Join us as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Ridley Scott’s Gladiator with a wine and pasta night fit for an emperor! This special Vintage Screening will be serving up six Italian wines to taste alongside the film, as well as a meal during the interval courtesy of Toff’s Pasta. It promises to be an epic evening.
We’re returning to Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bristol’s very own necropolis, for the start of our Halloween Season 2025. We’re hosting a triple bill celebrating acclaimed filmmaker Tim Burton, starting with a 20th anniversary screening of Corpse Bride. Burton’s directorial stop-motion debut is delightfully eerie, packed with dry wit and dark whimsy, and surprisingly poignant. The titular bride’s story of love transcending even death will warm even the coldest of hearts as the nights begin to draw in this autumn…
We’re continuing our evening at Arnos Vale celebrating the work of Tim Burton with a screening of the riotous Oscar-winning comedy-horror Beetlejuice. Packed with outrageous characters, unforgettable visuals, and Burton’s signature style, it's the perfect blend of spooky fun and mischievous mayhem - and with a third film in the pipeline, this Halloween is the perfect time to discover the original’s charms, or summon the titular ghoul-for-hire for another viewing!
We’re concluding our evening celebrating Tim Burton’s filmography at Arnos Vale this October with a screening of the haunting folk horror Sleepy Hollow, Burton’s chilling reimagining of Washington Irving’s short story. With echoes of classic Hammer Horror, as the titular town’s inhabitants are terrorised by a headless horseman, this stylishly sinister tale will chill you to the core, and have you looking over your shoulder once the credits roll and you step back out into the October gloom…
Our programme at Arnos Vale this October continues with a firm festival favourite, the wonderfully witchy Hocus Pocus. The ghoulish Sanderson sisters have been bewitching fans of all ages for more than 30 years (we know, sorry!) - so to celebrate the start of our 2025 Halloween season, why not reacquaint yourselves with these Salem legends? Hold onto your broomsticks and embrace the wickedly wacky witchery (enough witch references - Ed.) in the comedy-horror that’ll take you back to the 1990s - and the 1690s too…!
This October, we invite you to step back into the twisted, magical world of Oz with a 40th anniversary screening of Return to Oz. This spiritual sequel to the original film delves deeper into L. Frank Baum’s stories to present a darker, wilder journey beyond the yellow brick road. Join us this cult classic where Tik-Tok ticks (not the app!), Wheelers creep, and Dorothy faces her strangest adventure yet. We know that some of our Gen X audience still have their nightmares haunted by the spookier moments in this warped fantasy, so whether you’re discovering this strange chapter for the first time or facing up to your childhood cinema-based trauma, we’re ready to welcome you back to Oz…!
Our 2025 programme at Arnos Vale Cemetery concludes with a late evening showing of the infamous cult classic, The Blair Witch Project. With its ‘found footage’ styling and a marketing campaign so effective that it blurred the lines between reality and fiction, the film has created a horror legacy - but the original film is still a masterclass of tension, relying on psychological slow burn scares - and demonstrating how it’s our imagination that can produce the most unimaginable horrors of all…
We’re returning to St Mary Redcliffe during our 2025 Halloween season for a special centenary screening of The Phantom Of The Opera, featuring a career-defining performance from Lon Chaney as the Phantom and one of cinema’s earliest and most infamous jump scares… This remarkable film will be set to an original score performed live by Bristol-based quartet Minima - their score for this seminal film is an event not to be missed!
We’re delighted to present our first ever screening of the musical sensation, The Sound Of Music, this December, to coincide with its 60th anniversary! Join us to celebrate the Oscar-winning classic, following Maria, the Von Trapp family and their remarkable story through a songbook of timeless classics. The film will be introduced by Festival Director Owen Franklin, and there will also be a very special live medley performed by our friends at BLOC Productions, Bristol’s premiere musical theatre club. Whether you’re discovering it for the first time or rewatching it for the fiftieth time, experiencing this heartwarming favourite on the big screen is a magical way to start the festive season.
Our festive Vintage Screenings begin with a modern twist on the Christmas romcom - it’s Last Christmas! Emilia Clarke and Henry Golding star in this charming and poignant story of a wannabe singer stuck in a job as a “year-round elf” who forms an unorthodox relationship with a charming stranger. Since the film is inspired by the music of the late, great George Michael, we’ll be taking the same cue and pairing it with wines loosely inspired by some of his greatest hits (yes, really…!). It’s the perfect winter warmup.
