Widescreen Weekend is a unique festival of large-screen formats and cinema technologies celebrating the past, present and future of film.

Enjoy a long weekend of big, bold and wide cinema experiences as we showcase the museum’s fantastic projection facilities. Glorious 70mm screenings, new Cinerama restorations and great guests will remind you why going to the movies is so magical.

Join us for Widescreen Weekend 2022

This year, our annual celebration of big screens, bigger formats and the biggest films returns to the museum from 13–16 October. Our Widescreen Weekend will combine the shared experience of watching film together with Pictureville’s world-leading projection facilities for a unique festival of pioneering cinema technology.

The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (UK premiere)

Opening our festival this year will be a brand-new restoration of a beloved classic. We’re thrilled to present the UK premiere of the fully restored The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm for its 60th anniversary.

The first narrative feature released in Cinerama has been painstakingly restored from original negatives and archival prints through the talents of Cinerama Inc. With much of the original material either damaged or missing entirely, this new restoration has saved The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm from being lost to film history.

Still from The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm

Join us in October to celebrate the 60th anniversary of this charming film, as well as the monumental achievement in film conservation of this new restoration—screened in Cinerama for the first time.

Cinerama is 70

In 2022 we will be celebrating the 70th anniversary of the process that started it all, Cinerama. As Cinerama turns 70, we’ll be screening brand new restorations such as The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm, and there will be multiple opportunities to experience the format in both digital and analogue throughout the weekend.

As the only currently operating public Cinerama venue in the world, we aim to provide as many opportunities as possible to experience this ground-breaking and historically significant process.

Women in Widescreen: Rebels and dames

This year our annual strand celebrating women in widescreen—both on screen and behind the camera—returns in collaboration with film academic and programmer Alice Miller.

Our ‘Rebels and Dames’ strand will focus on films showcasing female characters who broke the mould and changed the way audiences saw women on screen, both exploring our film heritage and spanning across a range of genres and world cinema.

Widescreen Weekend Rediscoveries

Returning in summer 2022, Widescreen Weekend Rediscoveries bring you the best in widescreen cinema each month. These selections will continue the festival celebration year-round with a mix of screen heritage, classics and cult favourites on a range of formats including print, digital and Cinerama. There’ll also be special Kids’ Club screenings focusing on sweeping landscapes, other worlds and breathtaking visuals—the perfect way to introduce young audiences to widescreen cinema.

Keep your eyes peeled for announcements on our website and social media.

Useful information

What is widescreen cinema?

Technically, a widescreen film is any film image with a width-to-height aspect ratio greater than the standard 1.37:1 ‘Academy ratio’ of 35mm film. Widescreen Weekend celebrates the really wide formats developed in the 1950s and 1960s to create a whole new cinema experience.

The higher the first number in the aspect ratio, the more we love it! You won’t see a film at Widescreen Weekend narrower than 2.2:1, and you can luxuriate in the widest of vistas in both archive epics and modern classics.

What is 3-strip Cinerama?

Cinerama is a widescreen process that projects film simultaneously from three synchronized 35mm projectors onto a huge, deeply curved screen, creating one image. It was the first of a number of processes introduced during the ‘widescreen war’ of the 1950s, when the film industry had to compete against television.

Our Pictureville theatre is the only public venue in the world that can still show Cinerama in the way it was originally presented to audiences. A 3-strip Cinerama film forms part of the programme at Widescreen Weekend each year.

About Pictureville Cinema

Pictureville is the home of cinema at the National Science and Media Museum. We have three fantastic screens, showing the latest IMAX 3D blockbusters and family favourites alongside independent films, arthouse cinema and cult classics.

The Midland Hotel

The Midland Hotel is a proud supporter of Widescreen Weekend and is offering festival delegates a special discounted rate for their stay during festival dates.

The rate is £70 B&B for a standard room. To claim this rate, please contact the hotel directly and quote reference number 62001.

Email: rooms@midland-hotel-bradford.com
Telephone: +44 (0)1274 735735