Showroom Cinema's Sheffield Film Festival programme announced!

Having now lived in Sheffield for 21 years, it has consistently never failed to astound me how much brilliant creative work takes place across the city. While the vast and impressive level of talent is a constant presence here, sometimes Sheffield is so busy doing, that it doesn’t take time to celebrate all the amazing things that it has done.

Sheffield has been involved in leading innovations in cinema since the artform’s inception. As far back as Frank Mottershaw’s influential 1903 short film A Daring Daylight Burglary, Sheffield’s influence on cinema and the film industry has been present and yet, maybe not as well-known as it should be.

To shout about the incredible work being done across the city, Showroom Cinema is launching its new Sheffield Film Festival, which goes on sale this Friday. An annual celebration, the festival is dedicated to showcasing the rich heritage and thriving culture of film in Sheffield and the surrounding region; past, present, and future.

The inaugural edition takes place throughout August 2024 and will focus on our buzzing film community of makers, shakers and creators. The line-up will showcase the continuing contributions of Sheffield-based filmmakers, producers, programmers, academics and cinephiles.

Throughout the month, the festival will highlight legendary production company, Warp Films. Revisiting their back catalogue, we will showcase two decades of incredible film and television, including modern classics This is England and Four Lions. We will also celebrate 20 years since the release of their debut feature, Dead Man’s Shoes.

2024 is the perfect time to toast several major anniversaries, with events to mark 30 years of Sheffield DocFest, 15 years of Sheffield’s international horror film festival Celluloid Screams, and 15 years of Cinema Palestino screenings at Showroom. Sheffield Hallam University will also showcase a special Film Studies screening, bringing back their first ever Showroom lecture from 1998 to mark Alfred Hitchcock’s 125th birthday.

Marking Sheffield’s film heritage is not only about looking back. Sheffield’s film community is continuously evolving and innovating, and the line-up will also look to the present and future of film in the city.

Showcasing the city’s best and brightest, Sheffield Film Festival will see special screenings presented in partnership with the award-winning QTIBPOC Cinema Club, a new collaboration with Film Girls Galore, and an internationally acclaimed Virtual Reality (VR) experience and panel on the future of VR in healthcare and science in Sheffield.

Join us to shine the light on Sheffield’s contribution to film! Tickets on sale from Friday 5 July: /sheffieldfilmfestival