 7.30pm: £5

Over-18s only. For tickets go to wedgewood-rooms.co.uk.

The next monthly film club is at Southsea Cinema on Palmerston Road on Tuesday from 7pm and this month focuses on short films from the local area. Tickets are free. Go to southseacinema.co.uk for more information.