BORDERLINES Film Festival will be expanding its horizons next year as it launches the Festival of British Cinema in Hay-on-Wye during its opening weekend, Friday, February 27 to Sunday, March 1.

Previously run by the Screen at Hay volunteers, the Festival of British Cinema is the only film festival in this country to focus exclusively on our national cinema in all its permutations. The British Cinema event will comprise 30 screenings, showcasing some of the best new British independent cinema releases on preview alongside revisited classics and documentaries, with a strong helping of Welsh-made productions at four locations in the historic border town.

Events to look out for include a special strand curated by one of the UK's stellar directors, Ken Loach, featuring the three British films that have influenced him the most.

Uberto Pasolini (film director and producer of The Full Monty) will present his latest release, Still Life with Eddie Marsan, in which Marsan plays a council case worker looking for the relatives of those found dead and alone, while Sight & Sound, Britain's leading film criticism magazine will host a discussion at Hay Castle on the state of British cinema. The Picturehouse chain brings their astounding, refurbished mobile cinema with the latest screening technology and plush seating for 100 to the town centre for two days of screenings.

Not only is Borderlines the UK’s largest rural film festival, but it is currently also the fourth largest film festival in England, after London, Leeds and the East End Film Festivals. It holds it own against metropolitan competitors in terms of scale and attendance figures, with more than 19,000 attendances last year.

In 2015 the combined festivals will feature 100 films and events in 230 screenings over 17 days in 30 locations across four counties: Herefordshire, Shropshire, Powys and Worcestershire. Venues vary from a contemporary steel and glass arts centre to a 12th century gothic church, a 1930s art deco cinema complete with Italianate fresco, a Victorian chapel converted into a community cinema, a 48-seat boutique cinema adjacent to a bookshop, two 19th century assembly rooms and numerous village halls.

Previews, films shown prior to general release, continue to play a prominent role in the festival line-up, programmed for the third year running by the Independent Cinema Office’s David Sin, and this element will extend to the Festival of British Cinema. The total number of previews, yet to be confirmed is likely to exceed 16, an extraordinary number for a non-metropolitan film festival.

Festival Director, Naomi Vera-Sanso said, “The opportunity to reinvigorate the Festival of British Cinema represents a welcome challenge that will complement and enhance our existing film festival programme.

“I am sure they will take this new and prestigious initiative on board and thoroughly enjoy delving into different takes on what constitutes our national cinema.”

Full programme details and booking for Borderlines screenings will open on January 19.