Bradford International Film Festival to close with The Messenger

Oren Moverman’s The Messenger, starring Woody Harrelson and Ben Foster, is to close the 17th Bradford International Film Festival (BIFF) which runs from March 16-27.

There will be a special horror strand, Bradford After Dark, as part of a collaboration between BIFF and Celluloid Screams which will feature the premiere of Peter Leovic’s Roadman, Darren Lynn’s Mother’s Day, Jim Mickle’s Stake Land and Hammer’s Wake Wood directed by David Keating.

The festival’s American indie sidebar, Uncharted States of America, will run for the fifth year, with screenings of Aaron Katz’s Cold Weather and Matt Porterfield’s Putty Hill.

Other highlights include a screening of Cave Of Forgotten Dreams, followed by a satellite Q&A with director Werner Herzog, a special focus on the work of Sir David Lean, with screenings of The Bridge on the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago, and a screening of John S Robertson’s Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde with live music accompaniment by Richard Hills.

Guests expected to attend include Terry Gilliam and Claire Bloom who will both be the subject of retrospectives and Jim Loach who will talk about his debut feature Oranges And Sunshine.

Tony Earnshaw, artistic director of BIFF said he was “delighted with the global spread of this year’s festival and with the array of guests whose work in cinema continues to enthrall.”