A CRIME caper with a horror twist, shot in Bradford with local actors, will have a red carpet premiere in the city this month. 
Polterheist, described as a gangster black comedy, has been screened at film festivals around the world, praised by critics and audiences.

It started as a 20-minute film made on a budget of £1,000, supported by Bradford’s City of Film team, and went on to win awards in America, Brazil, South Africa and Europe. It beat 1,000 films to win Best Short Film at Bradford’s Drunken Film Festival. Following its success, director and co-writer David Gilbank made a full-length version of Polterheist, raising £45,000 with his production team.

Now the film is to be screened at The Light cinema at The Broadway on Wednesday, September 26, at a premiere attended by cast and crew. An additional screening has been announced for Monday, October 1.

Polterheist was shot in 2017 at Saltaire, Keighley, Idle and Thackley. An Asian wedding in Bradford appears in the film, following a Telegraph & Argus report on producers seeking a real wedding for scenes. Set in a fictional Bradford underworld, the film is about two smalltime crooks who kidnap a psychic to find out where their dead boss has stashed some stolen loot.

Bradford actor Moey Hassan said: “If you loved Billy Liar and Rita Sue and Bob Too, this film is up there with them. Set in multicultural Bradford, it’s about wannabe gangsters dealt a blow by the living dead...”

Polterheist was written, directed and produced by Dave Gilbank and Paul Renhard. “I was taken aback when it was described as a Bradford Asian version of Scarface, because this is what I set out to do,” said Mr Gilbank. "It’s the first UK gangster film to touch on the reality of modern multicultural British life, with a supernatural twist. Most actors are from Bradford; Sid Akbar Ali from Barkerend gives a mesmerising performance as gangster Tariq, as does Pushpinder Chani, who plays gang boss Uday. I'd urge everyone to see Polterheist at the cinema before it's released on DVD and digital next year. It’s a breathtaking tour through an underworld maze, without glamorising it.

“This is my love letter to the greatest city in the world.”

* For a discount ticket to see Polterheist at The Light on September 26 or October 1, both at 8.30pm, visit bradford.lightcinemas.co.uk/polterheist