Missed the Oscars? Don’t worry, you don’t need ‘em – next week, you’ve got the inaugural St Albans Film Festival to look forward to instead.

The brainchild of St Albans actress and casting director Leoni Kibbey, the festival aims to be an annual event for both locals and visitors to enjoy and take part in, with screenings and events taking place at 22 venues across the city, plus local and international filmmakers showcasing their talent in the short film competition.

“I’m running around like a madwoman,” laughs Leoni, who, along with around 120 volunteers, has been working almost non-stop for the last six months, putting the festival together. “Everyone’s really excited, there’s such a buzz building.”

The festival opens on Friday, March 8, with a screening of Vinyl, starring Phil Daniels and Keith Allen, a week before its UK release, and closes with Stanley Kubrick – A Life in Pictures, a film about the life and career of the famous director who lived in Childwickbury Manor, just outside St Albans. In between are workshops, exhibitions, screenings and talks, and the short film competition.

“The number of films we’ve had is amazing,” says Leoni, “we’ve had about 350 from 30 countries around the world. Of those, maybe five per cent didn’t quite make the grade but the rest were amazing, but we just couldn’t fit them all in. The student films in particular have all been so professional – two of my favourite films in the entire festival are student films in the competition.”

The finalists will be announced at a venue to be confirmed on Saturday, March 9, from 1pm to 3.30pm, followed by the Over-18s Shortlisted Film screening, at the Maltings Arts Theatre from 9pm to 11pm.

  • The St Albans Film Festival takes place at various venues across the city from Friday, March 8 to Sunday, March 10. The full programme can be found online at www.stalbansfilmfestival.com