Award-winning film DISREMEMBER, created entirely by Lowestoft-born actor and filmmaker Matthew Simpson with no crew, cast or budget, is to be given a special screening at this year’s Sunrise Film Festival. Here, Matthew explains what it means to be bringing it home
Award-winning psychological thriller DISREMEMBER will return to filmmaker Matthew Simpson’s hometown this August for a special one-off screening followed by a live audience Q&A at Sunrise Film Festival. Created entirely by Matthew with no crew, no cast and no budget, the film has gone on to win multiple Best Feature awards before making its US premiere at the renowned Cinequest Film Festival in California. The screening takes place on 20 August 2026 at the Marina Theatre as part of Sunrise Film Festival’s fifth edition. Following the screening, the audience will have the opportunity to hear directly from Matthew about how the award-winning feature was created completely alone.
Matthew wrote, directed, produced, shot, edited, performed and handled every other aspect of the production completely solo. The project took more than six years to complete while he continued working as an actor and commercial director, with filming taking just 20 days in a warehouse apartment in Hackney, London.
DISREMEMBER follows an ex-military alcoholic who begins experiencing unexplained blackouts, and the more he tries to stop them, the worse they get, until he realises they are being triggered by a trauma his mind is fighting to forget.
The film has since been recognised on its own merits, winning Best Narrative Feature at the BAFTA- and BIFA-qualifying Aesthetica Film Festival, Best Feature at London Breeze Film Festival, and both Best Feature and Best Actor at Unrestricted View Film Festival. DISREMEMBER has also attracted national attention, with the film and its festival success featured by BBC and ITV News.
Born and raised in Lowestoft before training as an actor at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts, Matthew has since built a career on both sides of the camera. His acting credits include Masters of the Air, Annihilation and EastEnders, while his commercial directing work has seen him direct campaigns for international brands.
“Bringing DISREMEMBER home to Lowestoft feels incredibly special,” said Matthew. “I made the film completely alone over many years, never imagining it would travel internationally or receive the response it has. To now share it with a hometown audience, and talk about the journey afterwards, is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Simpson is currently developing his second feature, Beats Per Limit, another boundary- pushing film which he hopes to shoot in Lowestoft.
A special one-off screening of DISREMEMBER, followed by a live audience Q&A with filmmaker Matthew Simpson, takes place on Thursday 20 August 2026, at 8pm, at the Marina Theatre, Lowestoft, as part of Sunrise Film Festival. For tickets, visit Sunrise Film Festival 2026
Featured image of Matthew Simpson – supplied
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