Leeds Young Film Festival Preview

Leeds Young Film Festival 2015 will run from Monday 30 March to Friday 10 April, with a mixture of previews, gala screenings of family favourites and special guests that will see Leeds Town Hall become The Film House. Festival Director, Debbie Maturi, said: “We are delighted to bring young audiences the richest and most varied programme of films Leeds Young Film Festival has ever had. From films and animations made for very young viewers to classics of world cinema, we’re really excited to give young people entirely new experiences they won’t find anywhere else.”

Supported by the British Film Institute, Leeds Town Hall is being transformed into The Film House over the Easter weekend, with live cinema, activities and events. Well-loved movie cars will feature at the venue, starting with a real-life DeLorean for a 30th Anniversary screening of Back to the Future (Thursday 2 April, 6.30pm), as well as the actual Batmobile from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film. Leeds International Film Festival will present evening screenings at The Film House, including Blade Runner: The Final Cut, a 50th Anniversary screening of The Sound of Music and Jim Henson’s Labyrinth, while a season of Pixar films will feature at the Everyman Leeds cinema.

A preview of Moomins on the Riviera (Thursday 9 April, 6.30pm), will be a family gala screening at Hyde Park Picture House, while a preview of Song of the Sea (Friday 10 April, 2.00pm) by Tomm Moore, will be the Closing Gala there. In between, Hyde Park Picture House is home to a Family Film programme including some special guests. Director Lisa Mulcahy joins for a Q&A about her film The Legend of Longwood. Documentaries include I Am Big Bird: The Carroll Spinney Story about the actor behind the great Sesame Street character; Nas: Time is Illmatic, which tells the story of the iconic rap album; and the animation Children of the Holocaust, which re-tells the story of holocaust for a young audience.

Leeds Young Film’s year-round Not For Rental programme gives young viewers aged 15+ their first ever chance to see rarely seen classics on the big screen, and brings a selection of new films to venues around Leeds. Its LYFF 2015 programme at Hyde Park Picture House includes Alfred Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train and Marjane Satrapi’s new horror comedy The Voices.

Tickets start from £3.00, and you can purchase a Hyde Park VIP Pass from just £10.00.

Mike Farren

The Leeds Young Film Festival 2015 runs from Monday 30 March to Friday 10 April. Tickets are available from www.leedsyoungfilm.com
Visit the website or follow on Facebook or Twitter @LeedsYoungFilm