Sheffield’s beloved independent picture house, the Showroom Cinema, are debuting a brand-new, month-long season of films celebrating the culture and history and film in our city.
From the 2nd to the 31st of August, there’s a wide range of films and events, including collaborations with local community groups and other Sheffield-based film festivals, including Doc/Fest, Celluloid Screams, Cinema Palestino, and Sheffield Adventure Film Festival.
The (already sold-out) opening night film is Threads (1984), the Sheffield-set nuclear war drama that traumatised the nation forty years ago this year. Rarely seen on the big screen, this BBC drama is notorious for being one of the most shocking films ever made, as it depicts the devastating effects of a nuclear conflict on the lives of ordinary Sheffield citizens. The screening will feature an introduction and Q&A with Dr Craig Ian Mann and Robert Nevitt, makers of an upcoming documentary about Threads.
It’s not all doom and gloom though – on 26th August, the festival hosts a special screening of much-treasured Wallace and Gromit short The Wrong Trousers, featuring a live performance by the Unite Brass Band scoring the film. Nick Park, the creator of Wallace and Gromit, is an alumni of Sheffield Hallam University.
Sheffield’s horror film festival Celluloid Screams are hosting an all-day mystery marathon on Saturday the 3rd. Four back-to-back horror classics will be played – with titles unrevealed until the day – entirely on 35mm prints, for a full authentic retro experience.
Production company Warp Films, who are based in the Showroom’s adjoining office hub The Workstation, have produced some of the most acclaimed British films of the last two decades, and they are showing off their greatest hits during this festival.
From 2nd August, they will be screening two Shane Meadows masterworks. Dead Man’s Shoes (2004), filmed in the nearby Peak District, is a harrowing revenge thriller with a startling performance by Paddy Considine. This is England (2006) is a beloved cult classic that follows a young boy in the early 1980s East Midlands as he is lured into the skinhead subculture – a subculture that is being warped into becoming violently racist.
From 9th August, you can catch Four Lions (2010), another widely-loved British institution. This biting satirical black-comedy follows the exploits and misfortunes of a would-be Islamic terrorist group, whose ineptitude costs them their chances at eternal glory. One of the mostly darkly funny films ever made, Four Lions was shot in Sheffield with plenty of familiar locations – including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it scene on the roof of the Showroom!
Also from the 9th is Submarine (2010), the directorial debut of comedian Richard Ayoade. This quirky coming-of-age comedy features original songs by Alex Turner, of Sheffield’s Arctic Monkeys.
’71 (2014) screens from 16th August. This war-thriller is set in Belfast during the Troubles, but was filmed in Sheffield. Ghost Stories (2017) also screens from the 16th – this horror anthology stars Martin Freeman, and was filmed in Leeds.
Rounding off the Warp Films selection is Yardie (2018), the directorial debut of superstar Idris Elba. This crime drama, adapted from a pulp novel, stars Aml Ameen as a Jamaican gangster thrust into the Hackney underworld of the 1980s.
There are also several family-friendly films on selection, screened on Saturdays at 11am for the ‘Family Time’ slot, which features £5 tickets for everyone. This month’s selection include The Railway Children (1970), which is set and filmed in Yorkshire; Disney’s Robin Hood (1973), set in nearby Nottinghamshire; The Princess Bride (1987), the incredibly witty swordfighting-fantasy adventure filmed in Sheffield and the Peak District; and Mary and the Witch’s Flower (2017), a Japanese anime feature set in Northern England.
Sheffield Doc/Fest are presenting a special screening of Pulp – A Film about Life, Death and Supermarkets (2014), a documentary about the Sheffield Britpop stars and their rise to fame, on the 27th.
Dr Sheldon Hall, a film lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University, will revisit the first ever Showroom Film Studies lecture from 1998 – covering The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934), a Hitchcock classic.
Comedian Lucy Beaumont will introduce her "favourite film" at a special event on the 30th of August. The festival’s closing film will be Ken Loach’s Looks and Smiles (1981), a drama film made in Sheffield during the early Thatcher era.
Lead programmer and festival curator Ryan Finnigan, says: “The Sheffield Film Festival is a wonderful opportunity to look back and celebrate the city's rich heritage, and look forward to the future. Not just at the varied and integral role Sheffield has played in UK cinema history, but the brilliant and passionate people that have brought diverse and exciting films to this city year after year.
“I’m proud to be working with collaborators that have graced the Showroom for the last 29 years, alongside exciting new startups like QTIBPOC Cinema Club and Film Girls Galore who are engaging the next generation of cinemagoers. There’s something for everyone at The Sheffield Film Festival, much like our great city.”
The Showroom Cinema opened in 1995, and will celebrate 30 years next year. The cinema is collecting donations for its new projector appeal – funds are needed for a new, energy-efficient projector model to replace its current aging model. They are accepting donations at LocalGiving here.
The Sheffield Film Festival is a one-of-a-kind event, not to be missed. Tickets and the full programme are available here.
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