 | | Ioan Gruffud as Wilberforce |
This month the 200th anniversary of the law to abolish the Slave Trade in Britain's colonies will be commemorated across the country so it's only fitting that this year's Film Festival opening gala presentation will be the UK premiere of Amazing Grace. The film retells the story of the Abolition campaign, led in Parliament by Yorkshire MP William Wilberforce. Ioan Gruffudd is Wilberforce while Michael Gambon, Albert Finney, Toby Jones and Rufus Sewell also star. Amazing Grace is directed by Michael Apted whose films have included the Coal Miner's Daughter, Enigma and Gorky Park but who first came to fame with Granada's ground-breaking documentary series which started with 7 Up. The latest installment appeared on TV in 2005 by which time the participants were 49 Up! Michael Apted will be in Bradford for the gala presentation  | | In person: Alan Bennett |
The closing night film also looks back at past events but in a very different way. Shane Meadows' latest film This is England, based on his own childhood experiences, is set in 1983 against a background of skinheads and Thatcherism. Alan Bennett, Michael Parkinson and Ken Loach are perhaps the best-known of the many guests who will be in Bradford to share their experiences with visitors to the Film Festival. The very first Bradford Film Festival opened with Bennett's film The Madness of King George; this year there is a chance to hear him talk about his screenwriting career. Not only can you listen to Ken Loach talk about his experiences as a director but there's a rare retrospective of his work. Parkie will be returning to Yorkshire to look back at his encounters with some of the world's greatest stars. Films made much nearer to home feature throughout the Festival. Peter Spence's film Christmas in Huddersfield is to be shown alongside Julien Temple's new feature film about the Clash's Joe Strummer. Peter's film reunites children who witnessed one of the great moments in Punk Rock history right here in West Yorkshire. On Christmas Day 1977 the Sex Pistols did a gig in Huddersfield for the children of striking firemen - their appearance in Huddersfield was to be their last in the UK. Julien Temple was there filming the event - take a look at his film The Filth and the Fury.  | | On film: The Dixie Chicks |
Abbé Robinson's short film Private Life has been filmed around Keighley and the Worth Valley Railway. Set in the 1950s it tells the story of a young woman who leaves her job in a textile mill to go to Manchester...Abbé's film is showing alongside the feature film Dixie Chicks: Shut Up and Sing. If you like your cinema experience to be on a much bigger scale then there's the annual Widescreen Weekend - Cinerama, VistaVision, CinemaScope and the rest! There's even a chance to see Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade AND Titanic twice as big as usual on 70mm.  | | Shane Meadows' view of England in 1983 |
The Bradford International Film Festival takes place at the National Media Museum from March 9th to March 24th 2007. Check out the Film Festival website (www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk) for details of screenings and events. | 
