Widescreen Weekend film festival | National Science and Media Museum, Bradford

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.

Widescreen Westerns

This year’s Widescreen Weekend will feature a strand dedicated to the essence of the American Old West, curated by Professor Sir Christopher Frayling. Classic, contemporary and black and white—westerns will screen on a range of formats. Join us as we celebrate this much-loved genre in all its gun-slingin’ glory; western screenings will span the whole weekend, with the highlight of the strand being a 3-strip Cinerama showing of How the West Was Won.

A still from the film How the West was Won

How the West Was Won (U)

Festival film screening

Date and time TBC

Don’t miss a rare chance to experience the wonders of 3-strip Cinerama with this screening of the classic western.

Forty Guns (PG)

Festival film screening

Date and time TBC

A moody, modest classic, Forty Guns inspired techniques that later became associated with the ‘Spaghetti Western’.

Women in Widescreen

Widescreen Weekend 2018 will celebrate women in widescreen by showcasing films featuring strong characters, female-led narratives and themes, and women behind the camera—from writers and directors to VFX.

Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis as the title characters in a still from Thelma and Louise

Thelma & Louise (15)

Festival film screening

Date and time TBC

Funny, heartbreaking and packed full of action, Thelma & Louise is the perfect feminist roadtrip movie.

The Deaf and Mute Heroine (adv. 15)

Festival film screening

Date and time TBC

Delve deep into the obscure and forgotten films of the martial arts genre with a rare, late-night screening of Wu Ma’s directorial work.

More at Widescreen Weekend 2018

A still from the film Mutiny on the Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty (12)

Festival film screening

Date and time TBC

Starring Marlon Brando and nominated for 7 Academy Awards, this Technicolor marvel follows the HMS Bounty’s journey to Jamaica.

Student Widescreen Film of the Year Competition

Festival event

Date and time TBC

Celebrate new talent in widescreen cinema with this showcase of the year’s best student films.

In addition to the films and events above, Celluloid Saturday will return to the festival, once again bringing you a fantastic selection of film on film. Packing a range of genres in a variety of analogue formats, Celluloid Saturday is an exciting way to experience what Widescreen Weekend is all about.

Films screening in Celluloid Saturday will be announced, along with with the full festival programme, this summer.

Tickets

Buy your festival pass or Celluloid Saturday pass online—passes can also be purchased from the National Science and Media Museum box office, or by calling (+44) 0871 902 5756.

Choose and buy your Widescreen Weekend pass online

- Full pass
- Price:£120 / conc £100
- Picturehouse Member full pass
- Price:£110 / conc £90
- Student pass
- Price:£80
- Celluloid Saturday day pass Valid for film screenings and events on Saturday 13 October 2018 only
- Price:£40 / conc £35
- Student Day pass Valid for film screenings and events on Thursday 11 October 2018 only
- Price:£20

If you’d like to go the extra reel and be part of keeping the magic of cinema alive, then we invite you to become a Supporter of Widescreen Weekend.

Other than our heartfelt gratitude, this pass brings no extra benefits than the standard delegate pass. It does, however, help bring more ‘wow’ moments to the festival. More Supporter Passes means more film on film in the programme.

If you want to share your passion for analogue film and play your part in keeping archive cinema experiences accessible, then please consider becoming a Supporter.

Buy your Supporter Pass online

- Supporter Pass
- Price:£250

About Widescreen Weekend

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 in this year’s festival narrower than 2.2:1, and you can luxuriate in the widest of vistas in both archive epics and modern classics.

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 Cinema is one of only three in the world that can still show Cinerama in the way it was originally presented to audiences. 3-strip Cinerama films are screened at Widescreen Weekend, and you can also enjoy digital Cinerama screenings throughout the year.

Pictureville—the spiritual home of Widescreen Weekend—was described by Lord Puttnam as ‘the best cinema in the world’. Its deeply curved, louvred screen makes the National Science and Media Museum one of only three public venues in the world that can still show Cinerama, in both 35mm and digital formats.

Back in 1952, Cinerama, an ultra-wide film format, was created to be the ultimate in immersive cinema; today, Pictureville also has the latest 4K digital projection system and fabulous 7.1 surround sound. Widescreen Weekend is your only opportunity to see 3-strip Cinerama films on Pictureville’s unique screen. Don’t miss out!

Download brochures from previous Widescreen Weekends below:

Where to stay

Widescreen Weekend is proud to have the Midland Hotel as our hotel partner. As part of this partnership, festival delegates can benefit from special discounted rates when staying between 11–14 October 2018.

To take advantage of these rates, simply quote ‘Widescreen Weekend’ when making your booking. Call +44 (0)1274 735 735 or email rooms@midland-hotel-bradford.com.

1 night B&B Single £75, Double £80
2 nights B&B Single £70, Double £75 (per night)
3 nights B&B Single £65, Double £70 (per night)
Executive upgrade £20 per night

Exterior of the Midland Hotel in Bradford — Centrally located in Bradford, the Midland Hotel is just 10 minutes' walk from the museum

Support us

Find out about corporate sponsorship opportunities at Widescreen Weekend.

Widescreen Weekend

Widescreen Westerns

How the West Was Won (U)

Forty Guns (PG)

Women in Widescreen

Thelma & Louise (15)

The Deaf and Mute Heroine (adv. 15)

More at Widescreen Weekend 2018

Mutiny on the Bounty (12)

Student Widescreen Film of the Year Competition

Tickets

About Widescreen Weekend

Where to stay

Support us

Contact us

Partner

Supporters

More to explore

Cinema at the museum

Cinerama in the UK

Cinema technology

Part of the Science Museum Group

Widescreen Weekend

Widescreen Westerns

How the West Was Won (U)

Forty Guns (PG)

Women in Widescreen

Thelma & Louise (15)

The Deaf and Mute Heroine (adv. 15)

More at Widescreen Weekend 2018

Mutiny on the Bounty (12)

Student Widescreen Film of the Year Competition

Tickets

Festival pass types and prices

Supporter Pass

About Widescreen Weekend

What is widescreen cinema?

What is 3-strip Cinerama?

About Pictureville Cinema

Festival archive

Where to stay

Support us

Contact us

Newsletter

Social media

Contact details

Partner

Supporters

More to explore

Cinema at the museum

Cinerama in the UK

Cinema technology

Part of the Science Museum Group