When Blackpool's own film festival returns to the Winter Gardens - and what's on

Following last year's comeback event, The Winter Gardens Film Festival returns to the iconic venue from the Feb 11 to 12 and will include its usual variety of classic and contemporary film. Main screenings will take place in the Opera House at the Winter Gardens. Built in 1939 as a cine-variety theatre, combining a super cinema with a world class stage for theatrical performance, the venue's capacity of just under 3000 makes it the second largest theatre in the UK. More recently a permanent HD/surround sound cinema projection system has been installed.

Festival director, Catherine Mugonyi said "We are delighted to be back for 2023. We’ve always wanted to give people the opportunity to share their love of film and explore new independent work. This year we’re really aware of the effect of the Cost of Living crisis locally, so we’ve worked hard to keep tickets affordable.”

Saturday’s theme is based on Blackpool’s motto Progress. Screenings and events will reflect on the ways that our dreams, hopes and fears about the future are represented in film. There’s a programme of futuristic films from across the ages such as the 2022 Afrofuturist sci-fi punk musical Neptune Frost, the 2001 anime favourite Cowboy Bebop and Fritz Lang’s 1927 pioneering sci-fi classic Metropolis, which will be screened with a live accompaniment performed by David Ivory on the Mighty Opera House Wurlitzer.

Focusing on a more sustainable future, the festival is presenting preview of the brand new documentary Fashion Reimagined, which follows fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl, who embarks on a three-year journey to create a sustainable clothing collection from field to finished garment. This special screening will be followed up with a Repair Café Sew & Swap event hosted by Fylde Repair Cafe, where visitors can bring their old clothes to swap or repair, thus helping to reduce clothing waste.

Saturday plays host to two Blackpool on Film events, showcasing two new films filmed on location locally. Mr Blackpool is a brand new production by performance artist Harry Clayton-Wright. And Mars is an original scripted short from Mercury Studios shot in November 2022. It features Yasmin Finney as a Trans teenager finding her way as she grows up in Blackpool. Produced by Cat Marshall, Stefan Demetriou and Dominic Harrison (Yungblud), whose song Mars directly led to the idea for the film.

The Iris Prize LGBT+ Film Festival will also share a diverse selection of outstanding short films, showcasing unique stories from around the world and Iris Prize director Berwyn Rowlands joins the audience to introduce this stunning collection of films.

On Sunday things get romantic with a variety of classic films such as Brief Encounter, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes and Piccadilly to get you in the Valentine mood. The weekend ends with a celebration of local history as director Gillian Wood and writer Michelle Crane host a screening and Q&A session featuring their short films Flyte of Fancy and Granny inspired by real stories from our Lancashire heritage.