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The second edition of Southend Film Festival opens next week with Father of Girls at Odeon Cinema. Programme includes a screening of Oil City Confidential. Check the highlights below.

The Festival will present over 50 films at various venues around town including The Palace Theatre, Park Inn Palace, Odeon Cinema and many more.

Highlights include previews of brand new British feature films, world cinema, book launches and signings on British horror film’s of the 1960s and on the history of the UK jazz dance scene, the first ever Southend Short Film Makers awards, specially commissioned programme of films from Sopot in Poland, archive films of Southend’s past and more.

Southend Film Festival trailer:

opening night gala

Fathers of Girls Odeon Cinema : Thursday 29th April : 7.30pm : £10 Our Gala night screening is a truly powerful film, a remarkable story of the unconditional love a father has for his daughter. For more detail click here

SUS Park Inn Palace Ballroom : Monday 3rd May : 9pm : £2 The Closing Night Gala film will be the pre-release preview of this brand new British independent film. For more detail click here

Road to Morroco Palace Theatre : Friday 30th April : 1pm : £2 This is the third, and best, of the “Road to…” series starring Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. For more detail click here

The Colony Palace Theatre : Friday 30th April : 6pm : £2 The Colony is the most exclusive club in the world, basically a small room above a restaurant in Soho. For more detail click here

Oil City Confidential Palace Theatre Friday 30th April : 8pm : £2 The story of Dr Feelgood: Four men in cheap suits who crashed out of Canvey Island in the early 1970s. For more detail click here

South Pacific Palace Theatre : Friday 30th April : 3pm : £2 Rossano Brazzi and Mitzi Gaynor star in this fabulous adaptation of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, seen at its absolute best on the big screen. For more detail click here

Wonderful Town Dixon Studio Friday 30th April : 2pm : £2 Fresh from winning the Tiger Award at the Rotterdam Film Festival, Wonderful Town follows a rural community as it rebuilds itself following the tsunami that destroyed the tourist industry. For more detail click here

British Noir: The Gambler and The Lady Dixon Studio Friday 30th April : 4pm : £2 We are continuing the successful British Film Noir strand from last year’s festival with five more 1950s thrillers produced by Hammer Films before the company found lasting fame in the Gothic horror genre. For more detail click here

British Noir: The House across the Lake Dixon Studio : Thursday 29th April : 6pm : £2 Our British Film Noir strand continues with this story of a UK-based American writer who gets entangled in a scheme hatched by a beautiful blonde to murder her rich husband. For more detail click here

La Zona Dixon Studio : Friday 30th April : 8pm : £2 Residents of an enclosed estate in an upmarket part of Mexico are shocked by a violent crime committed by three men. Deciding not to call in the police, the residents track down the perpetrators themselves. For more detail click here

Up Palace Theatre : Saturday 1st May : 12.30pm : £2 The tenth feature from the Pixar studios, Up was the first animated film to open the Cannes Film Festival and, along with Avatar, is the first 3D film to be nominated for an Academy Award. For more detail click here

Sing-A-Long Sound Of Music Palace Theatre : Saturday 1st May : 2.45pm : £2 What better way to spend a Saturday afternoon? Join in as Julie Andrews belts her way through favourites such as ‘My Favourite Things’, ‘Maria’, ‘Do-Re-Mi’… For more detail click here

Witchfinder General Palace Theatre : Saturday 1st May : 6pm : £2 Introduced by actor Ian Ogilvy. Based on the infamous real-life exploits of Matthew Hopkins, the self-styled ‘Witchfinder General’ who terrorised East Anglia For more detail click here

The Birdbook Ghost Hunt Palace Theatre : Saturday 1st May : 9pm : £2 World Premiere. Nicky and her brother Richard will introduce the screening and talk about the Birdbook Ghost Hunt. For more detail click here

British Noir: 36 Hours Dixon Studio : Saturday 1st May : 12.30pm : £2 This installment in our British Film Noir strand stars Dan Duryea as an American pilot, absent without leave in London, who is framed for his wife’s murder. Introduced by David Simpson from The White Bus. For more detail click here

Grave Tales Dixon Studio : Saturday 1st May : 2.45pm : £2 World Premiere. We are delighted that Don Fearney and Marysia Kay, director and star of Grave Tales, will be joining us for this very special screening. For more detail click here

Czech Dream Dixon Studio : Saturday 1st May : 6pm : £2 A remarkable documentary telling how two film students perpetrated a famous hoax in the Czech capital, Prague. For more detail click here

Mountain Patrol Dixon Studio : Saturday 1st May : 8pm : £2 Kekexili, the largest animal reserve in China, is home to the Tibetan antelope, prized for its skin. In the 1990s, to combat illegal poaching, local Tibetans formed volunteer patrols. For more detail click here

The Wizard Of Oz Palace Theatre : Sunday 2nd May : 12pm : £2 A film that needs no introduction! Based on L. Frank Baum’s children’s novel ‘The Wonderful Wizard of Oz’ this is escapist entertainment at its best. For more detail click here

Some Like It Hot Palace Theatre : Sunday 2nd May : 2.15pm : £2 This multi award-winning production stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon as musicians who have to flee after witnessing the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. For more detail click here

Morris: A Life With Bells On Palace Theatre : Sunday 2nd May : 6pm : £2 In this charming British comedy a documentary about morris dancing is being filmed when Derecq Twist, decides to introduce other dances into his group’s performances. For more detail click here

Let’s All Go To The Pictures… In Southend Palace Theatre : Sunday 2nd May : 8.15pm : £2 Come and join us as we shamelessly wallow in nostalgia and take a look at Southend’s cinemas over the years. For more detail click here

