Hyde Park Film School/ Spike Lee… in a Day at Hyde Park Picture House

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

Book now

Hyde Park Film School/ Spike Lee in a Day

5 August 2023

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Hyde Park Picture House
Book now

How about film school without a student loan? That’s the promise of Hyde Park Picture House’s new programming strand. Launching as part of the re-opening programme, Hyde Park Film School’s first class offers curious film lovers the chance to discover the work of iconic American film director, Spike Lee.

With screenings of Mo’ Better Blues (1990), He Got Game (1998) and Do the Right Thing (1989), Spike Lee… In a Day features films and talks designed to give audiences an insight into one of the most acclaimed filmmakers of the last 40 years.

The day-long event is presented by film historian Gurj Kang, who will guide attendees through Lee’s stylistic and thematic preoccupations. With work across features, shorts, commercials and documentaries, there’s a lot to talk about. From the get-go the New Yorker has built a reputation on in-your-face style, experiments with colour, signature camera moves and allusions to classic cinema.

Cinema in Manchester

That unapologetic visual touch is matched by the subject matter of his work. From jazz to David Byrne, Malcolm X to basketball, and gentrification to interracial relationships, his work is known for its fearless, yet nuanced, approach to race, politics and community, most commonly chronicling the lives of Black Americans.

The day offers an opportunity to dig into the complexities and contradictions of Lee’s life and work with like-minded classmates. Plus, there’s also the promise of complimentary hot drinks to keep you going between the talks and films.

Where to go near Hyde Park Film School/ Spike Lee… in a Day at Hyde Park Picture House

Leeds
Music venue
Brudenell Social Club

Perhaps Leeds’ most beloved music venue, the Brudenell is a lively and fun-loving place that often hosts two shows simultaneously.

Left Bank Leeds
Leeds
Event venue
Left Bank Leeds

Left Bank Leeds is an arts and events venue based in the breathtaking former St Margaret of Antioch Church on Cardigan Road, a popular spot to congregate for gigs, festivals, workshops.

Leeds
Restaurant
Greasy Pig

Greasy Pig is an upbeat, colourful café with a range of wild and wonderful menu offerings like cheese-topped savoury pancakes or tasty veggie feasts.

Leeds
Event venue
Hyde Park Book Club

Hyde Park Book Club has blossomed into a multi use music and arts venue that acts as a home from home for many of the area’s local creatives.

Leeds
Restaurant
LS6

LS6 is an independent café with flamboyant decor and a long-list of celebrity patrons. LS6 boasts a reputation for being the best breakfast around the Leeds area.

Oranaise Cafe Leeds
Leeds
Restaurant
Oranaise

Oranaise is a North African cafe with a smart range of fresh food, savoury pastries, and drinks.

Woodhouse Moor
Leeds
Park
Woodhouse Moor

Woodhouse Moor is a popular park in Leeds near the universities district of the city and the Hyde Park area of Headingley.

Headingley Lodge
Leeds
Headingley Lodge

Headingley Lodge is a neat, no-frills hotel in which every room boasts a view of Headingley cricket stadium.

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds. Exhibitions are open for all to view. Encounter sculpture on your daily walk, or way to work or school.
Leeds
Event venue
Threshold Leeds

Threshold is an artist-led project space for sculpture, located in the front garden of a traditional back-to-back house in Burley, Leeds.

Leeds
Bar or Pub
Northern Monk Refectory LDS

Northern Monk brewery opens its doors to guests at The Old Flax Store, where a mighty range of their beers are available to try.

Leeds
Event venue
HEART

Heart is an arts, community and enterprise centre run by the people of Headingley in Leeds, but serving a much wider community.

What's on: Cinema

A girl lies down in a field of daisies.
Until
CinemaManchester
The Worlds of Mamoru Hosoda at HOME

This summer, HOME presents a short season of films from celebrated Japanese animator Mamoru Hosoda, screening on the big screen in stunning 4K for the first time.

From £4.70

Culture Guides

Author portrait
Literature Events in the North

Our latest round-up features plenty of one-off live literature events to wrap your ears about, so get those diaries ticking over...

Theatre in Manchester and the North
Theatre in the North

This season’s theatre is gloriously eclectic: from radical cabaret and reinvented classics to new musicals and boundary-pushing performance.

Cinema in the North

This month we recommend a season of Film noir, cult Australian movies and a huge celebration of DIY community cinema.

Sprints
Music in the North

10 fresh shows across Manchester, Leeds and Liverpool, threading together noise, ritual, euphoria and release in all their messy, beautiful forms.