The High Quarterly

Last summer, my family and I decided to attend the Burghley House film festival, which is quite a large event with hundreds of people turning up for the five days of films projected onto a huge screen outside. Each day had a morning and afternoon screening, with two films in each screening, and both the films had a theme, so if you bought tickets for one evening, you would be likely to enjoy both the films shown at that time. There were Harry Potter sessions, with two films from the series shown, and Disney sessions, with Snow White and Pocahontas, in case parents wanted to take their children, or Mission Impossible and Spectre, or Bridget Jones’ Diary and Notting Hill shown in the same evening. Half of our family went to the Star Wars and The Dark Night screening, whereas the rest of us went to have a slightly more lighthearted evening seeing the musicals Mamma Mia and Hairspray. 

            Upon arrival, it was clear that some people were taking it very seriously, over half having arrived way before us and had already set up their camping chairs and food. The family in front of us had brought along a huge amount of food and had already set it all up on a long collapsible table they had brought, clearly settled, waiting for the film to start. It was a very comfortable, relaxed atmosphere, because no one was silent to watch the movie, a hum of talk echoing through the fields, but the film was still clearly audible. Because the theme of the night I went to was musicals, everyone joined in on all the songs in Mamma Mia, and because it was pitch black for a lot of it, few had reservations about getting up to dance because no one could see them! By the last song everyone was yelling out the lyrics, paying no attention to actually sounding decent at all, just having the best time possible, although when both movies were over, everyone seemed exhausted as it was very late and everyone still had to get home. I would recommend going in 2017, although maybe take sunglasses, as the sun was setting for the first half of the first movie right behind the screen and everyone had to shade their eyes!