Back in March, the organisers of the Raindance Film Festival proudly announced that this year’s event would go ahead on 28th October, “no ifs no buts.”

Good to their word, they’ve confirmed that this year’s festival will indeed begin on 28th October, but largely online.

The organisers say that against the backdrop of an industry affected by the global pandemic, Raindance will continue to support and inspire the whole film community, adapting to meet what it acknowledges are the “extreme challenges” presented by the Covid-19 outbreak.

Regarding social distancing and self-isolation as creative challenges to refresh and reinvent the festival experience, Raindance says it will run an online experience in parallel with a number of live activities, including industry sessions, panels and gigs, at various venues in central London.

The selected films will be able to compete for the same set of awards as offered in previous years and it will only be possible to watch them from within the UK. Other events, such as panel discussions or film-maker Q&As, will be able to be viewed from other countries.

Film-makers will be able to choose whether their entries can be viewed only on specific occasions or at any time during the eleven day festival and there’ll be a retrospective of films from the recipient of the Raindance Icon Award, who is yet to be announced.

The founder of Raindance, Elliot Grove, said he would be reinventing the festival experience this year. “By safely moving to a virtual engagement, we will do whatever it takes to support and celebrate independent film, while maintaining the atmosphere and connectivity of an authentic Raindance experience. Raindance will continue to be a place to discover the kind of fascinating, multi-faceted films and filmmakers who thrive in today’s crazy world of indie film.”