The first in a series of large-scale outdoor cinema spectaculars for Bradford, UK City of Culture 2025, takes place this month as a Drive-In Cinema comes to Cannon Mills in Great Horton, overlooking the cityscape of historic textile mills in the northern England county of West Yorkshire.
From April 17 to 19, there will be three days of screenings for audiences to watch from their own car in a classic movie-going experience. Specially programmed for the Drive-In is a strand of classic and contemporary Hindi films, opening with Kabir Khan’s 2015 smash hit ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ and classic Bollywood comedy ‘Amar, Akbar, Anthony’. There will also be a chance to see family-friendly road-trip movie ‘Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara’, ahead of the release of upcoming sequel, and romantic musical comedy ‘Jab We Met’. All Hindi films will be subtitled in English.
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Aman Dhillon, film curator for the Bollywood segment of the Drive-In experience, said: “For this special Bradford 2025 Drive-In programme we wanted to bring you a mix of romantic, comedy, family friendly and action films. These four popular Bollywood films are perfect for a drive-in experience and provide a real variety in genre so there is something for everyone!”
The event is part of ‘Bradford: A City of Film’, which includes a series of outdoor, site-specific and immersive screenings of films at sites including Ilkley Lido over the course of 2025. The series builds on Bradford’s proud heritage as a leading centre of filmmaking, which saw the city become the first UNESCO City of Film in 2009.
Shanaz Gulzar, Creative Director, Bradford 2025, comments: “Our film programme for Bradford 2025 celebrates Bradford’s history as a centre for cinema and filmmaking and brings the magic of the silver screen closer to communities across the district. We’re putting film screenings on people’s doorsteps in their local area and creating really memorable and fun shared experiences in unusual places over the course of the year.
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“In addition, we are proud to be working in partnership with BFI and National Science and Media Museum on a broad talent development programme for the film industry, working to secure a bright future for filmmaking and film production industries within Bradford district.”
The Drive-In experience will include food and drink stalls on site selling a selection of snacks and popcorn, and a DJ ahead of each film. Each car will receive a special speaker on arrival, enabling audience members to listen to the films’ soundtrack inside every vehicle.
*info: Drive-In Cinema, Bradford
