Bradford International Film Festival: Bradford honours Hurt with lifetime achievement award

From the beginning, it hit the ground running with Alan Bennett, Mike Figgis and Alex Cox among the luminaries attending the inaugural event in 1995.

Since then, it has become a festival of international renown, attracting guests such as Michael Palin, Malcolm McDowell, Jean Simmons and Kenneth Branagh, as well as an array of film-makers from around the world.

This year's line-up is no less impressive, with actor John Hurt, acclaimed Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, actress Imelda Staunton and satirist Chris Morris among those attending.

Hurt will receive the festival's annual Lifetime Achievement Award and take part in a live stage interview at the National Media Museum.

The festival is also hosting a retrospective of his work featuring 10 films, including The Elephant Man, 1984 and Ridley Scott's landmark sci-fi shocker, Alien.

The 70 year-old said he was delighted to be coming to Bradford: "It is a festival that I have long admired for its eclectic mix of films and innovative programming and I am very much looking forward to visiting the world's first City of Film."

Director and cinematographer Nicolas Roeg was due to be presented with a Fellowship Award in honour of his 60-year career, but is unable to attend because of work commitments. However, fellow film-maker Fernando Meirelles, director of City of God and The Constant Gardener, will be giving a Screentalk interview, as will Vera Drake star Imelda Staunton.

The festival, which runs from March 18 to 28, opens with the UK premiere of Perrier's Bounty, starring Cillian Murphy, Jim Broadbent and Huddersfield-born actress Jodie Whittaker. The closing night gala features the world digital premiere of the late Lionel Jeffries' classic, The Railway Children, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary. Three of the much-loved film's stars, Jenny Agutter, Sally Thomsett and Bernard Cribbins, will attend this special reunion screening.

The festival is a cinephile's dream with more than 120 films from all over the world, including Mexico, the US, South Korea and Sweden. These will be screened at the museum and nine other venues across Bradford and Yorkshire, including Otley Courthouse, Victoria Hall in Saltaire and the Hyde Park Picture House in Leeds.

This year's festival is the first to be held under the auspices of Bradford's City of Film status, awarded last June. It has also been compressed from two weeks to 11 days, to

create a more intense buzz.

Museum director Colin Philpott believes that becoming the world's first Unesco City of Film can provide a springboard not only for the festival, but for Bradford itself.

"It's a fantastic opportunity to contribute to the regeneration of the city," he says.

Tony Earnshaw, artistic director of the festival, is equally excited by this year's event.

"I am thrilled with our line-up of retrospectives, award winners and screentalks. We expect audience numbers to go up and we expect more people to see our films than ever before," he says.

"There's a rich line-up and Bradford is really coming into its own, we are doing things in this city that no other city in the UK is doing at all. There is no other film festival like the Bradford International Film Festival – Bradford truly is the city of film."

The 16th Bradford International Film Festival runs from March 18 to 28. For more details on the full programme, including screening dates and venues, visit www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/biff or call the box office on 0870 701 0200.

ONES TO WATCH

Hollywood North: New Canadian Cinema. All six films in this new strand will receive their UK premieres at the festival, including Benoit Pilon's The Necessities of Life and Crackie, directed by Sherry White.

Uncharted States of America returns for the fourth year with a selection of independent films, including international premieres of Matthew F Fountain's documentary, Bonecrusher, and Peter Thompson's documentary, Lowlands.

The ever popular Widescreen Weekend, a forerunner to the festival and now in its 17th year, is showing another selection of classics in widescreen. The Alamo, 2001: A Space Odyssey and The Hunt for Red October are among the films being screened in 70mm over the weekend of March 26-28.

For the 12th year, the festival will give emerging directors an opportunity to compete for The Shine Short Film Award, which goes to the best international short film.

Four Lions – Chris Morris's provocative and darkly comic story of four would-be terrorists who embark on a mission to strike a blow for Muslims around the world.

The festival is also hosting two Family Film Funday weekends focusing on Roald Dahl. Films being shown include the original Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Nicolas Roeg's The Witches, Danny De Vito's Matilda and Tim Burton's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.