Welcome to the 12th Stroud Film Festival and two weeks of independent, classic, modern, British and international films to entertain you, make you laugh, make you cry – and hopefully - encourage you to debate.

I cannot overestimate the cultural importance and social value of regional film festivals in the current landscape. At a time when cinema-going is increasingly threatened by streamer-viewing and cost of living pressures, Stroud Film Festival, and others like it, are a beacon for the power of storytelling and the power of shared viewing.

This year’s Festival is at the end of the 2025/6 film awards season. And as I write this foreword in December 2025, I have no idea who will win BAFTAs and Oscars. However, I do know that Jessie Buckley’s mesmerising performance in Chloe Zhao’s critically acclaimed film Hamnet will be cherished for generations to come.

So, with Jessie in mind, fellow patron Marc Jobst and I have chosen Jessie’s break-out 2018 movie, Wild Rose as this year’s Stroud Film Festival Patron’s Pick, endorsed by our fellow patron David Yates. A story of hard-won redemption of a former convict, aspiring country singer and single mother in Glasgow, as she attempts to restart her life. Tom Harper’s film inverts the usual tropes of ‘the wrong un’ done good underdog movie with a rawness and grit, and Jessie Buckley is simply electrifying in the lead role. Ultimately, it is a story of hope – and we could all benefit from a dollop of that right now.

We do hope you enjoy the festival. Thank you, as ever, to the amazing team of volunteers who make it happen – Paul Freedman, Claire Levy, Andy Freedman, Kat Child, Derrick McLean and Hatty Bell.

So please, book your tickets, join your friends and family for the crowd-pleasers, and challenge the echo chamber with stories from outside your world. Storytelling matters, and there’s no better way to enjoy a great story than with Stroud Film Festival.

Jane Miilichip