Chagford Film Festival 2026
21–26 September 2026
Six days of brilliant films, special guests, live events, Q&As, music, parties and a few surprises – all around Chagford.
This September, Chagford Film Festival returns for its 15th year, with screenings and special events taking place at venues across the town.
The full programme and booking will be live very soon, but here’s a taste of what’s coming…
Join us at The Globe Inn from 7pm on September 21st as we raise a glass to the start of Chagford Film Festival 2026.
Enjoy bubbly and canapés, catch up with friends and fellow film lovers, and settle in for a suitably glamorous opening-night screening. Dress to impress if the mood takes you – black tie entirely optional.
Then it’s on to the evening’s main attraction: a lavish new National Theatre staging of Christopher Hampton’s deliciously dangerous Les Liaisons Dangereuses, starring Lesley Manville (Mrs. Harris Goes to Paris, The Crown) and Aidan Turner (Poldark, Rivals).
Among the glittering salons of the super-rich, seduction is strategy, desire is a weapon and reputation is everything. As a dangerous alliance turns to rivalry, games of love and manipulation spiral into betrayal and social warfare.
Glamorous, wickedly funny and brimming with intrigue – the perfect way to open our 15th Chagford Film Festival.
Trainspotting + special guest
Few British films have captured the energy, anger and attitude of a generation quite like Trainspotting. Danny Boyle’s darkly funny, exhilarating adaptation of Irvine Welsh’s novel follows Renton and his friends through the highs, lows and chaos of addiction in Edinburgh, driven by unforgettable performances, audacious filmmaking and one of cinema’s great soundtracks.
Nearly 30 years on, its style, humour and rebellious spirit still feel electrifying – and this screening offers a rare chance to hear the story behind it. Producer Andrew Macdonald will join us afterwards to talk about how Trainspotting was made, the risks behind bringing it to the screen and how a relatively small British film became a cultural phenomenon.
The Essence of Audrey
Step into the glamour of Hollywood’s golden age for a very special evening celebrating the incomparable Audrey Hepburn.
The Essence of Audrey is an acclaimed one-woman show written and performed by West End and Broadway actress Helen Anker, offering an intimate glimpse of the woman behind one of cinema’s most enduring icons. Imagined as an evening at Hepburn’s Swiss home as she prepares to auction treasured possessions for UNICEF, the play journeys from her childhood under Nazi occupation and dreams of becoming a dancer to Hollywood stardom, love, motherhood and her remarkable humanitarian work.
Along the way are wonderful showbiz stories, music and memories of Cary Grant, Humphrey Bogart, Fred Astaire and the films that made Audrey a legend.
And this is an evening to dress for. Put on your best frock, channel a little old-school Hollywood glamour and join us for cocktails at our specially created bar before settling in for the show.
Elegant, intimate and full of sparkle – come and spend an evening in Audrey’s company and discover the extraordinary woman behind the little black dress.
Sinners
Friday night at Chagford Film Festival is going to the juke joint…
Ryan Coogler’s spectacular genre-defying hit stars Michael B. Jordan in dual roles as twin brothers Smoke and Stack, who return home to 1930s Mississippi hoping to leave their troubled past behind and build something of their own. But as music fills the night, something far more sinister is waiting outside.
Blending Southern Gothic horror, blues, history, romance and supernatural thrills, Sinners is bold, exhilarating filmmaking made for the big screen.
Come early, grab a drink from The Globe bar and soak up the atmosphere before the film. We’ll have blues, special cocktails and a touch of 1930s glamour – dressing up very much encouraged, but never compulsory.
Porcelain War
Porcelain War offers a striking and deeply human perspective on the war in Ukraine, seen through the eyes of three artists who remain in their country, continuing to create while defending their lives, culture and homeland.
Oscar-nominated and winner of the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, the film is visually extraordinary, intimate and unexpectedly hopeful. It’s a moving story about what it means to protect beauty, identity and creativity in the midst of destruction.
After the screening, we’ll be joined by writer and investigative journalist Sian Norris, who has travelled to Ukraine four times since the start of the full scale invasion. She will share her own experiences and insights, and join us for a discussion about the realities behind the headlines and the people living through them.
H Is for Hawk
Following the sudden death of her father, Helen, played by Claire Foy (The Crown), retreats into the ancient world of falconry, taking on the formidable task of training a wild goshawk named Mabel.
Based on Helen Macdonald’s acclaimed memoir, H Is for Hawk is a deeply moving exploration of grief, resilience and our relationship with the natural world – a story about what can happen when, at our most vulnerable, we form a connection with something entirely wild.
We’ll be screening the film in the beautiful surroundings of St Michael’s Church, creating a particularly atmospheric setting for this extraordinary story of nature, loss and transformation.
And we’re hoping to make the evening more special still, with a falconry expert joining us to explore the remarkable world of birds of prey and the ancient relationship between humans and hawks.
A beautiful film, an extraordinary setting and an evening designed to bring us a little closer to the wild.
And that is only part of it...
Across the week you’ll also find classics, documentaries, independent films, workshops, our mysterious Friday-night Surprise Film and plenty of opportunities to meet the people behind the films.
TICKETS
The full programme and online booking will be available shortly.
Tickets go on general sale on Saturday 5th September.
Friends of Chagford Film Festival will receive priority booking before general release.
COME FOR ONE FILM OR MAKE A WEEK OF IT!
Whether you already know exactly what you want to see or fancy taking a chance on something completely unexpected, we hope you’ll join us for our 15th year.
More programme announcements are coming very soon.
21–26 September 2026
Chagford, Dartmoor