SANDS film festival brings Joanna Lumley & The Russo brothers to St Andrews

The iconic actor, presenter, and campaigner will feature in an afternoon Q&A as part of the international film festival, which is now in its fourth year.

SANDS - International Film Festival of St Andrews - runs from April 25-27 and brings some big names to the university town. They include The Russo brothers, and filmmaker Frank E. Flowers as well as a number of special screenings.

SANDS was created in 2021 by production company AGBO in 2021, and it has hosted some stellar names including actor Stanley Tucci and Joe Russo who co-directed Avengers: Endgame.

This year the festival will open with James Griffiths’ comedy The Ballad of Wallis Island, featuring Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan in which a lottery winner pays his favourite folk duo to reunite and perform a concert on his remote island.

Festival Director Ania Trzebiatowska said: “For me, Sands is about fostering connection and strengthening community. In these complicated times, the empathy that films can evoke feels more vital than ever. Now in its fourth year, our boutique film festival in St Andrews has always been driven by a desire to grow in depth and meaning, rather than size. I see Sands as both a platform for exciting new voices and a space where passionate, creative people can come together to connect and discuss their work in the film industry.”

Angela Russo-Otstot, AGBO chief creative officer added: “Sands has always been about celebrating bold storytelling and fostering meaningful creative connections. We are especially excited to be joined by Frank E. Flowers in conversation, highlighting the importance of mentorship and the pathways that help shape the next generation of filmmakers.”

Ms Lumley - who last visited Fife for the Adam Smith Global Foundations’s Festival Of Ideas in Kirkcaldy in 2022 - will take part in a on the second day of the festival, sharing stories from her remarkable career on screen and beyond.

That same day festival founders, and visionary directors, the Russo brothers, in conjunction with Ms Russo-Otstot, will take part in an ‘In Conversation’ with the award-winning Caribbean filmmaker Frank E. Flowers, entitled Holding the Door Open, intended to explores Flowers’ creative evolution and the power of mentorship in building inclusive pathways for emerging filmmakers.

The festival will also screen the Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, offering a powerful view of destruction in the West Bank and the unlikely friendship between a Palestinian filmmaker and an Israeli journalist, and Two Strangers Trying Not To Kill Each Other which follows a married couple as they reflect on their lives together and navigate ageing and the changes it brings. Co-director and producer Manon Ouimet will be in attendance for a post-screening Q&A to discuss.

Witches, a hypnotic, genre-defying exploration of feminine power, folklore, and rebellion from writer/director Elizabeth Sankey, who will also take part in a Q&A, alongside composer and producer Jeremy Warmsley and the gripping Black Box Diaries, a deeply personal and eye-opening Oscar-nominated documentary about one woman's fight against Japan's outdated judicial system.

This year’s family film is the heartwarming coming-of-age drama Out of My Mind based on the novel of the same name by Sharon M. Draper and follows Melody Brooks as she navigates sixth grade as a nonverbal wheelchair user who has cerebral palsy. With the help of some assistive technology and her devoted allies, Melody shows that what she has to say is more important than how she says it.

Filmmaker Louise Courvoisier will also present her debut feature, which played to great acclaim at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, the award-winning drama Holy Cow, where the carefree Totone's wild youth collides with the weight of responsibility as he strives to craft the perfect Comté cheese and secure a future for his sister.

The festival is partnering with the University of Glasgow and Curate-it to bring students and UK professionals together with leading industry figures, working with local schools to introduce pupils to cinema through a special screening of Yasmeen’s Element.

Filmmakers Amman Abbasi and Jeffrey E. Stern will be in attendance at the festival to introduce the inspiring film to audiences. Additionally, the festival will run a series of talks focused on film curation and the role of the curator including talks with artistic directors of some of the world’s leading film festivals and events.

Acclaimed musician Kathleen Wallfisch will take part in a Q&A about her work for Ridley Scott’s Gladiator II and Napoleon. Kharmel Cochrane, one of Britain's most innovative and influential casting directors, will also be in St Andrews sharing with audiences her work in seeking out new talent for the screen, seamlessly navigating between independent gems and major blockbusters.