For three weeks this autumn young people all over Buckinghamshire can enjoy a free, fun and educational trip to the cinema at the Into Film Festival 2016 – the world’s biggest youth film festival - which returns from 9th to 25th November with a diverse programme of free screenings and events for five to 19 year-olds.
The Festival, which uses the power of film to captivate young minds and bring learning to life, will host more than 30 screenings and events across Buckinghamshire, including a tribute to Roald Dahl’s centenary year and screenings linked to Diversity, Wellbeing and Anti-Bullying.
The annual celebration of film and education, made possible by funding from Cinema First and support from the BFI through Lottery funding, a wide collaboration with UK cinema industry partners, and delivery partners National Schools Partnership, is hosted by Into Film throughout the UK as part of an on-going initiative to place film at the heart of young people’s learning and personal development.
Supporters include actors Michael Sheen, Eddie Redmayne, Carey Mulligan, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Ralph Fiennes, Sir Ian McKellen and Helena Bonham Carter.
“Films have educated me as much as school has. Through film young people can broaden their horizons, be inspired to recognise their potential and tell their own stories so the rest of the world may one day hear them. Film gave me this magical world that I could go to - I think that's something that people can get from the Into Film Festival,” said Michael Sheen.
Open to schools, colleges, home educators and youth leaders the Festival features a variety of film screenings and related events.
This year’s thought-provoking programme will offer a range of stories curated around six themes.
Selected with educators in mind, the film titles - encompassing blockbusters, adaptations of novels and plays, British and classic films, documentaries, foreign language and world cinema - will address the importance of diversity and encourage young people to empathise with others.
Films exploring changes in circumstance, environment, bullying and transition will offer the chance to debate current topics including immigration, loss and discrimination as well as individuals, movements and achievements that have changed the course of history or challenged our way of life.
In 2015 338,000 young people across England engaged with the Festival. Highlights from the Into Film Festival 2016 programme in Buckinghamshire include:
To mark the Roald Dahl centenary, there will be screenings of the classic Dahl title Matilda and the new Steven Spielberg adaptation of The BFG.
IMAX screening of A Beautiful Planet at the Odeon Milton Keynes Stadium.
Screenings in Milton Keynes of a diverse selection of films for all ages including: The Jungle Book (2016), Finding Dory, The Secret Life of Pets, Pete’s Dragon, Swallows and Amazons, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Joy, Sing Street, Star Wars: The Force Awakens and Star Trek: Beyond.
“I’m thrilled to support the Into Film Festival. It’s an incredible opportunity for young people to experience the cinema and be immersed in a film or a discussion," said actor, director and Into Film Ambassador Sir Kenneth Branagh.
"The fact that they could watch something that they would not necessarily consider seeing on their own - all for free - is a truly magnificent offer. I hope that young people and teachers take advantage of the Into Film Festival and come away with a head full of new insights, ideas and an invigorated passion for film.”
All events and screenings are free. For information click here
