It is now 120 years since Louis Le Prince committed the first moving images to film in Leeds.
Watch film trailers now »In the 120th anniversary year of that momentous event, Yorkshire remains inextricably linked to cinema. This month three film festivals are being staged in three Yorkshire cities, each with a reputation that keeps the region at the top of the list of destinations for true film fans.
November sees the staging of the 22nd Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF), the 15th Sheffield Documentary Festival and the 15th Bradford Animation Festival.
Chris Fell, the director of LIFF, says: "Outside London, Yorkshire is without a doubt the strongest region for film festivals. There are the three festivals happening this month, but then there is also Bite the Mango and the Bradford International Film Festival, all really significant festivals held here in Yorkshire."
Heather Croall moved from Australia three years ago when she was offered the role of director of the Sheffield Documentary film festival.
She says: "Britain is the leading documentary producing country in the world and Sheffield's Doc/Fest is the most significant event in the country. People come to the festival from all over the world."
The Bradford Animation Festival, held at the city's National Media Museum is being headlined this year by Al Jean – the executive producer of The Simpsons and one of the chief writers on The Simpsons Movie. As one of the top producers of the most significant and influential animated television series in history, his appearance at the festival speaks volumes about its significance.
Between November 4 and 16 there are hundreds of films being screened in the three cities playing host to festivals.
The biggest and most far-reaching of the festivals is LIFF, which was established 22 years ago. Chris Fell has been in the chair as festival director for the past decade.
Working from a base at Leeds Town Hall, the festival is run with the help of more than 100 volunteers.
Last year, for the first time, passes were available for film fans to buy for the whole festival, which saw a huge jump in visitor numbers. In 2007 attendance was 22,000 – organisers expect this to rise to 25,000 this year.
The festival opens on November 4 and over a period of just under two weeks will screen more than 250 films.
Fell says: "We have a total of around 2,000 films which we consider for inclusion in the festival and we screen between 200 and 250 of those. The films come from around the world and one of the reasons the festival has grown to become such a success is through a trust between us and our audience. When people come to a screening, they are in a very unusual position where they are coming to a film without any clutter. It's almost impossible these days for an audience to see a film completely fresh, with no idea what to expect because of the mass coverage that accompanies almost all distribution in this country.
"Our audiences are there, seeing a film purely on the strength of our 80 word review. Hopefully, we have earned that trust and our audiences are rewarded."
This year's official selection and festival opener is Rumba. The film was highly praised by critics at Cannes and will have a limited release next year. "It's a physical comedy film, with very little dialogue and it is exactly the sort of film that audiences are very unlikely to see anywhere else – which is what the festival is all about," says Fell.
The festival will also screen a film made with John Betjeman by the BBC in which he walks around Leeds and comments on the architecture and the city. The film has been secured from the Yorkshire Film Archive and will be screened for the first time at Leeds Town Hall on November 11.
With less than two weeks to go before it opens, Heather Croall is expending a huge amount of energy trying to secure a visit from Joe Frazier to Sheffield's Doc/Fest. "We've been told he's been hurt in a car crash, which means he can only fly over first class, which is obviously too expensive for the festival to afford, but I'm doing everything I can to get him here," she says.
The reason Croall is trying to get the legendary boxer to attend the festival is because there will be a screening of the documentary Thriller in Manila, a John Dower film about the fight between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in 1975. Released this year, Croall says it is an extraordinary film. She says: "If you ask any documentary film maker or fan for a list of their favourite film, When We Were Kings, the documentary about the Rumble in the Jungle, is always near the top. I think this is as good as that one. It is a masterful piece of documentary film making."
This year as the festival, which runs from November 5 to 9, coincides with the US election, it has a series of films which examine regime change. "Documentaries are about real life and reflect the world, so it seemed a perfect piece of timing for us to have this strand about regime change," says Croall.
The other great strength of the festival is that it gives audiences a chance to meet the people who make the films – and the people with the funding to make more.
"Some festivals keep the audience and the creators separate, but a big part of what we do is bring people together."
Deb Singleton runs the Bradford Animation Festival (BAF) and says this year's festival also incorporates big screen gaming. She says: "There are so many games which can use the skills of animated film-makers and that is something we want to recognise."
The BAF will also host a screening of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine. Singleton says: "It will be fascinating for audiences to see The Yellow Submarine, which is 40 years old this year, and see how much animation has changed in those four decades."
Yorkshire Film Festival FactsLeeds Internation Film Festival: Nov 4 to 16.The Carriageworks in Millennium Square acts as the festival hub where information will be available on all the screenings. Venues include: Leeds Town Hall, The Hifi Club, Hyde Park Picture House, City Varieties, The Adelphi, The Carriageworks.
Six strands of films include: Official Selection, including previews and premieres, Cinema Versa, with documentary and films on music and human rights, Short Film City, with 160 short films, Kinetika, featuring experimental film making, Fanomenon, a celebration of fantasy films and Thought Bubble, a related comic book art convention.
Highlights: Short Film City Opening Gala: Sir John Betjeman's Film on Leeds, made for the BBC in the Sixties and never screened. Nov 11, 8.15pm, Leeds Town Hall. Sita Sings the Blues: UK Premiere, dazzling animated story, mixed with live action of an ancient story of love – mixed with jazz music. Nov 5, 9pm, The Carriageworks.
Sheffield Doc/Fest: Nov 5 to 9.The festival takes place entirely at the Sheffield Showroom cinema at Paternoster Row. The festival will screen more than 100 films from around the world. Strands of films include: Bent, Green, Anti Doc, Sports, Music and Kinky and a retrospective of documentary Japanese classic films. The festival will also feature appearances from a number of documentary makers and producers.
Highlights: At The Edge of the World: The story of impassioned volunteers of the Sea Shepherd's Campaign, who take to the seas in dubious vessels to challenge a Japanese Whaling fleet. Nov 7, 9pm, Nov 9, 11.50am.
Thriller in Manilla: Joe Frazier's account of his 1975 fight with Muhammad Ali. Nov 5, 7pm, Nov 5, 10pm, Nov 8, 7pm.
Bradford Animation Festival: Nov 12 to 15.The festival is held at Bradford's National Media Museum. This year it adds big screen gaming to the festival. Appearances include Al Jean, executive producer of The Simpsons, John Coates, producer of The Beatles' Yellow Submarine and Barry Purves, animation director on Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!.
Highlights: Waltz with Bashir: The film deals with the 1982 Sabra and Shatila massacre, an unusually sombre subject for an animated film. The film belongs to a rare genre called the "animated documentary". It entered the competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival, and received wide critical acclaim. Nov 12, Pictureville Cinema, 9.45pm.
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