Bradford International Film Festival Widescreen Weekend 2013 (26-28 April)

The 19^th Bradford International Film Festival in partnership with Virgin Media presents Widescreen Weekend 2013 (26-28 April) which Celebrates the 60^th Anniversary of CinemaScope, The First New Cinerama Film for 50 Years, & 20^th Anniversary of Gettysburg 

www.bradfordfilmfestival.org.uk

The National Media Museum, Bradford and the 19^th Bradford International Film Festival in partnership with Virgin Media (11-21 April), once again play host to Widescreen Weekend (26-28 April), which this year will celebrate the 60^th anniversary of CinemaScope. Other highlights include the European Premiere of In the Picture, the first new Cinerama film made for 50 years, a special 20^th anniversary screening of American Civil War classic Gettysburg, in the 150^th anniversary year of the actual battle itself.

Says Widescreen Weekend programmer, Duncan McGregor:“ This year we celebrate the 60^th anniversary of 20^th Century Fox’s cinematographic process CinemaScope – which is still around to this day (albeit now as Panavision). We’ll screen CinemaScope classics such as the Marilyn Monroe/Betty Grable musical comedy How To Marry A Millionaire in 35mm, and war epics, The Guns of Navarone in digital 4K and The Longest Day screening from a 70mm print. This allows us to compare the screening experiences of all three technologies in the format everyone came to know quite simply as ‘Scope’.”

He continues:“ Widescreen Weekend will also showcase the heyday of the Hollywood musical with two glorious 70mm prints of Hello Dolly (1969), and The Sound of Music (1965), which will be screened from the Phillips DP70 projector in the National Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema. This is the Rolls Royce of 70mm film projectors and the only projector ever to have been awarded an Oscar for its design and engineering! “

Cinerama returns with the first three-panel film made in fifty years, In the Picture, directed by Dave Strohmaier and produced by Randy Gitsch who will both be in Bradford to present the European Premiere of their new film. They will also present the newly digitally restored version of Cinerama Holiday (1955), and reveal work in progress on the restoration of the Cinerama feature, Seven Wonders of the World (1956).  Plus a rare screening of Technicolor 3-strip print of The Wonderful World of the Brothers Grimm (1962), the only surviving 3-strip print of the film known to exist.

Also screening will be Grant Wakefield’s new film Remnants which receives its World Premiere on Saturday 27 April. Set to an original score by veteran Tangerine Dream member Thorsten Quaeschning, and utilising highly stylised, motion controlled timelapse photography, Remnants captures the essence and austere beauty of Megalithic sites and was shot in 4K resolution over the course of four years throughout the UK and Ireland. It is presented in a pristine 2K widescreen digital print. Grant will be in Bradford to introduce his new film.

Other guests are: author Brian Hannan who has just completed two new Making of… books on The Guns of Navarone and Lawrence of Arabia, and he will be holding a book signing session for both during the weekend, and British educationalist, writer and noted film historian Professor Sir Christopher Frayling returns to launch the weekend with one of his extremely informative and fascinating introductions.

Summing up the WSW experience Duncan McGregor says:“ The Widescreen Weekend is just that: big, grand and all encompassing. It immerses and encapsulates you in a multi-formatted, surround sound extravaganza – an experience you will be hard pushed to find anywhere else on earth!”

Widescreen Weekend Tickets and Passes

Widescreen Weekend Pass £90/£70

Premium Films £10/£8

Standard Films £7.50/£5.50

Presentations £4/£3

National Media Museum Box Office: 0844 8563797