Festival hopes for silent film coup

Organisers hope the climax of the HB500 film festival in Hebden Bridge will be a screening of Helen of Four Gates, a drama about love and jealousy based on the novel by Ethel Carnie Holdsworth.

If their coup comes off, the town's filmgoers could be the first in the Britain to see the silent classic since its original release in 1920.

The film festival is part of a packed programme of events forming HB500 to celebrate this year's 500th anniversary of the town's packhorse bridge – the landmark stone bridge that made Hebden Bridge.

Around 30 different groups are pooling their efforts in a programme of events, ranging from music performances to costumed re-enactments, from exhibitions to food and film festivals, in the shared celebration.

An award-winning film shot at Colden School and in the surrounding area will also be screened. The Sound of the Bell, written by Francoise Gouliardon and directed by Esteban Gitton, tells the story of two young boys – Javed lives among the dunes of Rajasthan in India, where his work as a shepherd means he cannot go to school, while Alex lives in Yorkshire and reluctantly attends school every day.

The film, which won the award for best short film at the Cineposible International Film Festival 2010, will be shown at the Picture House on May 27, along with A Boy, A Girl and A Bike – a locally made film starring Honor Blackman that played to a packed audience at its last Hebden screening.

Film-maker Nick Wilding and the Picture House are presenting a season of films that have used the local area as a backdrop to their stories.

On May 20, there will also be an insight into the television series How We Used to Live at the Little Theatre. Freda Kelsall, who wrote the programmes throughout the series' 27-year history, will share stories interspersed with extracts from the programmes.

As well as the film festival, the HB500 calendar includes walks, talks, a civil war re-enactment, music and drama.