Kuch Naa Kaho Dixon Studio : Sunday 2nd May : 12pm : £2 Our Bollywood treat is the story of Raj, a young man who just wants to live his own life. Problem is, everyone else thinks he should get married. For more detail click here

British Noir: Wings Of Danger Dixon Studio : Sunday 2nd May : 3.30pm : £2 The intriguing story of an airline’s traffic controller who is blackmailed into allowing an apparently routine flight to go ahead in the face of extremely adverse weather conditions. For more detail click here

Short Films From The Sopot Film Festival Dixon Studio : Sunday 2nd May : 6pm : £2 The annual film festival in our twin town, Sopot, a resort on the Baltic Sea, has been running for ten years! To celebrate this milestone we are proud to present a selection of the very best short films screened since 2001. For more detail click here

Home Dixon Studio : Sunday 2nd May : 8.15pm : £2 A family’s peaceful existence is threatened when a busy highway is opened only metres away from their isolated house in the middle of nowhere. For more detail click here

Havana Blues Park Inn Palace Ballroom : Monday 3rd May : 12.30pm : £2 Tito and Ruy, young Cuban musicians, share a dream of escaping Havana and making it big with their band, Havana Blues. For more detail click here

British Jazz Dance: Book Launch And Archive Films Park Inn Palace Ballroom : Monday 3rd May : 3pm : £2 We are very pleased that world-renowned Latin Jazz musician, DJ and author Mark ‘Snowboy’ Cotgrove will be joining us to talk about his new book. For more detail click here

Short Film Awards Park Inn Palace Ballroom : Monday 3rd May : 5.45pm : Free Come along and see the winning films of the first ever Southend-on-Sea short film competition and meet the filmmakers who made them. For more detail click here

The Ultimate Laurel & Hardy Picture Show The Laurel & Hardy Suite : Monday 3rd May : 12.30pm : £2 We are thrilled to be associated with the Park Inn Palace Hotel, and that the hotel is extremely keen to acknowledge the part it has played in the cultural life of the town over the years. For more detail click here

British Noir:The Glass Cage The Laurel & Hardy Suite : Monday 3rd May : 3pm : £2 Our British Film Noir strand concludes with a remarkable story about a carnival barker who borrows money to finance Sapolio, a professional “starving man”, in his quest to go 65 days without food. For more detail click here

Is You Is: A Louis Jordan Story The Laurel & Hardy Suite : Monday 3rd May : 5:45pm : £2 Louis Jordan (1908-1975) was a pioneering American jazz blues and rhythm & blues musician, songwriter and bandleader. For more detail click here

e2prom TAP : Monday 26th April : 7:30 : Free An electronic promenade of up and coming purely digital artforms that includes moving image, still image and sound. For more detail click here

Best Of British The Beecroft Art Gallery : Tuesday 27th April – Saturday 1st May : Opening times: 10am – 1pm & 2 – 5pm : Free admission. Wonderful stills and lobby cards from some of the most iconic British Films ever made. For more detail click here

The Ladykillers Southend Central Museum : Tuesday 27th April : 6.30pm : £3 Under the pretext of needing practice space for his string quintet, master criminal “Professor” Marcus rents a room from kindly, eccentric Mrs. Wilberforce and gathers his gang together. For more detail click here

The White Bus Film Education Archive Nights TAP : 28th April & 5th May : 7pm : Free admission These are our regular Wednesday evening shows, screening diverse films from our extensive 16mm film archive. For more detail click here

Student Short Film Review The Pod, South Essex College : Friday 30th April : 1.30pm : Free Open to anyone interested in watching or making short-films, South Essex College invites you to an afternoon of eclectic short films including drama, action, music videos, animation and commercials. For more detail click here

Last Friday Shorts TAP : Friday 30th April : 7.30pm : Free Short films and experimental video work and the chance to meet some of the filmmakers who will also introduce their films and answer your questions. For more detail click here

Stars On Sea Southend High Street : Saturday 1st May : 10am – 4pm : Free Southend Town Centre will play host to some of films amazing stars! The Dukes of Hazard General Lee and Starsky & Hutch Ford Gran Torino will be on display in Victoria Circus. For more detail click here

Film Masterclasses Southend Central Library : Saturday 1st May : 10am : Free Join us for these fun yet informative free workshops on screenwriting and short film making. For more detail click here

Railway Hotel All-Nighter! The Railway Hotel : Sunday 2nd May : 8pm : Free : Over 18s Linking up with the festival, our good friend Dave Dulake and his team at The Railway Hotel invite all those pining over the sad demise of the small independent cinemas to a good, old fashioned 1970s all-nighter! For more detail click here

The Titfield Thunderbolt Southend Central Museum : Tuesday 4th May : 6.30pm : £3 This is a rollicking, completely delightful comedy! When the villagers of the small village of Titfield hear the government is going to close their local railway line they decide to take it over. For more detail click here

Short Films At East 15 East 15 Acting School : Tuesday 4th May : 7pm – 8:15pm : Free East 15 Acting School invite you to see a fantastic collection of 16 short films by students from our MA Filmmaking and MA Acting for TV, Film and Radio courses. For more detail click here

Murder At The Gallop The Sand Bar : Tuesday 4th May : 7.30pm : £15 Everyone’s favourite Miss Marple, Margaret Rutherford, returns in this classic whodunit, the second of the four films in which she portrayed Agatha Christie’s dogged amateur sleuth. For more detail click here

For more details, go to Southend Film Festival WEBSITE