2026 Programme
Quick links to all of our upcoming screening and filmmaking events
Coming up
March
Blackpool Film Festival: Iris Prize 2025 Best Bits +When Love Broke the Law
Join us at the Arc Cinema Blackpool for an evening of fabulous LGBTQ+ film with Blackpool Film Festival and the Iris Prize.
Experience the Best Bits from the 2025 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival alongside When Love Broke the Law: two short films that celebrate desire, protest, and the power of those who refused to live by anyone else’s rules.
Berwyn Rowlands (Iris Prize Festival Director) will introduce the screening and take part in a Q&A taking about Iris Prize and it’s 20th anniversary, the Iris Prize Documentary Film Fund (from which Jackie originated), Iris Prize Productions (Never Never Never, made by the winner of the Iris Prize).
11 Mar
The Hollow Light (2026), Blackpool BFI Film Academy Short Film Screening
Claire is confined to a crumbling shell of a home with a stranger. In a house marked with faded slogans – remnants of hope long since soured – the pair rely on each other for support, safety and survival. Will their efforts be in vain?
Come along for a screening of The Hollow Light, a short film crafted over 5 months by this year’s Blackpool BFI Film Academy participants. From camera operation to sound recording, art department to editing, they’ve done it all with the help of our Film Academy staff.
Accompanying the film will be a short ‘behind the scenes’ documentary that looks at moments from the filmmaking journey from BFI Film Academy cohorts in Blackpool, Barrow-in-Furness, Liverpool, Manchester and Rochdale. The screening will also be followed by a Q&A session with the filmmakers, where they will be discussing their creative process and the journey from script to screen!
26 Mar
May
Moulin Rouge (2001), 25th Anniversary Sing-a-Long screening
Experience the power of stories through song and cinema as we celebrate the 25th Anniversay of this iconic film with a Sing-A-Long screening.
Join Blackpool Film Festival and Electric Pink Voices, Blackpool’s LGBTQ+ choir, for a unique celebration of resilience, connection, and acceptance. Together we are bringing the spirit of the Moulin Rouge (2001) to life.
For the LGBTQ+ community, storytelling has always been an act of survival. By joining voices in the communal space of film, we are together ensuring that queer stories are seen, heard, and celebrated at the heart of Blackpool’s cultural life.
15 May
June
Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote
Unleash your inner sleuth at this interactive screening of the classic Murder, She Wrote episode, Paint Me a Murder’.
Cult hit event Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote comes to Blackpool with an interactive screening of the classic Murder, She Wrote episode, ‘Paint Me a Murder’.
Jessica Fletcher is invited to the remote island hideaway of an artist friend (played by Cesar Romero), but soon there’s a murder that only she can solve – and now it’s your turn!
Hosted by super-fan Tim Benzie, Solve-Along-A-Murder-She-Wrote is a unique and hilarious night featuring games, prizes and audience participation.
4 June
Past events
December
Camp at the Cinema: Showgirls (1995)
Showgirls directed by Paul Verhoeven (Robocop, Starship Troopers), returns to cinemas for its 30th anniversary in dazzling 4K. Ridiculed on its release in 1995, Showgirls was slated for its over the top performances, wild plot, nudity and ridiculous script. However, this box office flop has since been reclaimed as a LGBTIA+ community to enjoy its rightful status as a campy cult classic and exploration of American excess.
Part of Camp at the Cinema, a series of funny, engaging and insightful cinema talk and screening events with a difference.
11 Dec
September
Alien on Stage - Screening and director Q&A
Hear the hilarious and heartwarming true story of a group of Dorset bus drivers who spent a year adapting the sci-fi horror classic Alien, for the village hall stage.
Stay for a fascinating Q&A with the film’s directors, hosted by Sandro Monetti.
18 Sept
October
BFF x Fylde Folklore Society presents The Wicker Man (1973)
When a young girl mysteriously disappears, Police Sergeant Neil Howie travels to a remote Scottish island to investigate. But this idyllic community is not what it seems, as the deeply religious detective soon uncovers a secret society of pagan rituals and unsettling beliefs.
This screening includes an introduction from Zowie Swan of Fylde Folklore Society
23 Oct
November
Develop & Discuss: Filmmaker Workshop Session 1 - Work in Progress
Following feedback from our previous filmmaker mixers, we’re excited to introduce our new Develop & Discuss workshop sessions!
These collaborative workshop sessions are designed for local filmmakers to come and share their existing work (or work in progress) with fellow creatives in an open and welcoming space. You will have the opportunity to talk about your work, respond to questions and receive feedback from the group.
11 nov
Chinatown Cha-Cha
The 92-year-old previous nightclub dancer Coby Yee decides to get back on stage again after joining the senior dance troupe Grant Avenue Follies. Together they go on a tour for the last time, bridging once isolated Chinese communities in the US, Cuba and China.
20 Nov
Camp at the Cinema: All That Heaven Allows (1955) Storyhouse, Chester
A resonant critique of 1950’s suburban attitudes to class and conformity, directed by the master of melodrama Douglas Sirk.
Jane Wyman stars as Cary, a well-off widow who falls in love with a younger gardener (Rock Hudson), much to the disgust of her adult children and snobbish country club ‘friends’. Will she follow her heart and risk becoming the focus of small-town gossip? Or will she sacrifice her relationship to follow society’s expectations?
Part of Camp at the Cinema, a series of funny, engaging and insightful cinema talk and screening events with a difference.
29 Nov