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Welcome

The Friends of the Hyde Park Picture House is a registered charity made up of a group of people who enjoy cinema and feel some way connected to the Hyde Park Picture House. We want as many, and as wide a range of people as possible to be able to experience the same enjoyment through it that we do.

We are now accepting renewals and new members for our 2023 ‘Pay What You Decide’ membership scheme. To find out more follow these links to How To Join, Changes To Memberships and Frequently Asked Questions.

The Picture House have also launched their own membership schemes ahead of the reopening this spring.

Latest Posts

Return To Dust – Wednesday 12th April

Whilst we eagerly await the reopening of the Picture House, we have arranged a joint presentation with Films at Heart of the Golden Bear nominated ‘Return to Dust‘ on Wednesday April 12th.

Films At Heart presents Return To Dust
Doors 7pm, film 7.30pm
HEART Centre, Bennett Road, LS6 3HN

2022’s Return to Dust is a Chinese drama in which Ma and Cao have been forced into an arranged marriage by their families. They do their best to build a home whilst facing many great challenges together. The unlikely couple form a bond to create an unexpected love story. 

This screening forms part of the regular Films at Heart programme, all tickets are £6/£5 and available via the HEART reception and online. Of course very nice refreshments are available too. And we’ll be there for a friendly chat.

“Return to Dust is many things — a vivid portrait of China’s hardscrabble rural north- west, an unexpected victim of state censorship — but it is first and last a love story. ”

Danny Leigh- Financial Times

“It’s a gorgeous, quietly affecting film that finds an unassuming beauty in this simple life in rural China, but which doesn’t shy away from the extreme hardships faced by the very poorest.”

Wendy Ide – Observer
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Suggested films for the reopening Hyde Park Picture House

Chantal Ackerman

Readers are likely to have noted of the welcome surprise when in the Sight & Sound decennial poll for 2022 a little known Belgium film garnered the highest number of votes among contributing critics. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is a 1975 feature written and directed by the then young film-maker Chantal Ackerman. It is long, over three hours, has an essentially minimalist style and fits into what is often called counter-cinema. It pipped three previous poll-winners, all closer to the mainstream film and all by directed by men: Ladri di biciclette: Citizen Kane: and Vertigo.

The film follows three days in the life of the titular character. She is a single mother with a teenage son and offers a challenging role for the fine French actress Delphine Seyrig. Apart from the mother and son, the only other characters are a neighbour and three gentlemen callers. It is for most of its running time a low-key drama finally disrupted by a fairly shocking sequence.

Fortunate Friends will have seen the feature during the 2013 Leeds International Film Festival with a good quality 35mm print screening at the Picture House. Given its success in the S&S poll and its important place in European cinema this would be a fine film to screen when the Picture House reopens. Unfortunately there does not seem to be a 35mm print in the country. In 2013 the Festival obtained its print from the Brussels Archive. Perhaps, a number of independent cinemas could band together to obtain a print for British audiences.

Jean-Luc Godard

Counter-cinema itself lost one of its luminaries in 2022, Jean-Luc Godard. Over the years many of his films have been seen on the Picture House screen: often challenging: frequently with fine visuals and sound: sometimes more insouciance than dramatic: always searching out new ground for cinema. His first film, A Bout de Soufflé (1960) made young audiences in particular sit up and take notice. His most recent, The Image Book (2018), broke new ground with colour and digital formats. To date there does not seem to have been a retrospective of Godard’s work; nothing at the Leeds Film Festival was a missed opportunity. So a series of films when the Picture House reopens would be welcome. The National Film Archive has 21 film prints of Godard’s titles, mainly on 35mm. These are predominantly from his earlier career: A bout de soufflé  but only on 16mm: Vivre sa vie (1962): Alphaville (1965): also Weekend and Le Mepris, both 1967. There are some titles on other formats but neither Film Socialisme (2010) or The Image Book. Even so, the prints available would offer a remarkable cinematic programme.

A much more recent movie that would also be a treat is Empire of Light (2022). The title was shot on a digital camera and format but there are several 35mm prints of the movie available; though the nearest screenings to Leeds have been Barnsley and Sheffield. The drama is set in a cinema in Margate in the early 1980s. The cinema has 35mm carbon arc projectors which we briefly see in action; presumably one reason why there are 35mm prints.

The film deals with relationships among the staff working at the cinema and the affect on these of the conflicts of the period. There include sexual activity and violence. The latter arises with sudden and unexpected power.

