Film Critic James King Announced as Host for Yarns 2023

Yarns has announced that film critic James King will be returning to host this year’s screening, taking place on 16th November at Prince Charles Cinema.

James is a writer, broadcaster and one of the UK’s best-known film critics. He appears regularly on television and radio programmes, is BBC Radio 2’s resident movie critic on the Jo Whiley Show and has his own BBC Radio 2 series ‘My Soundtrack Stories’ where he has interviewed renowned directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Greta Gerwig and Christopher Nolan.

The screening will also see a performance by one of the UK’s leading spoken word poets, Miss Yankey. Known for her work on BBC Radio 1XTRA, BT Sport and BAFTA winning show ‘Life and Rhymes’, excerpts of her work served as this year’s brief, asking entrants to start with the ending for their films. Miss Yankey states, "To know that this year's brief were my own words has been so exciting. I’m incredibly passionate about bringing Spoken Word into new spaces, so to have an opportunity to inspire young filmmakers with my poetry is mind blowing. I can’t wait to see the films in full and be part of what promises to be an amazing screening night!" 

Stitch Editing co-owners Leo King and Tim Hardy are delighted to have both Miss Yankey and James King on board. Leo comments, “The team are over the moon to have James return as our host for Yarns. His vast film knowledge brought last year’s screening to new heights, and it’s great to have someone on board who’s totally behind our mission to uncover emerging talent. Having someone of James’ calibre return shows just how excited he is about the quality of the competition this year, and it will be fantastic to have him lead our celebration again on November 16th.” 

This year will see four finalists compete for Yarns crown, with their short films premiering for the first time to an audience of over three hundred. Taking place at the Prince Charles Cinema, the winning film will be chosen by an audience vote at the Yarns afterparty, to be held at Phoenix Arts Club in Soho. 

The four films commissioned for this year explored the brief ‘The Ends’. Entrants were invited to take three excerpts of Miss Yankey’s poetry, and craft them into an ending for their short film. Taking inspiration from pieces ‘Energy Wonderland’, ‘& Mischief’ and ‘Right of Way’, the final films and their directors are: 

‘Mr. Biscuit’ (Doug Redfern & Joe Roberts), ‘Travelling Home’ (Juliet Klottrup), ‘Do You Have Kids?’ (Tom Gentle and Sam Brain) and ‘Banana Boat’ (Holly Hunter).

In true Yarns fashion, the night will be a showcase for up-and-coming filmmakers, platforming them to the industry’s best and brightest. An entirely not-for-profit initiative, Yarns has identified the next wave of directing talent year on year. Now in its eighth edition, it is supported by some of the industry’s foremost institutions. Those involved in creating the films this year, through their time, expertise and sponsorship are Kodak, Slingshot Intergalactic, Sine, Absolute Post, Nineteen Twenty, Freefolk and Digital Orchard.

To register your interest in tickets for the screening, visit here and follow the link on the homepage.