AFTER two exciting and busy weeks of films, events and workshops, the Saffron Walden Film Festival culminates this weekend with two speakers introducing fascinating films.

On Saturday May 26 at 8pm film producer Tim Bricknell returns to his hometown to present The Talented Mr Ripley (15), a beautifully shot, very engrossing psychological thriller which is an excellent adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel and showcases top-notch performances from Matt Damon, Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow.

This film is the first feature Bricknell worked on as assistant to the late Anthony Minghella. His career rapidly developed and within a few years he was a producer for Minghella’s Cold Mountain and Breaking and Entering before moving onto producing and directing for the small screen with The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency and Eric & Ernie.

Then on Sunday May 27 at 8pm Jane Jarvis, Digital Heritage Project Manager at the Norwich Heritage Economic and Regeneration Trust, presents The Pleasure of Leisure (no cert). She will provide background to this fascinating collection of films which have recently been digitised by her team at the East Anglian Film Archive.

Made by amateur enthusiasts between 1910 and 1960, the films show sporting and leisure activities in east anglia and on the other side of the Channel, including beach holidays, cricket on the green, football matches, holidays on the Broads, and Cambridge student life.

The Digital Heritage Project is a cross channel digitisation project aimed to increase public access to a unique collection of archive films from the East of England and Upper Normandy in France from the turn of the 20th century.

• Tickets are still available for these and other film festival events. For the complete list of everything on offer, visit saffronscreen.com.

Tickets are available from the cinema box office, the Tourist Information Centre, or online.

The Saffron Walden Film Festival 2012 is being supported in part by grants from: Saffron Walden Town Council, Uttlesford District Council and Essex County Council through the Essex Legacy for the 2012 Games.

www.saffronscreen.com