THE PROGRAMME for a popular Bradford festival celebrating the past, present and future of film has now been announced.

Widescreen Weekend will return to the National Science and Media Museum in October, and will feature a diverse programme of screen heritage, cult favorites, new restorations and a line-up of guests.

Running from 13 to 16 October, Widescreen Weekend will welcome the UK premiere of the newly restored The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm on the only remaining public Cinerama screen in the world.  

It is to mark the 60th anniversary of the film, which has been restored from original negatives and archival prints through the talents of Cinerama Inc.

With much of the original material either damaged or missing entirely, this restoration has saved it from being lost in film history.  

The festival - which is hosted by the museum with Pictureville’s fantastic projection facilities - is a calendar staple for audiences in Bradford and beyond, and will also celebrate the 70th anniversary of Cinerama.

Cinerama uses projectors to show images simultaneously to produce an ultra-wide picture and was developed in the 1950s.

As the only remaining public Cinerama venue in the world, Pictureville offers one of the only places to experience this ground-breaking and historically significant process. 

This year's festival will also celebrate women in widescreen, both on screen and behind the camera, with the ‘Rebels and Dames’ strand, developed in collaboration with film academic and programmer Alice Miller.

This will include films featuring female characters who broke barriers and changed the way audiences saw women on screen. 

Kathryn Penny, Head of Screen and Cultural Engagement at the Museum, said: “We are thrilled for Widescreen Weekend to be returning to the museum this October for another year to celebrate the wonderful world of widescreen film.

“Widescreen Weekend is a truly unique festival which can take you on an immersive adventure around the globe without leaving Bradford, so we cannot wait to welcome our festivalgoers back to the big screens. 

“We’re incredibly excited to be opening the festival with a screening of the newly restored The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm."  

Full passes for Widescreen Weekend will be announced and made available in July via the National Science and Media Museum website and tickets for individual events and screenings will be made available in September.

For more information about Widescreen Weekend, visit: www.scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema/widescreen-weekend.