Cinema in the North

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

It’s busy month across the cinemas of the north as Halloween programming leads into two of the region’s biggest film festivals. Audiences are spoilt for choice this spooky season as HOME go all 1970s with their annual FilmFear programme and the newly revamped and expanded CULTPLEX presents their massive STAB season of horror movies. In Leeds, there’s a newly minted cult vampire film A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night.

Beyond the scary stuff, Manchester Animation Festival continues to be one of the most thoughtfully curated festivals around. We’re also big fans of the programme at Leeds International Film Festival, who bring together a brilliant selection of new titles with some unmissable picks from the archive — we highlight some of the best of the fest in our preview.

Those are two of the biggest events of the year, but the North’s DIY promoters and film clubs deserve a bit of attention too. UrbanArtistry continue their stellar presentations of street art docs with a trip to Brazil and Paraphysis Cinema have a season of Queer British Gems.

Our top picks

Faust: A German Folk Legend at RNCM

Faust: A German Folk Legend at Royal Northern College of Music (RNCM), Manchester, 21 November 2025, From £12.00 - Book now

Experience F. W. Murnau’s landmark silent film on the big screen, as the haunting imagery of Faust: A German Folk Legend meets the spontaneity of an improvised live organ score.

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RNCM

Queer British Gems at Kitty’s Laundrette

Queer British Gems at Kitty's Laundrette at Kitty's Laundrette, Liverpool, Until 3 December 2025, From £1.00 - Book now

Paraphysis Cinema dive into the archives of queer British cinema for this excellent season of screenings in a Liverpool laundrette.

beautiful thing
n/a

FilmFear 2025 at HOME

FilmFear at HOME Manchester, Manchester, Until 2 November 2025, From £11.15 - Book now

HOME’s annual season of scary movies goes all 1970s this year. Featuring British folk horror, Italian giallo, sapphic vampires and one big Texan with a chain saw.

Image supplied by Home MCR

Stephen King Season at Vue, The Printworks

Stephen King Season at Vue Manchester Printworks, Manchester, 7 November–18 December 2025, From £7.99 - Book now

Never out of style — catch seven of the best Stephen King adaptations at Vue this winter.

Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins in The Shawshank Redemption.
via Leeds Inspired

UrbanArtistry Presents… Pixadores at CULTPLEX

UrbanArtistry Presents... Pixadores at Cultplex, Manchester, 5 November 2025, From £7.50 - Book now

UrbanArtistry head to Brazil as they present the latest in their ongoing series of documentary film screenings dedicated to exploring global street art culture.

The 4 protagonists running across the rooftops
Rotzfrech Cinema / Pixadores

Manchester Animation Festival 2025

Manchester Animation Festival at HOME Manchester, Manchester and online, 9–13 November 2025, From £8 - Book now

Manchester Animation Festival returns with a sprawling programme designed to appeal to animation professionals, enthusiasts and fans alike.

PRESS-MAF-Audience - Manchester Animation Festival
PRESS-MAF-Audience - Manchester Animation Festival

Films at HEART: The Dead Don’t Hurt

Films at HEART: The Dead Don't Hurt at Headingley Enterprise and Arts Centre, Leeds, 12 November 2025, From £5.50 - Book now

Viggo Mortensen’s western is a refreshingly grounded take on love and revenge on the American frontier.

The Dead Don't Hurt
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Leeds International Film Festival 2025

Leeds Film Festival at Vue Leeds The Light, Leeds (and other venues), Until 16 November 2025, From £10.50 - Book now

We take a look through the programme of Leeds International Film Festival and pick out some highlights.

Image supplied by MAC Birmingham

HOME Manchester

HOME Manchester, 2 Tony Wilson Place, Manchester, Greater Manchester, M15 4FN - Visit now

HOME, Manchester’s famous cross-arts venue, is a crown jewel when it comes to culture. Two theatres, five cinema screens, a large gallery, restaurant, bar, café and bookshop.

HOME Manchester

Cultplex

Cultplex, 50 Red Bank, Manchester, England, M4 4HF - Visit now

If Manchester had a shrine to all things cult cinema, CULTPLEX would be it. Now running the whole building at 50 Red Bank, the team have taken their love of film and run wild with it.

Everyman Manchester St John’s

Everyman Manchester St John’s, ABC Building, 23 Quay Street, Manchester, M3 4AS - Visit now

The city’s plushest cinema experience, nestled in the heart of the ABC Building on Quay Street. It’s the kind of place where movie nights feel like a night out.

