MORE than 100 film screenings, special events and installations will be staged during a film festival in the Borders next month.

The Alchemy Film & Moving Image Festival returns to Hawick from April 3 to 6.

Its programme showcases local talent alongside work from around the world and the theme for this year’s event is 'DreamLand’.

Esther Johnson’s specially-commissioned The Sun is but a Morning Star is set to be a highlight for 2014.

Her work, which has been shown in 40 countries worldwide, focuses on heritage, personal histories and precarious futures. For the film, Esther invited residents of Hawick to contribute their personal thoughts and feelings about independence, in all senses of the word, and what an ideal future might look like. The artist was selected following the release of her 2013 film It’s Quicker By Hearse - The Tale of the Petitioning Housewife, the Protesting Schoolboy and the Campaign Trail Student.

The film tells the story of Hawick resident Madge Elliot, her 11-year-old son, a piper and a university student - President of the Railway Society.

In 1968, they marched to Downing Street on behalf of the community to protest against the closure of the town’s train station. The two films will be screened as a double bill.

Another highlight this year is (Wh)ere Land, a special event taking place in Wilton Lodge Park, part of the festival’s focus on the natural world as a place of dreams. For this night-time walk, participants will be given hand-held projectors to interact with paper sculptures located throughout the park.

Ettrick Dreaming is the result of six artists’ residencies in October 2013 in which they explored the landscapes, life, culture and people of the Ettrick Valley, allowing local residents to see this familiar place in a new way.

The artists will discuss their experiences in a Q&A following the screening.

Ten moving image installations will inhabit empty shops, unused offices and ex-industrial spaces throughout the town, as well as Alchemy’s travelling horsebox gallery (right).

A symposium will take place at the start of the festival, aimed at both aspiring and established filmmakers or artists working with the moving image. An expert panel will share their experience in developing, funding and distributing a variety of film projects.

Pupils from local schools will also have an opportunity to get involved, with Alchemy’s Introduction to Filmmaking. The workshop will teach young people to express themselves through everything from cat videos to music videos, to more artistically-driven short film.

Creative Director Richard Ashrowan, a Borders-based video artist, told the Border Telegraph: “Alchemy shows a huge selection of cutting-edge work, which attracts people from all over the world.

“It is Scotland’s only festival to focus on experimental film and artists’ moving image, offering local residents and those throughout the Borders a fantastic opportunity to experience something really different, and of international calibre, on their doorstep.” And he added: “We’re very much looking forward to transforming the town into a place of dreams for locals and visitors alike.” The 2014 programme is available from Heart of Hawick’s Tower Mill or online at www.alchemyfilmfestival.org.uk. Tickets cost from £4.