Manchester Film Festival at Odeon Great Northern

Manchester Film Festival at Odeon Great Northern, City Centre, 12–20 March 2022, from £5 - Book now

With a mind-boggling 130 films scheduled over nine days, Manchester Film Festival returns to Odeon Great Northern for 2022. Promising international award winners, local features and shorts as well as all kinds of special guests, the festival is billing this as its most expansive and diverse line-up yet.

MANIFF opens on Saturday 12 March with Nathalie Biancheri’s Wolf starring George MacKay, Lily-Rose Depp and Paddy Considine. Fresh from Toronto International Film Festival, this unconventional love story follows a man (MacKay) who believes he is a wolf trapped inside a man’s body and the bond he develops with another patient being treated for “Species Identity Disorder”.

the festival is billing this as its most expansive and diverse line-up yet.

Other highlights include Juho Kuosmanen’s acclaimed Cannes Grand Prix winner Compartment No. 6 (Sun 13 March), in which a young Finnish woman escapes a love affair in Moscow by boarding a train to the arctic port of Murmansk. From Iran, on Tuesday 15 March audiences can catch director Panah Panahi’s Hit the Road, an affecting family road movie that picked up Best Film at the recent BFI London Film Festival.

From a little closer to home, former UFC World Champion and MMA star Michael Bisping will be in attendance for the UK premiere of Bisping: The Michael Bisping Story, a documentary account of the British fighter’s tumultuous career. We also like the sound of Blank, the feature directorial debut from Manchester-born Natalie Kennedy, which promises a Black Mirror-esque tale of a writer who enlists the help of an AI.

Tickets are £5 individually, but if you’re looking for the full film fest experience then head over to MANIFF’s website where you can explore the full programme and pick up ticket bundles, or a full festival pass.