Everyman Manchester

FACT

FACT, 88 Wood Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L1 4DQ - Visit now

Liverpool’s go-to destination for artfilm, and all things creatively techy. This centre blends contemporary art exhibitions, independent cinema, and interactive experiences that make you see the world a little differently.

Odeon Great Northern

Odeon Great Northern, 235 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4EN - Visit now

A 16-screen multiplex cinema that offers a premium movie-going experience in the heart of Manchester. Situated just off Deansgate, this cinema combines modern amenities with a rich architectural heritage

Odeon Great Northern
Bill Boaden

Hyde Park Picture House

Hyde Park Picture House, 73 Brudenell Road, Headingly, Leeds, Yorkshire, LS6 1JD - Visit now

One of the oldest cinemas in the UK and somehow still manages to feel completely alive today. The programming often includes independent films, documentaries, family-friendly flicks, and foreign-language cinema. They also run Q&As with filmmakers, panel discussions, and workshops.

Image © Hyde Park Picture House

Plaza Community Cinema

Plaza Community Cinema, 13 Crosby Road, North Waterloo, Liverpool , L22 0LD - Visit now

Serving the community since the Second World War, the cinema is a unique resource, offering both big and arthouse releases to the general public, as well as film-based education programmes for schools and charities. It’s run by volunteers too and operates as a registered charity.

cinema 2
istock.com/mphillips007

More Cinema

Film still
CinemaManchester
Faust: A German Folk Legend at RNCM

F. W. Murnau’s silent-era masterpiece Faust: A German Folk Legend gets the big screen treatment at the RNCM, with a live improvised organ score.

From £12.00

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Explore Cinema by city

  • Photo of the Stockport Plaza auditorium - One of our Top 5 Cinemas in Manchester
    Cinemas in Manchester

    Independent gems, DIY mini-cinemas, Art Deco wonders and massive multiplexes -- Manchester film fans are spoiled for choice.

  • Cinemas in Leeds Everyman Leeds
    Cinemas in Leeds

    From the latest art-house gems to the biggest blockbuster on the biggest screens, there’s a cinema to suit all needs in Leeds.

  • Cinemas in Liverpool

    Whether you want a multiplex or something a little extra, the cinemas in Liverpool have it all.

  • Cinemas in Sheffield Photographer: Scott Hukins ©
    Cinemas in Sheffield

    Cinemas in Sheffield cater for all tastes, with arthouse venues sitting happily alongside big multiplex screens – including one of only two IMAX with laser projection screens in the country.

Hotel guides

  • Photo of the exterior of the Palace Hotel
    Hotels in Manchester

    To make life easy when it comes to booking your stay, here’s our guide to Manchester's best hotels.

  • The Nadler Hotel exterior
    Hotels in Liverpool

    There’s no shortage of hotels in Liverpool, but you don’t have to go far to find something a bit more stylish than a Travelodge. Here’s our guide.

  • Hotels in Leeds.
    Hotels in Leeds

    Leeds has plenty of new types of accommodation, from sleek, modern luxury to affordable art hostels and grand accommodation in green space.

  • Great Victoria Hotel
    Hotels in Bradford

    For a weekend break in a private apartment or an overnight stay in high luxury, we've rounded up the best places to stay in Bradford, Ilkley and Saltaire.

Recently covered restaurants

Asap Coffee Interior/ Counter
Manchester
Café or Coffee Shop
ASAP Coffee

If you’re looking for quality coffee and a decadent brunch in a setting that nails the Northern Quarter brief, you’d struggle to do better than ASAP Coffee.

Cathedral Quarter
Restaurant
Mamucium

High-class restaurant next to Victoria Station in Manchester, and attached to Hotel Indigo. Famed for steaks.

Manchester
Restaurant
Honest Burgers

This burger joint focuses on high-quality burgers and sides, homemade using local produce. After a series of pop-ups they’ve found a permanent home on Bridge Street in the centre of Manchester.

Liverpool
Restaurant
Freida Mo’s

Charming café on Liverpool’s wonderful Lark Lane, serving up a wide range of drinks and food, with plenty of vegan options. And there’s even a little vintage section packed full

Spotlight on

Food and Drink in the North

Take some eating-out tips from our October guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

Take me there