Celebrate The Region’s Rich Screen Heritage This August With Epic Yorkshire At Pictureville

The National Science and Media Museum’s Pictureville cinema will be hosting a month-long celebration of cinema in the region with Epic Yorkshire. Launching on Yorkshire Day, Friday 1 August, the season showcases stories made and shaped by those who call the region home. Offering the chance to revisit old favourites or discover something new, Epic Yorkshire invites audiences to experience the diversity, creativity and heritage of the region on the big screen.

Presented in partnership with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, the season also sees the launch of the brand-new illustrated City of Film map. Documenting Bradford’s cinematic past, present and future, the City of Film map features cinemas, community screening venues, and big screen experience locations across the district, offering a self-led tour of Bradford’s screen landmarks for City of Culture visitors and locals alike. The free A2 foldout map will be available from Pictureville and other participating venues from Friday 1 August onwards.

Opening weekend celebrations include free screenings of Yorkshire Film Archive: Social Cinema, a programme of short films documenting the social and political issues that continue to shape the region today, and Epic Yorkshire (2025), a new narrated exploration of Yorkshire’s incredible landscape. Epic Yorkshire will be presented on Pictureville’s spectacular curved Cinerama screen – the only public venue globally to use this technology – offering a truly special way to enjoy Yorkshire on film. Saturday evening also sees screenings of Paul Thomas Anderson’s Phantom Thread (2017) on 70mm film, in which North Yorkshire’s dramatic coastlines play a starring role, and unconventional sci-fi drama Sky Peals (2023).

Audiences attending screenings on Saturday 2 August will receive special Yorkshire themed “scran bags” to celebrate, as Pictureville partners with local producers to showcase the best treats the region has to offer.

The season continues throughout August with a packed programme of films including The Selfish Giant (2013), set in Bradford and inspired by Oscar Wilde’s short story of the same name, featuring a video introduction from director Clio Barnard. There will also be a screening of Emily (2022), an evocative portrait of Emily Bronte, with Emma Mackey playing one of the districts greatest literary minds in a bold reimagining of her life. Other highlights from across the programme include uplifting cold water swimming documentary Wild Water (2023) and a screening of Gods Own Country (2017) presented by the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA).

In addition to these screenings, Pictureville’s film education strand, CineSpotlights, will also take on the Epic Yorkshire theme. August’s edition will feature an illustrated talk with writer, academic and filmmaker Mark Goodall (University of Bradford), exploring the lost history of Bradford’s Cinecenta cinema, as well as a screening of Charlie Bubbles (1967), the only film directed by Albert Finney and the first film to be screened at Bradford Cinecenta. 

Epic Yorkshire also sees The Ceremony (2024), the award-winning debut feature by Bradford-born writer-director Jack King return home, following its acclaimed world premiere at the 2024 Edinburgh International Film Festival. Following a sellout gala screening hosted by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Pictureville will continue to screen The Ceremony from Friday 22 August.

Beyond the screen, Yorkshire’s stories and voices are celebrated throughout the museum’s brand-new Sound and Vision galleries. Part of the museum’s ambitious transformation, the galleries feature world-class collections alongside powerful contributions from people across the district, highlighting Yorkshire’s role in shaping the history and future of media technology.

For more information and to book tickets, visit Pictureville’s website.

More information on the museum’s new Sound and Vision galleries can be found on the museum’s website.