This year’s festival line-up includes 27 UK feature film premieres, and a dozen short film premieres, representing film-makers from more than 20 countries.

The festival opens with Damsels in Distress, the eagerly-awaited movie, after a 13-year hiatus, from acclaimed US independent director Whit Stillman, who also made Metropolitan and The Last Days of Disco.

The festival closes with the UK Premiere of Samsara from the master of time-lapse photography and large format cinematography, Ron Fricke.

Special previews include new features by some of the best names in European and world cinema. Among them are Albert Nobbs, featuring Oscar-nominated performances by Janet McTeer and Glenn Close; Free Men; Goodbye First Love; In Love with Alma Cogan, a new gentle British drama starring Roger Lloyd Pack, John Hurt and Niamh Cusack; Indonesian martial arts action thriller, The Raid; Sing Your Song, a celebration of the life of actor, singer and civil rights activist Harry Belafonte; Volcano, an award-winning first feature from young Icelandic director, and Wrinkles, a highly acclaimed Spanish animated feature film.

The festival’s annual celebration of independent US filmmakers, The Uncharted States of America returns for a sixth selection, and includes premieres of Bummer Summer, The Last Buffalo Hunt, Sawdust City, Turkey Bowl and Voluptuous Sleep.

  • The New European Feature Award is a new award supported by the University of Bradford, recognising the wealth of new European film-making talent.