12 Years In. Time to judge a Festival. | TheJackSmit.com expands partnership with Lytham International & CineWyre

 

So this is a post we’ve had to wait a very long time to put out. Earlier in the year, those fine folks at the Lytham International Film Festival got in touch with an opportunity I couldn’t say no to, something which will boost the profile of global, and especially local independent cinema in the region - while I’m allowed to reveal some of it, a lot will be announced by the team as 2025 unfolds. What I can say - this year, TheJackSmit.com will be part of the official coverage of Lytham International once again, both on and off site, bringing the best of the festival to the blog, and The Journal for a third year in a row. I adore covering it every year, especially because of the Q&As and the ability to meet the filmmakers who attend the festival.

From John Parr’s short film UNCONQUERED, major names like Ben Whishaw and Maxine Peake appearing in shorts like Good Boy and Choked Up, local talents like Chloe Ireland bringing shorts like Beached to the big stage, to After Dark efforts like The Flute, Cakes!, and more, the last few festivals have given an insight into the world beyond Hollywood, and this year is no different. As I speak the judges are whittling down the submissions ready for the August bank holiday weekend, and the excitement has started to build ahead of the move to the new venue within the Lowther Pavilion, and on top of that, this year the festival becomes a 4 day event. With a gala screening on the 22nd, shorts and features on the 23rd to the 25th August, all capped off with the awards ceremony on the final night, seeing it grow like it has in such a short space of time is both crazy but so rewarding.

But LYIFF was only the start, keeping this next bit quiet since February has been easier said than done…

Wyre-d For Sound: welcome to CineWyre

They’re launching a second festival in 2026 too - CineWyre is set to be a four-day celebration of international film at the Marine Hall in Fleetwood, where cinema enthusiasts can be amongst the first to see award winning stories and new content from filmmakers from around the world. The festival is made up of four main categories: Family Friendly, Documentary, LGBTQ+ and Horror/Thriller, effectively a bit like Radio 2’s Festival in a Day in that each ‘strand’ will have a day devoted to it.

Each event showcases a range of short films and feature films, from early till late over each of the four days, with screenings complimented by fascinating Q&As with the filmmakers, plus daily filmmaking masterclasses, workshops and networking events. Like its’ bigger brother, CineWyre hopes to bring the best of global and local cinema together, and will act as the launch of the Lancashire Film Network, which we’ll share more about closer to the festival.

Heading the inaugural CineWyre jury alongside festival director Ed Greenberg is filmmaker Michael Farrell (writer/producer of soon to be released feature film Devil’s Game and LYIFF 2025 featured short The Circle), with film critics Poppy Blundell (best known as HowManyFilmsInAYear on Instagram), and Jack Smit (of TheJackSmit.com) completing the panel.

Yep. That isn’t a typo. I am truly privileged to be on the jury for the inaugural staging of this event, when Ed asked if I wanted to join the team it was an immediate YES. I cannot wait to get stuck in, watch the submissions and ultimately meet some of the talent involved, and even readers of the blog, when the festival happens between February 26 and March 1st. You’ll also be seeing myself, Poppy and Mike pop up on CineWyre socials (@cwfilmfest on Instagram) as we go on the journey of putting this programme together over the next few months.

But it wouldn’t be possible without entries from filmmakers based around the world - FilmFreeway is open until November 30, so if you have a short or a feature worth seeing, this is your call to arms. All we ask is that short films should be under 30 minutes, and features no shorter than an hour, but no longer than 2 hours.

Tickets for the 2025 Lytham International Film Festival are now on sale at lyiff.com, and filmmakers wanting to submit to CineWyre can do so at filmfreeway.com/cinewyre.