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Historic lido transformed into a magical wonderland as Bradford 2025 takes cinema to the great outdoors

Published September 2, 2025

The summer film programme for Bradford 2025 will take to the great outdoors for immersive screenings in spectacular locations as part of the district’s 2025 UK City of Culture celebrations over the August bank holiday weekend.

The events are part of the year-round Bradford: A City of Film series in partnership with the National Science and Media Museum and supported by the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding.

On Friday 22 and Saturday 23 August, the grade 2 listed outdoor pool Ilkley Lido will form the backdrop to a glittering wonderland created by the award-winning event producers Wild Rumpus with live performances, costumed characters and illusory installations. Crafting a world for the audience to explore before the films begin, The Pool of Hopes and Dreams introduces Technicolor characters, glittering unicorns, fortune tellers with crystal balls, glowing fish and pulsing lit walkways.

The outdoor screenings at Ilkley Lido are curated with Film4, who present two iconic films from their catalogue.

Everybody’s Talking About Jamie

  • Friday 22 August, 7pm
  • Ilkley Lido

Directed by Jonathan Butterell from a script by Tom MacRae, with songs from Dan Gillespie Sells of The Feeling, the movie adaptation of the smash hit stage musical is a joy from start to finish.

Jamie New (Max Harwood) is a 16-year-old boy living on a Sheffield council estate – and struggling to find his place in the world. But he’s got big dreams. For Jamie’s a budding teenage drag queen – and with the help of his mother, Margaret (Sarah Lancashire), and mentor Hugo (Richard E Grant), he just might take his place on the throne.

Sexy Beast

  • Saturday 23 August, 7pm
  • Ilkley Lido

The debut film from Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Glazer (Under the Skin, The Zone of Interest) is a black comedy and one of the finest British films of the 21st century.

Gal Dove (Ray Winstone), a retired safecracker, is living the good life on the Costa del Sol when one day, his past drops in to say hello. His gangster nemesis Don Logan (Ben Kingsley) has brought Gal an offer from London underworld kingpin Teddy Bass (Ian McShane) – and it’s an offer that Gal will find it very hard to refuse…

Later in the year Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel will also receive the Wild Rumpus treatment, with an outdoor screening on Saturday 13 September, beneath the spectacular backdrop of Thornton Viaduct. Climb aboard for a weird and wonderful evening, where The Grand Budapest Hotel is framed by illusory installations, comedic photo opportunities, and a ridiculous set of hotel staff.

In the zany, pastel-tinted world of Wes Anderson’s The Grand Budapest Hotel, concierge extraordinaire Monsieur Gustave H. is as famous for his impeccable manners as he is for his taste in wealthy, elderly blondes. When Gustave is accused of murder and finds himself embroiled in a madcap caper involving a priceless Renaissance painting and a family feud, only his trusty lobby boy, Zero, stands between him and disaster.

The all-star cast includes Ralph Fiennes as Gustave, Saoirse Ronan as Agatha, and Tony Revolori as Zero, with show-stealing turns from Adrien Brody, Willem Dafoe, Tilda Swinton, Jeff Goldblum, and a dozen more Anderson regulars.

“Our Open-Air Cinema screenings will be truly memorable for audiences who join us this summer to explore Wild Rumpus’s surreal dreamscapes and weird and wonderful worlds. At these immersive events, you can take in the beautiful surroundings of Ilkley Lido with two films curated with Film4, or explore the spectacular symmetry of Thornton Viaduct for Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel.

Thanks to our partners National Science and Media Museum and the support of BFI awarding National Lottery funding, Bradford 2025 is celebrating film throughout the year, with a huge array of screenings, outdoor cinema events, and talent and skills development, taking film into the heart of neighbourhoods and communities, and celebrating Bradford’s distinctive heritage as a UNESCO City of Film.”
Shanaz Gulzar Creative Director of Bradford 2025
“We’re delighted to be bringing a series of immersive outdoor film screenings to iconic locations across Bradford district as part of Bradford 2025. Audiences will be invited into an experience which extends beyond a film screening alone. There’ll be live performances, costumed characters, illusory installations and a whole world to explore before each film begins. From the very beginning we’ve approached this project not just as a series of screenings, but as full experiences where the environment, atmosphere, and storytelling all come together to transport audiences to a different world.”
Liz Pickering Deputy CEO at Wild Rumpus
“These spectacular outdoor screenings are a fantastic example of why we supported Bradford: A City of Film, to ensure the whole of Bradford has the opportunity to engage with independent film as part of the UK City of Culture. The ambition of the year-round film programme, which has a number of strands – The Bigger Picture at the National Science and Media Museum, A Screen Near You with the Incredible Moving Cinema and these Big Screen outdoor screenings - will ensure there is a lasting legacy for the people of Bradford.”
Sarah-Jane Meredith BFI’s Senior Manager for National Lottery Audiences Projects

Tickets for Open-Air Cinema events at Ilkley Lido and Thornton Viaduct are on sale now. Tickets can be booked online at www.bradford2025.co.uk or in person from the Ticket & Info Hub at Centenary Square, Bradford.