We see inside the projection box in three brief scenes and only once do we see someone watching a film in the auditorium. These are interesting sequences and also feed in to the themes of the drama. The film was written and directed by Sam Mendes; not every aspect of the script works successfully. The cinematography of the title are one of its virtues and were directed by the very fine cinematographer Roger Deakins. Think Fargo (1996): The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007): Sicario (2015).

In one scene Norman (Toby Jones) the Empire projectionist, tells a colleague that the projectors are K.18s; provided by the Projected Picture Trust. These are Kaylee Projectors, a firm that operated in Leeds from 1942 until 1958, during which time the company was taken over by Gaumont. Some Friends will have seen Kaylee projectors operating in a local cinema; a large number used Kaylee equipment at one time. Some fortunate members will have seen them at an event organised by the Pavilion in 2011. The old Lyric cinema, disused, still had Kaylee projectors in situ. Some skilled projectionists, including Allan at the Picture House, repaired the projectors for a series of screenings of a new 35m print. The Picture House staff organised a special tour of the venue and the event. Friends climbed up the old metal staircase to the projection box to see the projectors close up and have the carbon arc technology demonstrated. And extra treat was that, after the main screening, we watched a 35mm print of a short film, which was one of the early ventures filmed by Roger Deakins.

Review: De Cierta Manera


I very much enjoyed De Cierta Manera (One Way or Another). It was shown at Leeds City Varieties as part of Cinema Rediscovered on Tour. The screening was a collaboration between the Black Cinema Project, Twelve 30 Collective, Ajabu Ajabu, the Hyde Park Picture House and the Friends. We had an excellent live introduction given by Lisa Harewood.

Film was seen as an essential aspect of Cuban culture when De Cierta Manera was released by their revolutionary government in 1974. Filming took place over four months in a “marginalised” Havana community, drawing heavily on the experience of local people. It takes the form of an entertaining romance between two charismatic actors, a woman teacher and a macho man in who works in a bus factory. It is documentary in style and reflects how the 1959 revolution started to influence culture and personal relationships. Sadly the talented director, Sara Gómez, died of a chronic illness just after filming was completed. At the time she was Cuba’s only woman film director, and of Afro-Cuban heritage. However the Cuban leadership of the time wanted to promote their practical achievements such as in housing, employment and health rather than stories about community and women’s issues, and the film was rarely shown. It was digitally restored in 2021 and is well worth a look if you get the chance.

Bill Walton

De Cierta Manera – Tuesday 21st February 8pm

We’ve teamed up with the Picture House to present a screening of De Cierta Manera at the City Varieties on Tuesday 21st February at 8pm.

A fascinating docu-romance-drama and critical ethnographic study of a new couple, Yolanda and Mario. The filmmaker assesses the complexities of intersectional, marginalised lives in 1970s Cuba through a factual narrative that contextualises the relationship, the community, and the tensions of life in a new socialist society.

This was the first Cuban feature film directed by a woman and the last directed by Sara Gómez (1942-1974), who died suddenly while De Cierta Manera was being edited. The film was completed with the technical supervision of Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Julio García Espinosa, who also co-wrote the screenplay.

This screening includes a special live introduction from Lisa Harewood

Lisa is a digital storyteller from Barbados and co-founder of The Twelve30 Collective, a curating partnership that works with cinemas, festivals, universities and community groups to screen Caribbean films for UK audiences. Lisa has written, produced and directed films, virtual and augmented reality works, and is currently developing a multiplatform documentary project about the experiences of Caribbean families separated due to migration.

Members of the Friends committee will be at the screening to answer any queries about membership or other aspects of the Friends and we hope to see some of you there.

A Bunch Of Amateurs – Sunday 18th December 1pm


Hopefully you’ve already booked tickets to the various Christmas themed films which are being screened by the HPPH over the next couple of weeks. Unfortunately we’ve been unable to put on a Christmas screening for the Friends this year but some of the Committee will be joining Wendy for the screening of ‘A Bunch of Amateurs’ at 1pm on Sunday 18th December at Heart. Whilst this isn’t really a festive film, we felt that the subject matter and tone of the film really chimed with the Friends’ values. We will be in the café before the film, so come along if you can for a catch up. Bill and Wendy will be giving an update on progress at the Picture House and what’s been happening with the Friends.

