Film festival and relationship counselling in one – true, not exactly standard Friday night entertainment but that’s just what the Oxfordshire Relate Film Festival and competition aims to achieve.

At the Chipping Norton Theatre on October 12 and 13, the festival features a series of short films by both new and experienced film-makers. All about Love in the Time of Twitter, they consider the hoary triangle of relationships, social media and modern life. The festival’s namesake, Relate, is the largest provider of relationship counselling and sex therapy in the UK and hopes the new festival will become an annual event.

Competition entries are screened on Friday, October 12, and are judged the same day by experts (including Channel 4 and BBC’s Nick Mirsky). And winning isn’t easy: the successful entry has to have “harnessed the power of film in highlighting current trends in human relationships”.

To cement the serious if entertaining focus on relationships, the theatre is also showing Zach Beattie’s The Trouble with Love and Sex (followed by a bonus discussion with Beattie himself) and Derek Cianfance’s Blue Valentine. And that’s just on Friday.

Saturday kicks off as a more child- (and parent) friendly day, thanks to Dr Seuss’ The Lorax. But the festival ends as it started: with enjoyably serious films about truly important questions.

Lisa Cholodenko’s The Kids are Alright will prepare for main speaker Kate Figes, author of Couples: How We Make Love Last. The festival ends on Alexander Payne’s cult hit Sideways.

Plus, for those of you in Witney, start thinking about your own festival which is due to be held from Monday, October 22, to Friday, October 25.

On Monday, screening at Fat Lil’s starts at 9pm. Since it’s post-watershed and hosted in a bar, both should tell you a little about the type of films on offer. Among them, a BAFTA-winning and Oscar-nominated animation about a chicken’s morning stroll, an obscure portrait of two Italian men and their inflatable dolls and an excellent parody in the style of the Saw films.

On Tuesday, the newly-refurnished open-plan lecture theatre on Witney College campus will play short films from a mocumentary about a cinema enthusiast to a short gangster movie, while Wednesday plays host to a screening of Kingston Bagpuize’s own blockbuster Tortoise In Love at the Blue Boar, Market Square (8pm).

Thursday marks 100 years of cinema at St Mary’s Church, Church Green (starts 6pm) and Friday closes with the Shorts finale at Langdale Hall, from 7pm.

l Chipping Norton Theatre — 01608 642350 l witney film.com