Local stories will soon be showing in overseas theatres as international film festivals have begun expressing interest in a number of Bermuda-based films.

The much-acclaimed documentary on Bermuda's 1959 Theatre Boycott, “When Voices Rise” has already been accepted to the Commonwealth Film Festival which will be held in Manchester, England this June and the animated short “The Blue Manta” has been invited to enter a July festival in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.

Both films were screened at the recent Bermuda International Film Festival - with “When Voices Rise” taking the Audience Choice award.

Yesterday BIFF director Aideen Ratteray-Pryse expressed delight at the international interest expressed in the local films.

“I think it is absolutely fantastic,” she said. “I believe it is a new thing having a festival along with the Commonwealth Games and hopefully it is a sign of bigger and better things to come.”

Filmmaker Errol Williams told The Royal Gazette he and his co-editor Chris Campbell were shocked when they received an e-mail from the organisers in Manchester while they were still editing the film in Canada.

“We were surprised because we hadn't even finished it,” Mr. Williams said. “But they had found out about it and got in touch and asked if we could send them a tape.”

Mr. Williams said the festival organisers became interested in the documentary from browsing its coverage in the local papers and on the BIFF website over the Internet.

While interested in submitting to the Commonwealth festival, the filmmakers had more immediate goals - getting the film finished and to Bermuda for its world premiere screening on April 13.

“We were very busy editing,” Mr. Williams said. They finished editing the film at 3 a.m. on the day of screening.

Although the film was sent to Manchester well after the deadline for submissions, it was accepted and Mr. Williams said he intended to attend the festival which runs from June 28 through July 7.

“They have many works from all over the Commonwealth,” he said.

The filmmakers also intend to submit the film to a number of upcoming festivals including the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Mr. Williams said a gala presentation of the documentary will take place this fall at the University of New Brunswick, in the provincial capital, Fredericton.

Meanwhile, Al Seymour's film “The Blue Manta” has been invited to enter the competition for the fifth annual Expresion en Corto (In Short ... Expression) festival in Mexico.

“Your film, Blue Manta, has been brought to our attention and we would welcome the opportunity to consider it for competition,” organiser Bonnie Bissett wrote Mr. Seymour.

“I got (the invitation) the day before the film showed (in BIFF competition),” he said. “I sent it off last Friday and hopefully it will be selected.”

Mr. Seymour said he was not really sure how the Mexican festival had heard about his animated short but he was pleased to be considered.

He also intends to enter the film in a number of animation-specific festivals to be held over the next year in Ontario, Canada (Fall 2002), Norwich, England (October 2002), Holland (November 2002) and Vancouver (2003).

Mr. Seymour is already planning his entry for BIFF 2003. “This will be a live action story,” he said.

Local audiences will have also another opportunity to view both Blue Manta and When Voices Rise.

Mr. Seymour's film will be shown today and Friday at special assemblies for students at CedarBridge Academy.

“There will be a little intro and a question and answer session,” he said.

While those who missed When Voices Rise's run at Liberty Theatre will also get another chance, the theatre has picked up the film for another week's run, May 10 through 17.