Thursday, 31 July 2025

Leeds International Film Festival newsletter

 Here is the latest newsletter with details of a showing of Kes for Yorkshire Day and more:

The latest news, events and updates from LIFF (Leeds International Film Festival) |  

Celebrate Yorkshire Day with Kes at Cinema on the Square

A large audience watches an outdoor film screening in Millennium Square, with Leeds Town Hall and surrounding buildings visible in the background.
A family of three stands together facing a large outdoor cinema screen showing an animated film, with a relaxed crowd seated around them.
A large outdoor crowd gathered in front of a stage at dusk, watching a film screening at Cinema on the Square, with The Carriageworks building in the background.
A young boy in a field holding a kestrel on a gloved hand, with a serious expression, in a still from Ken Loach’s film Kes.

Kes - Fri 1 August 3pm

Cinema on the Square returns to Millennium Square from Thursday 31 July to Sunday 3 August with 18 films, from family favourites and sing-along musicals to cult classics and a Bollywood hit with a live dance performance. Friday 1 August is also Yorkshire Day and join us to celebrate with a special outdoor screening of Ken Loach’s Kes, arguably the best film ever made in this incredible region.

Ken Loach’s adaptation of Barry Hines’s novel A Kestrel for a Knave is the story of a teenage lad called Billy Casper in a poor South Yorkshire community who finds meaning and agency in his life by training a wild kestrel. Loach worked closely with Hines as screenwriter and cinematographer Chris Menges who used only natural light. Kes is a transcendent tale of ordinary lives, quietly moving and hilarious in turns, and full of iconic scenes.

Japanese time travel comedy arrives at Cinema on the Square

A group of surprised young men and women in a cluttered room, looking toward a strange mechanical object, in a still from the Japanese sci-fi comedy Summer Time Machine Blues.

Summer Time Machine Blues - Sat 2 Aug 3:30pm

A cult favourite in Japan and an audience hit when it screened at LIFF, Katsuyuki Motohiro’s delightful Summer Time Machine Blues from 2005 is based on a novel by Tomihiko Morimi, who also wrote The Tatami Galaxy, and adapted by Makoto Ueda, the writer of the 2020 film Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes. The members of a college sci-fi club are sweltering in the summer heat as the remote for their clubhouse air-con is broken, but their discovery of a time machine brings relief.

Bring your dog to Best in Show at Cinema on the Square

Two women sitting outdoors with a white poodle, dressed in winter clothing, in a still from the comedy film Best in Show.

Best in Show - Sun 3 Aug 11am

Bring your dog to Christopher Guest's (director of Spinal Tap) hilarious mockumentary Best In Show at Cinema on the Square. The hilarious satire of the dog show world features unforgettable performances from comedy legends Jennifer Coolidge, Catherine O’Hara, Parker Posey and Eugene Levy. Before the film, we will host our very own “Best in Show” dog competition, with the chance for audience members to vote on their favourite dogs at the screening with prizes awarded to the winning dogs.

Anyone is welcome to attend, and there will be a dedicated seating area for those who prefer not to be around dogs.

The screening is supported by The RSPCA Leeds, Wakefield & District Branch, which exists to help injured, neglected and abused animals in the Leeds/Wakefield areas and who will be fundraising onsite during the event.

Watch a Bollywood classic at Cinema on the Square with a live dance intro

A lively Bollywood scene from a film, with men in pink turbans and sherwanis dancing joyfully among sparkles and people in festive costumes.

Lage Raho Munna Bhai - Sun 3 August 2:30pm

The award-winning Bollywood comedy-drama Lage Raho Munna Bhai is coming to Cinema on the Square. Starring Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Warsi, the rarely screened Hindi-classic follows a lovable gangster who begins seeing visions of Mahatma Gandhi, leading him to embrace non-violence in his quest to win back the woman he loves.

The screening will also feature a live dance performance before the film from South Asian Arts-uk. 

OFFERS & DISCOUNTS


CINEMA ON THE SQUARE, TICKET OFFERS & DISCOUNTS

Group Bookings (20% off for 3–10 people)

See more for less! Save 20% when you book 3–10 tickets for the same film in one transaction, perfect for friends and families. Further discounts are available for groups of 11+, call our ticketing team on 0113 376 0318 to find out more and book. Excludes screenings already priced at £6 or £3.

DOUBLE FILM SAVER (£18/£15 Concession)

Add any two separate full‑price films to your basket and pay £9/£7.50 concession per ticket (instead of £10.50/£8.50 per ticket). Excludes screenings already priced at £6 or £3. All discounts are applied automatically online at checkout.

BUYING TICKETS ON THE DOOR FOR CINEMA ON THE SQUARE

Leeds Ticket Hub will be open up 30 minutes before the first Cinema on the Square screening of each day, until the start of the last film of the day. The Leeds Ticket Hub Box Office is in the Carriageworks Theatre on Millennium Square, very near the entrance to Cinema on the Square. 

Exterior view of The Electric Press and The Carriageworks Theatre in Leeds, with a wide open square in front, taken during daylight.
Bold, colourful poster for Bundobust promoting 20% off with a Cinema on the Square ticket. Features a stylised tiger illustration and the text “Indian Street Food” and “Craft Beer” with the offer valid from 31/07 to 03/08 at Bundobust Leeds.

20% OFF AT BUNDOBUST LEEDS

Head to Bundobust Leeds for some Too Much Spicy to get 20% off your total bill, all week long with your Cinema on the Square ticket! Award-winning street food, craft beer & cocktails - perfect for a pre-film feed. Just show your Cinema On The Square ticket confirmation when you order!

Valid 28th July to 3rd August. Not to be used alongside any other offer or combo.

Logos for Leeds Ticket Hub, Leeds Arts Events & Venues, Leeds City Council, BFI & The National Lottery and BFI Diversity Standards

Leeds Film is supported by the British Film Institute.

Leeds Film is proud to have achieved the BFI Diversity Standards.

Leeds International Film Festival is part of Leeds Ticket Hub, the city's cultural ticket office: Leeds Ticket Hub, Carriageworks Theatre, The Electric Press, 3 Millennium Square, Leeds, LS2 3AD. 

Posted by at

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)