Leeds Young Film Festival 2025

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

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Leeds Young Film Festival 2025

Leeds Industrial Museum, Leeds Leeds City Museum, Leeds Carriageworks Theatre, Leeds and other venues...
6-21 April 2025

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

Are you there, god? it's me margaret
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired
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The sprawling Leeds Young Film Festival is back this April and organisers have scheduled a huge programme of family friendly film screenings and events, featuring everything from animated classics, to young adult drama, to VR experiences. The festival is spread out across the city with young film fans invited to the likes of Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds Industrial Museum, the Carriageworks Theatre and Leeds City Museum.

Parents can introduce children to old school hits such as Gene Wilder in the 1971 adaptation of Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (Sat 12 April), or a 70th anniversary screening of Walt Disney’s The Lady and the Tramp (Sun 14 April). Those classics join more modern favourites, including Aardman Animations’ irresistibly funny Shawn the Sheep Movie (6 & 20 April), 2024’s stunning The Wild Robot (Tue 15 April), and the swashbuckling Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (Wed 16 April).

The Wild Robot
Image supplied by Leeds Inspired

Away from the familiar titles, there are some international hits on the menu at Leeds Young Film Festival 2025. Argentinian animation Giants of La Mancha (Sat 19 April) is a playful twist on Don Quixote, and comes accompanied by an egg hunt at Hyde Park Picture House. While Ghost Cat Ansu (Fri  18 April) is an anime centred on a grieving young girl and a boisterous, moped-riding cat, and Sirocco and the Kingdom of Winds (Thu 17 April) is a psychedelic family adventure from the writer of A Cat in Paris.

For slightly older cinemagoers, Martin Scorsese’s Hugo (Wed 16 April) is a gorgeous ode to the magic of moviemaking, and Kelly Fremon Craig’s Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret (Sat 12 April) is a smartly-written coming-of-age tale — and one of picks of the festival. There’s much more on the festival agenda too, and we encourage you to check out the full listings for more films and events, including a fascinating collection of shorts, and the Drop in the Ocean virtual reality sessions (8 – 13 April), which allow you to experience the magic of the oceans from the perspective of a tiny plankton.

Where to go near Leeds Young Film Festival 2025

Assembly House, art galleries in Leeds
Leeds
Gallery
Assembly House in Leeds

An artist-led organisation founded in 2013 by university graduates, Assembly House runs a monthly programme of exhibitions and events across both of its two sites.

Event venue
Leeds Aerial Arts

Step out of their comfort zone and realise what you’re truly capable with Leeds Aerial Arts and their diverse range of classes.

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There's ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and entertainment facilities, making for a great evening out!

Watch the latest film releases and enjoy the industry-leading Sony 4K Digital screens, boasting spectacular picture quality, along with enhanced audio quality courtesy of Dolby 'Profound Sound'. Stepped SuperVue seating means you will never miss a second of the action while VIP seating guarantees you an extra touch of luxury whenever you want to upgrade.

Three of the nine screens showcase the newest 3D releases while Vue Classical brings the latest stage sensations to the big screen, and parents can save as they go with Family Tickets and Kids AM screenings offering great value for money.
Leeds
Cinema
Vue Cinema – Leeds Kirkstall Road

Located on Cardigan Fields Leisure Park, Vue Leeds Kirkstall is a nine screen cinema with almost 2000 seats. There’s ample parking and the cinema is surrounded by various restaurants and

Leeds
Event venue
Freedom Mills

Freedom Mills is a multi-platform events space which runs a regular night programme alongside a range of events, including rave nights.

Test event
Leeds
Gallery
Aire Place Studios

Aire Place Studios is a creative studio in Leeds which prides itself on an upholding of equality, solidarity and safe-space values.

Event venue
Open Source Arts

Open Source Arts is a place for people to learn new skills, develop existing ones and become inspired in Leeds.

Leeds
Music venue
Project House

What do you get when you bring together some of the best-loved names in the worlds of music, culture, food and drink in 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. 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
Restaurant
Archive

Archive serving up speciality coffee and bespoke events to the people of Kirkstall, including craft fairs, vintage pop ups and exhibitions.

Archive Leeds
Leeds
Café or Coffee Shop
Archive Leeds

Archive is a coffee house, cafeteria, bar and event space based in the site of a former TV archive in Leeds.

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.

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