A NEW festival has been planned to help encourage the older generation to engage in the world of film.

The Golden Years Film Festival will run for three days in October, during which parts of City Hall will be transformed into a pop up cinema, elderly visitors will be taught how to make their own films, and there will be discussions on issues like how film can help people living with dementia.

The festival has been organised by Bradford City Of Film, and the group hopes it will help engage with a community for which regular cinema trip and mainstream film festivals might not be part of their regular routine.

The event, which starts on Monday October 3, features a diverse programme of screenings, discussions and workshops, including a look at Bradford’s hundred-year film history.

The first day of the festival will feature a screening of Jack Clayton’s Room at the Top in Bradford City Hall. The 1959 film was filmed at several locations in Bradford, including City Hall.

Other films being screened over the festival include documentaries Land of a Thousand Colours, a short UNESCO film focusing on the cultural diversity of Pakistan and Older Than Ireland, a documentary that explores the past hundred years through the eyes of thirty Irish centenarians, each of them born before Ireland gained independence from Britain in 1922.

Visitors will be given tips on how to upload films onto Youtube, as well as being invited to take part in a Lights, Camera, Action workshop run by the University of Bradford, using Green Screen technology to create, star in and edit their own short film, which will then be shown on the Big Screen in City Park.

And there will also be talks by experts and discussions on various subjects, including ageing.

David Wilson, from Bradford City of Film, said one of the aims of the festival was to change perceptions about the elderly. He said: “There is a new generation living longer, people who might have retired at 55 could be living to 100. Mick Jagger is 72, but he is still performing in one of the world’s biggest rock bands.

“The idea behind having the UNESCO City of Film status is celebrating life through film. It is not just about glitzy stuff, it is about working with communities and getting everyone involved.

“Bradford has a lot of young people, but there are also a lot of older people with disposable time. This festival will be accessible, right in the middle of the city centre. We hope to ‘de-mystify’ a lot of the technology older people see on TV on a daily basis, and may not understand. There are plenty of older people who do use Youtube and technology, but there are probably a lot who don’t know how it works, and it would really benefit from knowing. Some older people are really put of by technology, but others jump right in.”

Earlier this year it was announced that the Bradford International Film Festival had been cancelled. Mr Wilson said it was important that festivals like the Golden Years festival, and the recent Drunken Film Festival that took place in the city’s bars and pubs, got different communities involved in film.

A full line up will be announced shortly. For tickets call 01274 433678 or book in person at the Bradford Visitor Information Centre.