ORGANISERS of Keighley’s RATMA international film festival have laid on a lockdown treat for movie fans.

They are streaming a clutch of entries for this October’s festival under the banner of the Impromptu Lockdown Film Festival.

Keighley people can watch the movies – which each last less than 10 minutes – and vote for who should win the Lockdown Laurel.

The online mini-festival, which runs until Sunday May 3, includes entries from Keighley people alongside newcomers and experienced filmmakers from across the globe.

It is the brainchild of RATMA supremos, Keighley College lecturer Marcus Gregg, and Gareth James from local film company Clockwork Eye.

They asked entrants for this year’s main RATMA festival to send links to their movies. They can be watched either individually or as part of two half-hour playlists.

The main RATMA – the River Aire Ten Minute Amateur international film festival – will take place on Saturday October 10 with town centre screenings of all entries followed by an evening screening of winners in each category at the Picture House cinema.

Proceeds from the festival will go to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Films can be entered in the main festival until July 31.

Films in the Lockdown Festival include Bring Him Home, made by Luke Suri who lives in Sutton and studied performing arts at South Craven School.

Marcus said: “Bring Him Home was filmed during isolation and is proving popular with voters in the festival. Some of the other films were made in lockdown environments around the world’s, while others are just uplifting and fun.

“We put the Lockdown Festival together as a way of reaching out to people who are struggling with social deprivation around the world. It is proving very popular.

“It only takes 10 minutes to tell a story and often a lot less. RATMA helps up-and-coming filmmakers get those stories in front of film fans who would otherwise never get the opportunity to see them.”

Other films include: a suitcase exploring Vienna in Two Too Odd from Germany; a necromancer summons a not-very-scary spirit in the UK’s Deaducation; spoof advertisement Can-It!; and Mohammed Mowafi’s The Silent B from Egypt about a bee with holes in her wings.

Visit ratmafilmfestival.com to watch the movies, or to submit an entry for the main RATMA festival in October.