Sunderland film producer's starring role in awards showcase

Aman Sharma, who also works as a film distributor, has brought together independent features from all over the world to appear at the inaugural International Film Awards Newcastle (IFA).

Aman started his film-making career after obtaining a Masters in film production at Sunderland University, and was behind the launch of Sunderland Shorts Film Festival.

Now he is running the International Film Awards Newcastle, which will be held concurrently as a separate strand to the Newcastle International Film Festival when it runs from March 29 to 31.

The IFAs will showcase emerging, independent feature films and shorts from countries as diverse as Turkey, Belgium and Finland.

In total, seven feature films and 12 shorts will be shown in four Newcastle venues – Dance City, Alphabeti Theatre, The Mining Institute and the Black Swan at Newcastle Arts Centre.

The awards will start at Dance City on March 29 with a UK premier of a film from South America which examines the issues of a transgender in modern Europe.

Aman said: “The IFAs have been planned for more than two years, and I am grateful for the help and support I’ve received from Newcastle City Council, Unltd, Newcastle College and International Newcastle.

"This is a great platform to promote emerging talent from all across the globe, and it will put Newcastle on the map as the place to show independent movies.”

The awards also feature Random Acts Presen, a selection of short films by young artist filmmakers aged 16 to 24 covering animation and comedy, to dance and spoken word.

The creative short films reflect the mosaic of contemporary life through the lens of young artists in a series of shorts from 90 seconds to three minutes long.

Random Acts is supported by the Tyneside Cinema.

Tickets for The IFA’s are available at www.tifa.org.uk/festival.