Newcastle Upon Tyne'sthird-annual Northern Lights Film Festival is planning a two-day industrysummit to be held November 18-19. This year's keynote will be presented by JimStark, the producer of Factotum, Coffeeand Cigarettes and Mystery Train.

The summit will also includepitching sessions, case studies, panels, and speed meetings. The expectedattendees include Julia Short of Verve Pictures, Nick Manziof Redbus Pictures, Tally Garner of Curtis Brown,Michael Kuhn of Qwerty Films, and Emma Clarke of the UK Film Council's NewCinema Fund.

The Northern Lights FilmFestival, concentrating on new UK and northern European films, runs November 17-24. Itwill open with Factotum and willclose with A Cock and Bull Story.