Full programme announced for Hebden Bridge Film Festival - films include Polite Society, Lyra, A Good Person and Blue Jean

Taking place in the town from March 24 to 26, the festival will include a diverse selection of documentaries, dramas, comedies, shorts and feature films by filmmakers from all over the world, many of which have already seen success at some of the world’s leading festivals, such as Sundance, Toronto and Cannes.

Alongside the screenings, festival goers will have the opportunity to attend Q&A sessions and panel discussions with special guests, including film directors, actors, writers and producers.

One of the highlights of this year’s festival is British action comedy Polite Society, which “radiates fizzy delight, showing audiences a breezy good time”, according to Screen Daily.

The feel-good hit of this year’s Sundance, Polite Society follows martial arts obsessed teenage Ria Khan who believes she must save her older sister Lena from her impending marriage. The screening is being hosted in partnership with Bradford Literature Festival and will be followed by a Q&A with Syima Aslam MBE, Director, Bradford Literature Festival, plus special guests.

The festival will showcase ground-breaking documentary filmmaking from around the world, including the multi-award winning Lyra, an emotional, intimate portrait of the life and death of Belfast journalist Lyra Mckee who was shot dead in 2019 while covering a riot in Derry. Director Alison Millar, Producer Jackie Doyle and Sara Canning, Lyra’s partner, will join the festival for a special Q&A.

HBFF will feature the UK premieres of documentaries When the Camera Stopped Rolling, Clarissa’s Battle and Destiny, which will each be followed by Q&A‘s with special guests; as well as Fashion Reimagined about fashion's impact on the environment, which will also include a panel with special guests.

Featuring an all-star cast is A Good Person, written and directed by Zach Braff, and starring Florence Pugh and Morgan Freeman, and British drama Nobody Has to Know stars Michelle Fairley (Game of Thrones).

International titles coming to the festival include Winners, set in a small provincial Iranian town, which will be followed by a Q&A with Producer, Nadira Murray and Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad, Research Fellow, SOAS University of London.

Other international titles include Lingui, the Sacred Bonds, one of the best-reviewed movies of the year; Utama, winner of the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival, which follows a couple's life herding llamas in the Bolivian highlands, and Moroccan title The Blue Caftan, which has been winning prizes at film festivals across the globe.

BAFTA-nominated British drama Blue Jean, which follows a lesbian PE teacher forced to live a double life in the wake of Section 28, will be followed by a Q&A with actor Kerrie Hayes and producer Hélène Sifre, as well as Catherine Lee and Sarah Squires, who inspired the story.

Hebden Bridge Festival Director, Louise Wadley, said: “We are thrilled to be back in person this year with a very exciting and diverse line-up that celebrates the power of filmmaking. We’re lucky to have some of the best reviewed, award-winning, highly anticipated films of the year, with up-and-coming talent as well as big name stars like Florence Pugh.

“The Calder Valley is a unique place with a real sense of community. I hope that people will come and join us, be inspired by the films and enjoy being at one of the friendliest film festivals there is!”

To view the full programme and buy tickets, visit: www.hebdenbridgefilmfestival.org