Widescreen Weekend

Full pass holders will receive access to all screenings and events as part of Widescreen Weekend, including the opening night reception, with the following exceptions:

• Kids’ Club: Missing Link (PG)—this Kids’ Club event is open to families with children only; unaccompanied adults will not be admitted. Tickets for this event will be available from Wednesday 15 September
• Film heritage walking tours and Sonic and Boom guided tours—these events must be booked separately, but tickets are free and can be selected when you buy your pass

Buy your pass online

Day passes are available for either Saturday 9 October or Sunday 10 October.

Buy your pass online

Buy tickets for individual screenings and events online

Concessions

• Concessions available to those under 15, over 60, anyone receiving disability benefits, income support or Job Seekers’ Allowance, students in possession of an NUS card, and Passport to Leisure card holders

Refund policy

• We can only process refunds for individual tickets up to 48 hours before the start of the screening

Booking help

For full information on how to book your pass and select tickets, download our booking guide and FAQ (DOCX).

The Sound of Cinema

This year’s festival runs alongside the museum‘s Sound Season. Widescreen Weekend will be joining the museum in celebrating all things sound and exploring its importance in cinema. Our Ennio Morricone focus will commemorate one of the most prolific and skilled film composers of all time, and our Women in Widescreen strand will explore the work of women and non-binary creators on scores across a range of genres.

Widescreen in the Community

To celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’ve partnered with local community cinema venues to take the festival across the Bradford district. From bars to village halls, neighbourhood spaces will join in the widescreen celebrations, showing films as part of our festival programme. 

Read more about community screenings

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 one of only three 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.

Newsletter

To keep up to date with programme announcements and other festival news, please subscribe to our Widescreen Weekend newsletter.

Social media

Follow Widescreen Weekend on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for the latest updates.

Contact details

Enquiries: Rebecca Hill, Festival Events Manager
01274 202 031 / rebecca.hill@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk

Festival Director: Kathryn Penny
01274 203 006 / kathryn.penny@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk

Press and PR Manager: Katie Canning
01274 203 027 / katie.canning@scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk

Support us

Find out about corporate sponsorship opportunities at Widescreen Weekend.