“Joyous and heartbreaking celebration of film-making passion” 

Guardian 9th October 2022


Comes together as a wistful reflection on the power of cinema and community in the face of adversity.

Marina Ashioti Little White Lies

Cinema Rediscovered on Tour: Women’s Stories from the Global South (& To Whom They Belong)

Hyde Park Picture House has worked in collaboration with Watershed, Black Cinema Project and Ajabu Ajabu to develop and tour an exciting film programme, a focus on five women’s stories from Morocco, Cuba, Venezuela, Angola and Tanzania.

Curatorial collaborators Mosa Mpetha (Black Cinema Project, Hyde Park Picture House), Darragh Amelia and Jesse Gerard (Ajabu Ajabu) presented five recently digitised or restored works from the Global South that are written by and about women in Cinema Rediscovered Film Festival July 2022. Surrounding each film from this selection existed a uniquely challenging story of ownership and distribution, opening up discussion around the imbalance of power within film cultures perpetuated globally and locally. The strand includes Sambizanga the first film by a woman to be restored by the African Film Heritage Project, an initiative created by The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, the FEPACI and UNESCO – in collaboration with Cineteca di Bologna – presented in person at Cinema Rediscovered by Annouchka De Andrade, daughter of director Sarah Maldoror.

All Titles include: Door to the Sky (Morocco, 1989), De Cierta Manera (Cuba, 1974-77), Araya (Venezuela, 1959), Maangazimi: The Ancient One (Tanzania, 2001) and from Angola Sambizanga (1971).

Launching at this year’s festival – the package of films is available to book for cinemas and festivals across the UK from August 2022 to January 2023 with support from BFI awarding funds from The National Lottery and MUBI.

Hyde Park Picture House screened Araya in the City Varieties on 1 November 2022, and A Door to the Sky is showing on 29 November 2022.

We have an interview between Robb Barham (HPPH Operations & Programme Manager) and Mosa Mpetha (HPPH Creative Engagement Officer) about the curational process for this programme.

Robb: So, tell me how this strand came about, how you were invited to participate in Cinema Rediscovered, and how you built the strand together with the people that you were collaborating with.

Mosa: The strand came together through several separate streams of work, and it ended up being much bigger and better than I initially anticipated.

It started with the film Sambizanga; my friend Samra Mayanja and I created Black Cinema Project together a couple of years ago, and we were really obsessed with this film because it was the first film that we showed to our group. On researching the film we came to learn it had a particularly interesting backstory due to the fact that the filmmaker and her daughters were trying to reacquire the rights to get it taken off youtube where a shoddy version was available, and they were trying to get the rights back so they could restore it. They basically wanted people to see it in its full glory. But the producer of the film had sold the rights to a French distributor in a 50 year contract, and the French distributor wasn’t doing anything with the film.

So it really sparked our interest and when we were researching this, we started to wonder about the politics behind film rights and restitution in the film industry. What are the circumstances that allow a film to become locked away in individual, any individuals basement, uncared for and unseen? So we were particularly interested in this story and followed its journey. Unfortunately, the filmmaker, Sarah Maldoror died in 2020, after which her daughters continued on trying to get the film back. Eventually they did, largely because they got support from Scorsese’s Film Foundation and a wider funded project – the African Film Heritage Project.

They managed to get the rights back in order to restore the film which was screened in Bologna in 2021, and it was just a really exciting moment. So essentially, we knew this film had to be seen and appreciated by lots of people, on multiple big screens, and to be treated with the respect it deserves.

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Bill’s Experience of #LIFF2022

Without the coziness of the Hyde Park Picture House or the grandeur of the Town Hall, this year I went for the 6 screenings for the price of 5. Choice is difficult with so many films from so many countries. I decided on:

No Bears (2022)


Highly recommended.  Once again Jafir Panahi uses his considerable film making skills to challenge the Iranian state. This time the film actors are in Turkey while Panahi directs from Iran close to the Turkish border because of government restrictions on his movement. There are stories within stories. 

In 2010 the Iranian government banned Panahi from film making for twenty years for propaganda against the state but with huge international support he found ways to continue. Since No Bears was released he  has been rearrested and is currently serving a six year prison sentence. The screening I went to was sold out.

Zuhal (2021)

A very well made black comedy about a lawyer who hears a cat meowing in her Istanbul apartment. Or does she? The sound takes over her life, as she struggles to find an explanation. Excellent cast. Recommended. (Presented jointly with Bird’s Eye View and Reclaim The Frame).

