Award winning actor becomes patron of Dorset-based film festival
The Purbeck Film Festival will screen scores of films between 14 - 29 October
Oscar-winning actor and theatre director Sir Mark Rylance has become a patron of a Dorset-based film festival.
The Purbeck Film Festival, which is in its 27th year, will screen scores of films at venues including cinemas, village halls and a church hall which dates back to the 13th century.
Sir Mark has described the festival between 14 and 29 October as "very special".
Bafta nominated screenwriter Olivia Hetreed and producer Andy Paterson are also patrons this year.
A number of directors will personally introduce some of the films and take questions.
Anthony Fabian, who directed Mrs Harris Goes To Paris, will introduce the film at The Rex Cinema in Wareham on the first weekend of the festival on October 15.
Among the events planned is a showing of The Great Gatsby, the 1974 version starring Robert Redford, at The Blue Pool, with the audience invited to dress Gatsby-style while having a drink and meal.
Andrea Etherington from the festival, said: "After the isolation caused by Covid, we have decided to celebrate the cinema as a special space by screening films which emphasise its dark and glittering auditorium, with a series of classic and much-loved films focusing on the cinema itself and the art of film making."