Pictureville Prepares For 69th BFI London Film Festival With Special Opening Night Event And Sold-Out Gala Screening

Final tickets remain for the 69^th BFI London Film Festival screenings at the National Science and Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema, with just one week to go until audiences can experience the best of this year’s programme right here in West Yorkshire as part of Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.

Running from 8 - 19 October, the BFI London Film Festival takes place at venues across the UK in addition to London, as part of LFF on Tour. Pictureville will host a selection of films from the 2025 festival line-up, including an exclusive opening night screening of Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery (2025) on Wednesday 8 October. Guests attending this special event will receive a complimentary drink and take part in a mystery lucky dip prize draw, a nod to the franchise’s whodunnit spirit.

Bradford audiences will also be among the first to see some of the festival’s most compelling new releases. Highlights include Giant (2025), the thrilling true story of Sheffield boxing legend boxer Prince Naseem ‘Naz’ Hamed and his trainer Brendan Ingle starring Amir El-Masry and Pierce Brosnan, and Love+War (2025), a gripping documentary from the directors of Free Solo profiling Pulitzer Prize-winning war photographer Lynsey Addario.

Other highly anticipated festival titles include Hamnet (2025), Chloé Zhao’s adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s acclaimed novel starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Frankenstein (2025) and 1970s heist drama The Mastermind (2025), starring Josh O’Connor.

The programme also features a now sold-out gala screening of Alan Bennett’s The Choral (2025), supported by Screen Yorkshire's Yorkshire Content Fund, on Tuesday 14 October, filmed locally in Saltaire and starring Ralph Fiennes. Before the film, audiences will enjoy a live performance from the Bradford Festival Choral Society (BFCS).

Entering their 169th season, Bradford Festival Choral Society’s appearance comes ahead of their Handel’s Messiah concert at St George’s Hall on 15 November - one of the choir’s own contributions to Bradford’s UK City of Culture year, and a work they first performed in the city’s historic hall in 1856.

Thomas Leech, Musical Director for BFCS since 2008, said: “It feels incredibly fitting for us to perform at the West Yorkshire premiere of The Choral. Alan Bennett’s story celebrates the power of voices raised together, and that’s at the very core of what we do as a choir. For nearly 170 years BFCS has been at the heart of Bradford’s musical life, and we are honoured to share that legacy with audiences on this special occasion as we celebrate our heritage and look to a vibrant future.”

As West Yorkshire’s only festival venue and Yorkshire’s largest independent cinema, Pictureville offers audiences a rare opportunity to experience the festival outside of London during Bradford’s year as UK City of Culture. This is part of Bradford: A City of Film, which supports independent film across the district and highlights Bradford’s rich screen heritage.

Bradford: A City of Film is a programme of independent film across the Bradford District. Co-Produced by Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture and National Science and Media Museum with the support of the BFI, awarding funds from the National Lottery. 

Tickets, full programme details and booking information are available on the Pictureville website.