THREE films shot in the Bradford district are to be showcased at the BFI London Film Festival.

Next month’s festival programme includes Dark River, filmed near Skipton, Ghost Stories, filmed in Saltaire, and Funny Cow, shot in Shipley, Saltaire and Bradford.

One of the world’s leading film festivals, the London Film Festival is an early opportunity for public and industry audiences to see the best new British and international films.

Funny Cow, starring Maxine Peake as a stand-up comic in a male-dominated industry in 1970s clubland, was shot at locations including Bradford Playhouse, the Midland Hotel, a house in Saltaire’s Mary Street and a cafe in Bradford’s Oastler market. Producer Kevin Proctor said: “Places like Saltaire and Bradford Playhouse look incredible, we didn’t need to build sets – it was all there. What we found in Saltaire and Bradford was that everyone was so open and kind; they were happy for us to film, with all the disruptions that come with that. The Oastler Market and the Playhouse were so accommodating.

“Our film is about a dying aspect of social history – the working men’s club – but it’s also about humanity, and community. A minibus driver I met when we were filming said, ‘I can’t wait to see this film. It’ll remind me of my childhood’.

“We’re not taking the Mick out of social clubs, nor is this a ‘grim up North’ film. We show people having a good time. We’re saying, to the people who helped us make it in Bradford, Leeds and Harrogate: This is your film.”

The European premiere of Otley-born director Clio Barnard’s Dark River is among eight special Film Festival presentations of new work from major directors. The moving tale of family secrets stars Ruth Wilson, star of TV’s The Affair and Luther, Mark Stanley, who was in Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Game of Thrones, and Sean Bean, star of TV dramas Sharpe and Jimmy McGovern’s Broken, and films including Lord of the Rings and GoldenEye.

The Festival programme also includes the world premiere of Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s Ghost Stories, bringing their hit London stage play to the big screen. Nyman plays Dr Phillip Goodman, an academic who sets out to debunk claims of the supernatural. When he finds a file containing three unsolved cases of the occult, his belief system, and his sanity, are thrown into question.

Both Dark River and Ghost Stories were made with investment from Screen Yorkshire’s Yorkshire Content Fund.