Casque d’Or (1952)

A newly restored taut French thriller. Set in 1902, it shows the struggle between an ex-con who is trying to go straight, and a local gangster boss. The reason? Marie (Simone Signoret) who is a force to be reckoned with. Highly recommended.

We Might As Well Be Dead (2022)

This satirical film creates a coherent dystopian world with a tower block as a refuge from dangers in the surrounding countryside. I struggled a bit with following the plot, but interesting enough for me to consider a repeat viewing.

Fanomenon Shorts

As well as aliens trying to take control of human relationships and breeding, I enjoyed the Japanese film Theatre (2022). Staff at a Tokyo cinema carry out plans to ensure its survival during Covid, with the help of a ghostly spirit. Inspiration for the Hyde Park Picture House!

Return to Seoul (2002)

This is summed up by the subtitle: all the people I’ll never be. Freddie, a 25-year old French adoptee goes to South Korea to find her biological family. Based on a true story. An emotionally intense exploration of clashes of cultural values around family and society in the two countries. Ji-Min Park, the headstrong Freddie, gives a powerful performance in her first film. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to all the LIFF22 staff, volunteers and venues for bringing it all together. 

Bill Walton

Leeds Palestinian Film Festival 2022

The Unreported Occupation

We pull the curtains back on the illegal occupation Israel wants the world to forget

‘Mediterranean Fever’

This year’s Festival opens, as usual, with a title screening the Leeds International Film festival. This and the complete programme can be found, with all details, on the Festival WebPages.

Mediterranean Fever, Palestine/Germany/France/Cyprus/Qatar / 2022 / 108 minutes Arabic with English subtitles – Director Maha Haj. LIFF screening at the Vue in the Light on November 16th and 17th.

This subtly tender film tackles the dynamics of male friendship and the strain of living under occupation. It focuses on the daily struggles of Haifa’s Arab community, as two middle-aged frenemies develop an unexpected relationship and are drawn together by a series of terrifying events. Premiered at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain regard section, and won the Prize for Best Screenplay.

Following the International festival the programme of Palestinian titles offers screenings at a number of venues up until early December. There will be speakers at some events: a musical event: and an evening which includes Middle eastern food.

Fadia’s Tree, Sarah Beddington / UK / 2022 / 68 minutes / Arabic, English, English subtitles. Seven Arts Friday November 18 2022 7:00pm

Sarah Beddington’s film is a compelling documentary account of the director’s friendship with Fadia, a charismatic Palestinian woman and teacher who lives in a refugee camp in Lebanon but yearns to reconnect with her ancestral village in Palestine.

The film spans 15 years, during which time Beddington agreed to make the journey that Fadia was prevented from taking to the home village she has never seen – to find the mulberry tree that has taken on a totemic significance for generations of her displaced family.. Speaker: Susan Simnett, producer of Fadia’s Tree

Love and Resistance in the Films of Mai Masri

Double-bill – Q&A with Victoria Britain – delicious Middle Eastern buffet. Wheeler Hall Saint Anne’s Street – Monday 21 November 2022 4-7.15pm

Frontiers of Dreams & Fears, Mai Masri / Palestine / 2001 / 56 minutes

A tender insight into the lives of Palestinian children growing up in refugee camps. Although Mona and Manar live in camps miles apart, a friendship is forged through barbed wire and walls of concrete.

Hanan Ashrawi: A Woman of her Time, Mai Masri / Palestine / 1996 / 50 minutes

An intimate portrait of a formidable political activist and former spokesperson for the PLO who rejected a position in government in favour of human rights advocacy.

Roadmap to Apartheid, Ana Nogueira & Eron Davidson / South Africa/Israel / 2012 / 94 minutes. Slung Low at The Holbeck – Friday November 25 2022 7:30pm

The analogy of the Palestinian experience under Israeli occupation as apartheid is dissected in a forensic comparison with the history of apartheid in South Africa. Eye-witness accounts and unseen archive material are included. Speaker / Q&A with Robert Cohen.

Tantura, Alon Schwarz / Israel / 2022 / 85 minutes. THE HEART – Sunday November 27 2022 1:30pm

In the late 1990s, a graduate student conducted research into an alleged massacre at Tantura. His work later came under attack and his reputation was ruined, but 140 hours of audio testimonies remain. Israelis insist that the massacre never happened, while Palestinians view it as a hell that can’t be forgotten.. Speaker: Dr Kholoud Al-Ajarma.

