Top Picks
Guides
What’s on
Where to go
See all

We Are One: A Global Film Festival

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor

Visit now

We Are One: A Global Film Festival

29 May-7 June 2020

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

Free
Book now

Faced with global lockdowns and restricted travel, film festivals the world over have been forced back to the drawing board. While we’re forced to stay apart physically, We Are One: A Global Film Festival aims to bring together film fans the world over, with a 10-day programme of features, shorts and special event screenings — all showing for free, on YouTube in aid of COVID-19 relief efforts. The endeavour is a collaboration between 21 major international film festivals, including industry heavy-hitters such as Cannes, BFI London Film Festival, New York, Toronto, Sundance, Venice, Locarno and Rotterdam.

Each participating fest brought its own sensibility to the curation of the mammoth programme. BFI London Film Festival have contributed British shorts as well as silent films The Epic of Everest and Shiraz. Berlin International Film Festival presents a conversation between directors Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) and Kor-eda Hirokazu (Shoplifters). New York Film Festival has shorts by acclaimed female filmmakers such as Eliza Hittman, Alice Rohrwacher and Mati Diop. Meanwhile, directors Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Soderbergh discuss the restoration of Apocalypse Now Final Cut courtesy of Tribeca Film Festival.

Wrath of Silence
Wrath of Silence

From further afield, Wrath of Silence is a brutal thriller set in rural China, courtesy of International Film Festival & Awards – Macau. Sydney Film Festival present Ivan Sen’s outback western, following a Indiginous cowboy detective. Cannes — arguably the highest profile film fest to cancel so far — has three selections of short films as well as rendez-vous with global superstars Zhang Ziyi (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Grandmaster) and Alain Delon (The Leopard, Purple Noon.) Families are also catered for: our tip is DreamWorks Animation Studios’ Bilby, screening thanks to Annecy International Animation Film Festival.

All in all, viewers can expect 100 films, including 13 world premieres and 31 online premieres. There is a schedule available on the website, and while some films will only be available for a limited time, others will remain available to view for the duration of the festival. Audiences will be able to donate to COVID-19 relief efforts through a donate button or link on every film page.

Where to go near We Are One: A Global Film Festival

Chorlton
Restaurant
Horse and Jockey Chorlton

Chorlton’s magnificent Horse and Jockey has had an almighty do-over, transforming it into one of South Manchester’s top must-visit drinking and dining destinations.

The Curling Club - Vinegar Yard
Castlefield
The Curling Club

New Jackson in Manchester is having a full scale seasonal takeover. Think curling lanes, lively bars and a packed line up of DJs and performances.

Chadderton Town Hall
Manchester
Event venue
Chadderton Town Hall

Chadderton Town Hall is a magnificent example of Edwardian architecture . Built in 1912/13 in the style of ‘English Renaissance’ and recently restored maintaining its traditional features in regal reds

Cumbria
Restaurant
Heft

A Michelin star restaurant and homely 17th century inn in the Lake District, with food provided by esteemed chef Kevin Tickle.

Tangerine
Chapel Street
Restaurant
Tangerine

Manchester’s latest must-visit multipurpose venue, offering top-level food, drinks and live shows.

Bar Posie
City Centre
Bar or Pub
Posie

A new cocktail bar from the crack team behind 10 Tib Lane and Henry C.

Manchester
Food hall
Kargo MKT

Mighty food hall in Salford Quays, with around twenty street food vendors, serving a huge range of cuisines.

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.

See all places

What's on: Cinema
ActivityManchester
Film Course: French New Wave at HOME

Coinciding with the release of Richard Linklater’s film Nouvelle Vague, this HOME course offers an accessible overview of one of cinema’s most influential movements.

Culture Guides

A doll with makeup peeks out of a hanging wall of butter yellow fabric. Red and black threads descend and cascade around the doll.
Exhibitions in the North

This season, exhibitions across the North West feel attuned to the world beneath the world – the forces and stories shaping how we see, feel and imagine.

Music in the North

Manchester’s starting the new year with a run of gigs from some of the country’s best underground exports.

A performer in a bright red costume sits on a snowy stage set, holding a large snowball between their legs with a surprised expression. The colourful winter backdrop features snowflakes, hills, a snowman, and a traffic light with glowing lights.
Family things to do in the North

Whether you’re after storybook theatre, museum wanderings or illusion-bending play spaces, there’s plenty to keep curiosity ticking through winter and beyond.

Textured portrait image of Jarman
Theatre in the North

Theatre across the North West splits between festive escape and sharp, urgent work exploring politics, power and resistance.

A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night
Cinema in the North

There's no shortage of great films out at the moment, whether you're looking for the latest blockbuster, that hot arthouse flick fresh from Cannes or a cosy classic.

Food and Drink in the North

Hear ye, hear ye. Take some eating-out tips from our wintertime guide to food and drink in Manchester and the North.

See all guides