Into Film Festival Highlights - What not to miss

20 Oct 2017

8 mins
Wonder (bike)
Wonder (bike)

The Into Film Festival (8 - 24 November) is fast approaching, and there's still time to book free tickets for our annual event - the world's biggest, free youth film festival. As always, our rich and varied programme offers a wide range of entertaining and thought-provoking films and special events to suit all ages and tastes. 

The programme is curated into six inspiring strands: 

Films which explore wellbeing, mental health and anti-bullying are a key focus of the Festival, and we're especially delighted to bring you exclusive preview screenings of new film Wonder ahead of its nationwide release on 1 December. Wonder sees a young boy with facial differences stepping up to attend school for the first time, and we're screening the film in locations across the UK. The screenings in London and Cardiff are fully booked already, but there are still places in Glasgow, Scotland and Coleraine, Northern Ireland.

Screening on World Kindness Day (13 November) and based on R.J. Palacio's bestselling novel, Wonder is one of many film adaptations of books and plays on offer at this year's Festival. Others include A Caribbean Dream (a Barbados-set modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Nights Dream), Sherlock HolmesFantastic Beasts and Where to Find ThemMurder on the Orient ExpressPride and Prejudice and many, many more.

You can also be among the first people in the UK to see the stirring new sports drama Battle of the Sexes, which highlights issues surrounding gender politics and inequality set against the social background of the 1970s - issues that are sadly still relevant today. Equally topical is the uplifting documentary Credible Likeable Superstar Role Model, which shines a light on the media and music industries, with the film's director Rebecca Brand joining us for talks in LondonCambridge and Nottingham.

Nature and the environment are further topics that lend themselves perfectly to the big screen. Engage your students in a conversation about climate change and how to tackle it at one of our UK-wide screenings of An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, some of which are accompanied by talks from global organisation Climate Reality Leadership Corps. You might also consider other ways of activating change through titles like Hidden FiguresI, Daniel Blake, and To Sir With Love.

You can also use the Festival to link to the history curriculum, with films such as Goodbye Christopher RobinTheir FinestDenial and A United Kingdom bringing historical events and characters to life. If you're after something to set the pulses racing, there's plenty of choice, from Hitchcock classics Psycho and Rear Window to new releases like rich, visually stunning sci-fi thriller Blade Runner 2049.

A major aim of the Into Film Festival is to provide young people with opportunities to learn about different aspects of the film industry directly from the experts. Our varied programme of special events includes talks from the BBFC about film classification, and sessions with costume design expert Cosprop and animation company Magic Light Pictures. And for something completely different, we have a live music event in Hull - a screening of groundbreaking silent movie Tuvalu in which the audience is invited to contribute to the live soundtrack!

We believe what makes the Festival exciting is the breadth of films on offer. The ones in our programme have been specially selected to broaden young minds and spark their imaginations. Those mentioned above are just a tiny selection from an array of cinematic treats, including some your students will never have heard of and may never otherwise have the chance to see. So, if you haven't already done so, take a look at the programme, book your free tickets today, and enjoy a school trip to remember!

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