Films of the Century Vote

When we asked you, our audience, what you would like to see at KFF25, we received two answers. First was "more of the same please" and David Miller has worked his usual magic in putting together a programme of prize winners and festival favourites from across the world. There are some crackers in there!

You also said "Can we see some of the best films from previous festivals, please?" We have compiled a list of some of the best films from the Festival, Film Club and a couple that we missed, year-on-year from 2000 - 2022 and we are asking you to vote for which titles you would like to see. You can see our shortlist below.

We have some unallocated slots in the Alhambra's state-of-the-art screen 2 and we will screen a number of the vote winners over the course of the Festival weekend.

The Shortlist

2000

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

First shown at Keswick Film Club in 2001, this martial arts masterpiece is a worthy candidate.

2001

Amelie

A favourite from the 2002 Festival, Amelie set the standard for quirky.

2002

Whale Rider

Less well known perhaps, but Whale Rider scored an incredible 91% in the audience vote back in 2004

2003

Oldboy

From the 2005 Festival Oldboy was described as a 'totally gratuitous mind-spin of a movie' which won the Prix du Jury at Cannes.

2004

Million Dollar Baby

With the release of Juror #2, how about a look back at one of Eastwood's earlier directorial gems?

2005

March of the Penguins

On the coldest, driest and darkest continent on Earth, there is snow, and there is ice, and there are penguins. A stunning documentary from the 2006 Festival

2006

Red Road

Andrea Arnold brought Red Road to KFF in 2007. A gripping thriller set in Glasgow, with a mesmeric Kate Dickie.

2007

No Country for Old Men

There had to be a Coen Brothers film in this list and No Country blew us away in 2007

2008

Welcome to the Sticks

France has a north/south divide too and this comedy hugely amused a packed Alhambra in 2012

2009

An Education

Scripted by Nick Hornby, this was one of our first sightings of Carey Mulligan, screened at the 2010 festival

2010

Animal Kingdom

A gritty, gut-churning crime thriller from Australia. A tough watch but the 2011 audience loved it.

2011

Melancholia

Chosen by our then Patron, Sir John Hurt, Lars Von Trier's masterpiece was described as a 'crazily bold, visually enthralling, and emotionally seismic drama'

2012

A Royal Affair

Notable not just from a stand-out performance from Mads Mikkelsen, A Royal Affair was the first film screened digitally for the Film Club.

2013

12 Years A Slave

12 Years A Slave Before Steve McQueen's Blitz there was 12 Years a Slave - its reputation says everything

2014

Radiator

A superb family drama, set in nearby Mungrisdale was a highlight of the 2015 Festival. We were graced by the presence of stars Gemma Jones and Richard Johnson

2015

The Wolfpack

Our audience loves a documentary and this, from the 2016 Festival is one of the most bizarre we have screened.

2016

Manchester by the Sea

An incredibly powerful film from the 2017 Festival, with Casey Affleck and a breakthrough performance from Lucas Hedges

2017

Blade Runner 2049

Scifi at its very best - need we say more?

2018

Shoplifters

Kore-eda's films have consistently played well with the Keswick audience and Shoplifters sees him at the very top of his game.

2019

Parasite

Few films can have had such a significant impact on the filmgoing audience as Parasite, bringing subtitles into the mainstream.

2020

Rocks

Winner of the 'Best British Independent Film of 2021'; and nominated for a host of BAFTAs - a marvellous ensemble piece from a group of London teenagers.

2021

Flee

A moving Danish Documentary from the 2022 Festival, told through animation - the sort of film that leaves you silent as you leave the cinema

2022

Saint Omer

A powerful, french courtroom drama told in almost documentary style by Director Alice Diop.

How To Vote

We'll be inviting everybody on our mailing list to vote for up to 6 titles by 31st January, so make sure you've signed up and keep an eye out for our emails. We will include the link in all future messages, until the end of January.