In 2014 we welcome Sally Potter, James Benning and Brian Cox, previews of The Lunchbox, Blue Ruin, A Story of Children and Film, exclusive new films from all over the world, and unique strands dedicated to Japanese noir masterYoshitarô Nomura and British pioneer Charles Urban.
Also programmed is a dedicated strand to celebrate 20 editions of BIFF.
Firstly, on 29th March, is a 20th edition Surprise Sneaky Show, hosted by Sneaky Experience.
A top secret, but guaranteed crowd-pleasing movie originally shown at the first Bradford International Film Festival in 1995 will be screened in a hush-hush location. Expect re-enactments of classic scenes, fancy dress, music, and a licensed bar. Organisers will provide clues/fancy dress suggestions to ticket holders and arrange a meeting place before the film via Facebook and Twitter @sneakyexp
Elsewhere, you can vote to find Virgin Media’s Best of BIFF – your favourite British film, made in the last 20 years and shown at the Festival.
Bradford UNESCO City of Film Events
Innovative pioneers from Bradford contributed to the development of early British cinema in late 1800s. They created new technology in the form of magic lanterns and early film projection systems that were cutting edge at that time and distributed all around the world. Some of the first cinematic productions to be screened outside of London took place in Bradford in 1896 at the Palace Theatre, now the site of the National Media Museum.
Bradford has a rich film heritage and throughout 2014 we are developing an interactive app and exhibition to highlight the many productions which have been made here over the years thanks to lottery funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund. We have seen a marked increase in film and television location requests in the past twelve months and look forward to working with our key partners Screen Yorkshire, Creative England and BBC to live up to our reputation as a film friendly City.
We also continue to extend our international links with other UNESCO Creative Cities and look forward to welcoming more film cities into the network. From all at Bradford City of Film enjoy the festival.
Film Talk: On Film Festivals
An exciting new series of free film talks has been arranged by the team at Bradford UNESCO City of Film.
Film Walk n’ Talk
From classics such as Billy Liar and Room at the Top to more contemporary films and TV dramas, the guided walk will provide an insight into the role and challenges of the Locations Manager.
2014 Bradford UNESCO City of Film European Competition
Bradford UNESCO City of Film will also be sponsoring the European Film Competition which will include documentary films as well as fiction works for the first time.
The eight films chosen this year include snapshots of a Europe still coping with the effects of a financial crisis that’s now more than half a decade old. But our continent, while many things, is certainly not an island, and its artists rove across the globe in search of material and inspiration. Indeed, anyone coming ‘cold’ to either A Fallible Girl or Phantom might not even suspect they were European productions at all, so utterly do their directors immerse the viewer in far-off locations.
‘European’ in terms of cinema is traditionally defined in terms of finance – but money, as we know, only gets us so far. A European sensibility in 2014 encompasses culture, history and social perspective, as the old continent seeks to reassert its value and influence in a planet whose upheavals and turbulences move faster than its tectonic plates.
To find all the latest news, ticket prices, guests and full programme visit the Bradford International Film Festival website. See here…
