A free public launch for this year’s Bradford International Film Festival in partnership with Virgin Media (BIFF), takes place at 7pm, Wednesday, 26th February at the National Media Museum.
The launch will reveal the eagerly awaited programme for the 20th edition of the Festival – presented by Festival co-directors Tom Vincent and Neil Young – who will introduce an exclusive showreel of highlights. Tom and Neil will also announce the opening of a public poll to find Virgin Media’s Best of BIFF – a vote for the favourite British film shown at the Festival since its inaugural event in 1995. The chosen film will be screened at this year’s BIFF.
To top it off, five lucky winners attending the launch will be chosen at random, each receiving a Festival Film Lovers Pass worth £80.
Free tickets for the public launch can be booked at the box office (0844 856 3797, www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk).
Festival co-director Neil Young said: “We can’t wait to unveil in full the delights this year’s festival will hold. The 20th edition is a particularly special one for everyone who’s been involved in the Bradford International Film Festival, past and present, and we hope the audience will be as enthralled and entertained as we are by the films and events we’ve put together.”
Further highlights announced for 2014 include:
* Frank Cottrell Boyce – the man responsible for scripting the 2012 London Olympics opening ceremony, and currently a judge on this year’s BBC Radio 2 Breakfast Show 500 Words short story competition, will be in Bradford on 29th March. The acclaimed screenwriter and novelist takes his place as a headline speaker for Filmmakers’ Weekend in association with the Northern Film School at Leeds Metropolitan University (29 & 30 March). His most recent screenplay was for The Railway Man starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth, but he best known for his collaborations with director Michael Winterbottom, including Welcome to Sarajevo (1997), The Claim (2000), 24 Hour Party People (2002) and A Cock and Bull Story (2005).
Filmmakers’ Weekend attendees can also enjoy Yorkshire Afternoon Tea on Sunday 30 March with British filmmaker Sally Potter, recipient of the BIFF 2014 Fellowship Award. Passes are on sale now.
* Surprise Sneaky Show – In other 20th edition celebrations, BIFF will be popping up in a secret atmospheric location to screen a surprise film. BIFF’s Surprise Sneaky Show, hosted by Sneaky Experience, guarantees a fantastic crowd-pleasing movie that was originally shown at the first Bradford International Film Festival in 1995. Organisers will provide clues/fancy dress suggestions to ticket holders and arrange a meeting place before the film via Facebook and Twitter: facebook.com/sneakybradford, @sneakyexp
Only on the day will the audience discover exactly which great movie has been chosen, and in which unusual location it will be screened. To book a ticket visit www.sneakyexperience.eventbrite.co.uk
* Bradford, UNESCO City of Film European Competition – This year Bradford, UNESCO City of Film sponsors the Festival’s third European Competition. Eight films from around the continent will be competing for the award: A Bouquet of Cactus (Spain), Class Enemy (Slovenia), Costa da Morte (Spain), A Fallible Girl (UK), The Joycean Society (Belgium), Mother I Love You (Latvia), Mouton (France), and Phantom (France).
Bradford, UNESCO City of Film European Competition will be judged by actor Vicky McClure (BAFTA-winning star of This is England, True Love and BBC2’s Line of Duty, who returns to the Festival after attending the UK premiere of This Is England in 2007), David Jenkins (editor of bi-monthly film magazine, Little White Lies), and Bill Lawrence (founder of Reel Solutions, who, as Head of Film at the National Media Museum, set up Bradford International Film Festival in 1995). The jury is completed by Dana Linssen (poet, philosopher and film critic from the Netherlands who is the editor of independent film magazine de Filmkrant).
* Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp Centenary – A family event celebrating 100 years of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp character – the first globally recognised big-screen icon. Over the weekends 29 & 30 March and 5 & 6 April, the National Media Museum and satellite venue Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds will screen a double bill of classics The Immigrant & Easy Times, with live piano accompaniment by Darius Batiwalla, plus a separate screening of Modern Times (without live accompaniment). In addition there will be free family activities at the National Media Museum – visitors can make their own silent film and learn more about Chaplin’s early filmmaking techniques (suitable for families with children of ages 7-11).
BIFF is delighted to welcome back title sponsors Virgin Media who continue their support of UK film. A special compilation from this year’s Virgin Media Shorts Awards, Britain’s largest short film competition, will be featured during BIFF 2014.
