Showroom Cinema’s Sheffield Film Festival will launch in August 2024 and feature collaborations with local filmmakers, artists, and experts to showcase Sheffield’s unique and substantial contribution to UK film culture. The independent cinema is hosting a series of events leading up to the festival, including previews, panel discussions and experiences. 

Marking the 40th anniversary of the Miners’ Strike, the 10th anniversary of the film’s release, and the beginning of Pride Month, Showroom is delighted to return Pride to the big screen ahead of Sheffield Film Festival. This screening is followed by a Q&A with Mike Jackson, co-founder of Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners, who is portrayed by Joe Gilgun in Pride.

Forty years since it terrified the nation, Showroom Cinema presents a special screening of Mick Jackson’s seminal film, Threads. The event will feature a panel discussion from experts on the movie and its themes of nuclear war. One of Sheffield’s most definitive films, Threads screens in the lead-up to Sheffield Film Festival.

Based on Isabella Tree’s best-selling book by the same title, Wilding tells the story of a young couple that bets on nature for the future of their failing, four-hundred-year-old estate. This special preview screening, hosted in partnership with Sheffield and Rotherham Wildlife Trust, includes a pre-recorded Q&A with Isabella Tree, in conversation with Craig Bennett, CEO of The Wildlife Trusts.

A celebration of beloved Sheffield-based artist Phlegm is brought to life through a collaboration with Sheffield Hallam University and Millennium Gallery. Don a virtual reality headset and enjoy a 360 film of Phlegm’s 2019 exhibition Mausoleum of the Giants. You’ll be able to virtually visit the show that drew crowds from around the world to see Phlegm’s iconic creatures produced on a giant scale in an old factory building.

Further Sheffield Film Festival special events in July include a world premiere of Pablo Navarrete’s Mother, Country (El país de mi madre), followed by a Q&A with the director and his mother, who features in the film. Mother, Country is a deeply personal account of the director’s travels to Chile with his parents to confront their painful past. Also coming up, Showroom hosts a special anniversary screening of Che Guevara story The Motorcycle Diaries, in collaboration with local curator Joe Cutts; and Northern Exposure, Film Hub North’s short film night showcasing local filmmaking talent.

With August’s official Sheffield Film Festival programme to be announced imminently, stay up to date at: /sheffieldfilmfestival