YOUNG people across Bradford are being given the chance to join in the world’s biggest youth film festival - for free.

The festival offering in Bradford will include an exclusive screening of the new documentary film He Named Me Malala telling the story of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai who was shot by the Taliban and now campaigns for equal education rights for girls.

After its screening at Bradford Odeon on Wednesday, November 4, pupils will be able to ask her questions via a live satellite link .

The Into Film Festival, coming to screens in the city between November 4 and November 20, is funded by the National Lottery to promote the educational power of movies.

Bradford City of Film director David Wilson called the Into Film Festival a great initiative and a fantastic opportunity to not only encourage the next generation of movie goers but to also get them talking about film and inspire them to make films too.

He said: "We already do our own work with schools as part of a literacy project but this festival is another great initiative, It's an opportunity to get young people talking about what they are seeing."

About 400,000 young people nationally are expected to get involved in the event which is being organised by education charity Into Film and supported by Cinema First.

It will be open to all schools, colleges, parents and youth leaders, aiming at five to 19-year-olds to watch new and classic films and to join in workshops and Q&A sessions with industry professionals.

The project has celebrity backing from such big names as Eddie Redmayne, Carey Mulligan, Michael Sheen, Ralph Fiennes and Sir Ian McKellen.

Festival highlights also include a screening of Into the Woods, an adaptation of a Stephen Sondheim stage play, to be shown at Bradford Cineworld, also on November 4 at 10am.

Other screenings will show Fantastic Four, The Unbeatables and a French film, about girlhood plus a hand-drawn animation retelling of the Noah Story.

Actor Eddie Redmayne, the star of The Theory of Everything and Les Misérable, who was recently announced as a new Ambassador for Into Film, said: "I saw firsthand the impact that all aspects film can have on young people - the power to inspire, connect and expand our understanding of ourselves and the world around us.

"Often with film we love watching it because it’s immersive and it’s entertaining. But if you look a bit harder and you ask the questions after, it can be so inspiring.”

The Into Film Festival builds on the success of last year’s event, which saw 350,000 young people attending screenings and events across the UK. This year's themes are Identity, Wellbeing and Achievement.

The full programme and booking details are available at IntoFilm.org/Festival.