Boycott, Julia Bacha / USA / 2021 / 70 minutes / English. Otley Courthouse – Sunday 27 November 7.30 p.m.:  Wheeler Hall – December 9th 6.30 p.m.

When a news publisher in Arkansas, an attorney in Arizona, and a speech therapist in Texas are told they must choose between their jobs and their political beliefs, they launch legal battles that expose an attack on freedom of speech across 33 states in America.. Speakers. Jenny Lynn – Ben Jamal

‘Boycott’

Eye Witness – singing, film and food. Chapel FM Arts Centre – Sunday 4 December 2022 3pm – 5pm

We are delighted to offer you two eye-witness accounts of life under occupation, both reflecting the power of solidarity. The singing and film will be followed by refreshments. Tadhamon Choir- The singers are fresh from a solidarity visit from Sheffield to Palestine in October. They travelled around the West Bank, visited projects and met many community activists, witnessing first-hand the brutality of life under Israeli occupation. They will share their songs and discuss what they learnt.

Tour Wadi Hilweh, Silwan  18minutes

Sahar Abassi is a community activist and Deputy Director of the Madaa-Silwan Creative Centre She gives us a personal tour of the Silwan neighbourhood of East Jerusalem, where an art project with Art Forces from the USA reinforces local resistance to the ethnic cleansing of the neighbourhood.

And running throughout the Festival is an exhibition of photographs.

Humans of Palestine – Unique exhibition showcasing top Palestinian photographers. Otley Courthouse, 1st – 28th November

Job Opportunities At The Picture House

At our Annual General Meeting a few weeks ago, Wendy mentioned that as well as all the building work they would soon be starting to recruit for new roles to facilitate the reopening and ongoing operation of the Picture House. There are now five roles being advertised:

  • Deputy Operations Manager
  • Deputy Projection and Facilities Manager
  • Projectionists
  • Cinema Venue Coordinators
  • Cinema Services Coordinators

You can find out more details about these roles and how to apply on the Hyde Park Picture House Opportunities page on their website.

They will also be running some drop-in sessions where the cinema team will be available to meet in-person and answer any questions you have about the roles or the recruitment process. These will be at the Cardigan Community Centre (145-149 Cardigan Rd, Burley, Leeds LS6 1LJ) on:

  • Thursday 20th October (11am – 2pm)
  • Friday 21st October (11am – 2pm)

Heritage Open Days

Hyde Park Picture House normally opens its doors every year as part of Heritage Open Days but this year, they have decided to use the On the Road programme to take the love of all things heritage out and about across the city through a range of events. Wendy has written about this on the Leeds Heritage Theatre website and there is an overview of some more events happening this September below.

You can find out more about the Heritage Open Days on their website which includes a search to find events all over the country. There is also a booklet of Leeds events available from LCC Libraries, Museums and Galleries or as a PDF download.

The Lost Films of Louis Le Prince

Friday 9th September 2pm – Leeds Becket University

This illustrated lecture from historian Irfan Shah will investigate the work of Leeds-based film pioneer, Louis Le Prince. It will take place in the exciting new cinema space of Leeds School of Arts at Leeds Beckett University.

In the years 1888-89, Louis Le Prince shot at least six continuous motion picture sequences in the city of Leeds, of which only a few seconds of three remain. Researcher, Irfan Shah, tells the story of the lost films of Le Prince and shows how Leeds itself was not merely a location for them but an essential ingredient of the inventor’s work.

You can read more about Louis Le Prince in our blog post “Louis Le Prince – moving image pioneer – 1841 to 1890” from earlier this year.

More Details

Screenings at Palace Picture House

Saturday 10th & Sunday 11th September – Leeds Industrial Museum

Nestled amongst the Kalee Projectors and Louis Le Prince’s early cameras, there will be a mixed programme in celebration of our favourite astounding invention: film.

Featuring:

  • Shorts programme: Cinema Memory (30min) – 12.30pm and 1.15pm
  • Hyde & Seek Screening: A Grand Day Out (1994, U, 24min) and The Wrong Trousers (1994, U, 30min) – 2.00pm
  • Minute Bodies: The Intimate Works of F. Percy Smith (2017, U, 53min) – 3.10pm

More Details

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