A WIDESCREEN festival is taking place at Bradford National Science and Media Museum this weekend as it celebrates cinema technology past, present and future.

The screening of classics, blockbusters, restorations, anniversary screenings and never-seen-before shots started on Thursday and continues until Sunday, October 15.

Smash hit Dunkirk, written and directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh and Mark Rylance, kicked off proceedings on Thursday with a 70mm widescreen presentation highlighting its incredible cinematography.

Film historian, author and Widescreen Weekend guest curator Sir Christopher Frayling, introduced the opening night film alongside Mark Trompeteler, of the International Moving Image Society and festival sponsor, and festival director Kathryn Penny.

The closing night screening on Sunday is David Lean’s epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962) from a new 70mm restoration print, also introduced by Sir Christopher, in the centenary year of the Battle of Aqaba which is famously depicted in the film.

During the opening day, the IMIS (International Moving Image Society) Student Widescreen Film of the Year Competition once again celebrated new talent in widescreen filmmaking. The 2017 competition again showcased the best of the next generation of filmmakers who demonstrate widescreen values. The winner, Brian Robau (USA) directed It’s Just a Gun and was selected from hundreds of submissions coming from around the world.