MINT Chinese Film Festival

To purchase a Festival pass click HERE

How it works! Simply buy a Festival pass and login into or create your Brewery Arts account, then select tickets for your films of choice. Once logged in and eligibility confirmed, each film ticket will reduce to £0.

MINT Chinese Film Festival (MINT CFF) “薄荷紫华语电影节” is an award-winning film festival and leading curatorial organisation founded by Chinese film curator Yixiang Lin and Dr Carol Rennie, parliamentary researcher and former co-owner of Keswick Alhambra Cinema. We are the first women-led Chinese film festival in the UK, focused on cross-cultural communication and women’s representation.

We are excited to announce the 4th MINT Chinese Film Festival, 6–8 March 2026! This year, we’re at Kendal Brewery Arts Cinema, a vibrant festival hub gateway to the stunning Northern England’s Lake District — where MINT CFF’s co-founders first met and sparked the festival idea.

We are also thrilled to confirm the first film for our 2026 festival: Silent Friend, the Venice 2025 FIPRESCI Prize winner, directed by acclaimed Hungarian filmmaker Ildikó Enyedi and starring the appreciated Chinese actor Tony Leung Chiu-wai. The film starts from the story of a neuroscientist from Hong Kong in 2020, who begins an unexpected experiment with an ancient ginkgo tree in a medieval university town in Germany. The Eastern philosophical notion of “To see a world in a flower” is transmuted here into a transcendence of anthropocentrism. As humanity finds itself besieged by both physical and digital walls, the film invites us to listen to the breath of another existence. This gesture of mutual observation not only realises a poetic connection between humanity and nature, but also serves as a potent response to the question: “What is cinema?”. (Curator’s note by MINT CFF co-curator Xiyun Li)

We’re preparing a brand-new, dynamic festival programme featuring a rich selection of new Chinese and Asian cinema, and films celebrating cinephilia, presented through curated film programmes and screenings. Everyone will also experience a festival gala, filmmaker Q&As, signing sessions, workshops, drinks, live gigs, DJ sets, outdoor activities, as well as Chinese New Year celebrations across Kendal town.

Further details about our festival and activities can be found on the MINT Festival website

Early Bird Festival Pass £55: Jan 26 – Feb 19 20% off!
Regular Festival Pass £70: From Feb 20
Single film tickets and workshop tickets: From Feb 14

What are the benefits of being a Passholder?

As a Passholder, you can book any MINT CFF films, events & programmes you want to attend, including the Festival Gala with drink receptions, and free access to the following related events:

• Workshops (You need to use your pass to book seats for this event at cinema’s website)
• Director’s Q&A: interactions with selected filmmakers. (No need to reserve seats for these events; the Q&A sessions will follow certain film screenings.  Remain in your seats after the screening to participate in the director’s Q&A.)
• Complimentary Chinese New Year and International Women’s Day celebration activities throughout the weekend
  (No reservation required. For more information, please ask our festival team on site. We’re currently planning a series of events, including an after-party running late into Sunday night at the Passholder-only festival lounge.)
• Saturday night DJ set at Kendal Ruskin’s Bar, presented by MINT Chinese Film Festival: Why Women Dance? A Cinematic-Themed DJ Night Celebrating Women from East to West
• Festival souvenirs available

Please contact the festival team at mintcffteam@gmail.com if you have questions related to the festival programmes.

Please contact boxoffice@breweryarts.co.uk for ticketing and seat reservations.

Further details and updates about MINT CFF 2026 programmes, events, and promotions can be found on the MINT Festival website.

Please Note:

• You MUST book seats for individual films prior to start times.
• How it works! Simply buy a Festival pass and login into or create your Brewery Arts account, then select tickets for your films of choice. Once logged in and eligibility confirmed, each film ticket will reduce to £0 in the Basket.
• Festival passes do not automatically guarantee seats.
• Only one seat per festival pass holder is permitted; additional tickets will be charged accordingly.
• Festival Film passes are non-refundable.
• Festival terms & conditions apply.
• For more details, visit the MINT Festival ticket page here

BBFC Ratings for our Features and shorts programme..

C-FILMS IN FOCUS
Guo Ran  12A
Daughter’s Daughter  12A
Bunnylovr  18
NaedeaN  15
Characters Disappearing 12A

ASIAN SPARK
The Red Envelope 18
Seaside Serendipity  12A
White Flowers And Fruits  12A

Special Screening
Silent Friend  12A
Human Resource 15

 Opening Gala
A Chinese Ghost Story  15
Purple Butterfly  15

Closing Gala
Rosemead 15

Encore Screening
An Unfinished Film  12A

Cinephilia Encounters: Amorous Exile and the Gaze
Films to Die For PG
Tango berlin PG
Riddles of the Sphinx 12A

Short film Competition 1
15

Short film Competition 2
15

 MINT Animation Short Strand: My Spectrum, My Shadow, and My Self
15