Twickenham’s new independent film festival aims to bring the community together by screening five short movies.
The TW2 film festival, created by Mark (Zon) Simmons, is set to take place for the first time on Saturday 26 September at Whitton Library, screening five short films from South London filmmakers.
The library and Zon Digital have chosen an array of pieces for the festival.
Plague UK (2018) by Simmons follows the last two survivors of an epidemic, whilst Disquiet (2019) by Jeffrey Salkilld twists phone addiction into a thriller.
The Bounty Killers (2021) by Simmons chronicles a sci-fi adventure of a protestation of innocence, followed by The Bomb (2019), directed by Martin Richards on one man’s role to save London on the brink of war.
Finally, The Count (2025) is a comedy told by Simmons of a pub-owning vampire.
Friend of Whitton Library, Ed Harris said: “There’s loads of outlets in this borough for drama and music, but not for filmmakers.”
The festival will allow South London filmmakers the platform to showcase their works which would otherwise not be shown, as well as giving attention to community spaces.
Harris added: “The main focus is always the library and the local community being involved in something, but I really do hope it has a reach more than that.”
Director Jeffrey Salkilld said: “People are making short films all the time, and they’re never getting screened because people often don’t have the resources to do that… You make a film, you want people to see it.”
Salkilld’s film Disquiet starred Mikhail Sen, who after his performance in this short film has gone on to star in major mainstream TV shows such as the House of the Dragon and Bridgerton.
Whitton Library will hold 40 seats for the festival, transforming Salkilld’s observation of the modern trend to consume videos and films as a solo medium into an atmospheric social event.
Salkilld added: “It will be good to get some more community interest and support.”
Featured image credit: Jeffrey Salkilld
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