13-726: The Romford Film Festival is an independent film festival founded in 2017 by festival director Spencer Hawken . The festival takes place annually in Romford , United Kingdom and is hosted at Premiere Cinemas inside The Mercury Mall . The festival celebrates the showcasing of the best independent British and International films. The festival provides a platform for established and emerging filmmakers in showcasing their work, discover new talent, and network with industry professionals. The festival also gives opportunities for audiences to engage with filmmakers through live Q&A's. The festival includes screenings from first-time filmmakers to some of
26-579: A Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! in 2009. He finished overall in fifth place on the show. Manning appeared in the UK tour of A Passionate Woman alongside Kaye Mellor and Anthony Lewis in 2011. In 2014, he appeared in an episode of Doctors as Paul Carter, and in 2015, he also appeared in The Dumping Ground as Matt Branston and Casualty as Clyde Jackson, in the last of a trio of special Casualty " Noir " episodes. In 2014, Manning
39-489: A zero-budget horror movie that starred Francesca Ciardi , Lucinda Rhodes and Jessie Williams . He later made the film No Reasons , for which Rhodes and Williams both returned. In August 2015 Hawken's production of Road Rage was forced to change direction when its lead actor George Cole died. No Reasons is a thriller film directed by Hawken. The film stars Marc Bannerman , Lucinda Rhodes , Daniel Peacock , Roland Manookian , and Stuart Manning . It marks
52-593: Is an English actor and model. He is known for portraying the role of Russ Owen in the Channel 4 soap opera Hollyoaks from 2004 until 2009, and again in 2018. After leaving Art college where he studied Fine Art photography Manning joined Models One where he worked with photographer Bruce Weber on an Abercrombie and Fitch campaign. He also worked on many commercials including " Pepsi " directed by Michael Bay . Manning started his acting career in an ITV soap opera Night and Day playing Sam Armstrong. Manning won
65-467: The 2002 British Soap Awards "Hero of the Year" award for that role. He played Mark Thompson in an episode of Holby City before joining the cast of Hollyoaks in 2004. After five years of playing the role of Russell Owen, Manning decided to quit the show. He left the series in a storyline that saw him kidnap his baby son Max and leave for France. He appeared as a contestant on the ninth series of I'm
78-476: The 4th festival was held from 13 to 18 August 2020 and was the first physical festival in the UK post COVID-19 outbreak. In 2021, the Romford Film Festival team was invited to attend Tashkent Film Festival where they were the first UK film delegation to attend. In 2022, the 6th festival was held from 19 to 25 May 2022 hosting over 180 films. The festival screened Becontree 100 years a film about
91-663: The Tashkent Film Festival, since the beginning of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's term, he has championed great change in the country and the invitation to the UK delegates was part of this change. As of 2021 Hawken consults for Netflix with The Takedown , Mothership and You People being subjects of his consultancy. Hawken was born in Essex , United Kingdom, and now resides in London, United Kingdom. Stuart Manning Stuart David Manning (born 27 May 1979)
104-426: The UK premiere of the compelling drama "Out and About," and a trio of important and diverse films by acclaimed Japanese filmmaker Kenich Ugana. Caroline Munro known for the bond girl Naomi in the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me . Holby City's Sarah-Jane Potts and Hammer horror star Pauline Peart attend the festival. In 2024, the 8th festival took place between 24–28 May 2024. The Romford Film Festival recognises
117-584: The achievements of filmmakers in the following awards. Spencer Hawken Spencer Hawken (born 6 May 1973) is a British film producer, director, writer, and former film critic. His work includes Death Walks and No Reasons . Hawken has worked as a retailer and fashion director at Debenhams , during which time he worked with Belinda Earl and Ben de Lisi to launch Designers at Debenhams. Within this role he appeared on TV shows such as BBC's Would Like To Meet , The Big Breakfast , RI:SE and GMTV . In 2013 he began working on Death Walks ,
130-551: The first ever council estate in the UK. In 2023, the 7th festival was held from 24 to 30 May 2023 and hosted 160 films. The opening night at the festival featured the screening of Warner Brothers adventure movie, " Jim Button and the Wild 13 " a sequel to original book Jim Button and Luke the Engine Driver from the creators of The NeverEnding Story . Other notable films included the clacton-made revenge thriller "Morris Men,"
143-440: The most established names on the independent film circuit with features , short films, music videos, documentary films and Animation. The festival recognises the achievements of filmmakers through awards in multiple categories. The festival has attracted a growing audience of filmmakers and industry professionals over the years including Joan Collins , Caroline Munro , Pauline Peart , Larry Lamb and Marc Bannerman . In 2020,
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#1732782449455156-501: The return of Anna Karen to feature films after an eight-year break. Since 2017 Hawken has run the Romford Film Festival . In 2020 the festival was the first physical festival in the UK post COVID-19 outbreak . Hawken founded Romford Horror Film Festival in 2020 and the first festival took place in summer 2021. In 2021 Hawken along with Marat Akhmedjanov, led the first ever UK film delegation to Uzbekistan for
169-578: Was cast to play the role of Robin in Spencer Hawken 's 2016 film No Reasons . In 2017, he appeared as Nik Voyle in the first episode of the school drama series Ackley Bridge and reprised his role of Nik again in series two in 2018. In 2018, it was confirmed he would return to the role of Russ Owen in Hollyoaks after an absence of 9 years, returning to the show in August. Manning departed
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