The National Science and Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema will be hosting a season dedicated to northern youth culture in cinema.
The programme has been specially curated for Pictureville and Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture by Bradford-born director Dominic Leclerc, known for his work on popular shows such as Sex Education, Shameless and Skins.
From 30 May – 13 June, the National Science and Media Museum’s Pictureville Cinema will host Northern Youth, a season of films dedicated to northern youth culture and identity specially curated by award winning, Bradford-born director Dominic Leclerc (Sex Education, Shameless, Skins),
Reflecting Bradford’s status as the UK’s youngest city by population – with 26% of residents under 18 – Northern Youth places a spotlight on the bold and blistering spirit of young northern characters in British cinema. As the newest addition to Pictureville’s programme and ongoing collaboration with Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture, Northern Youth features titles spanning several decades, with each film showcasing a unique perspective.
From a ‘60s British New Wave classic to a critically acclaimed contemporary debut, these selections seek to both celebrate and reckon with the complexities of growing up. The season opens with coming-of-age drama How to Have Sex (2023) on Friday 30 May and continues over the weekend with Shane Meadows’ seminal This is England (2006), as well as a a Northern Youth spin on Pictureville’s Classic Sunday strand with a screening of The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Runner (1962).
The season continues through June with a partnership between Pictureville and the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) to screen British comedy-drama East is East (1999). A landmark film set and partly filmed in Bradford, East is East explores the tensions of a family navigating identity, tradition, and rebellion in 1970s Northern England. Also screening is The Long Day Closes (1992) on Sunday 8 June – a semi-autobiographical film from Terence Davies capturing the inner world of a working-class teenager in postwar Liverpool.
Further titles include West Yorkshire rural drama, My Summer of Love (2004), exploring themes of class and teenage desire, and Control (2007) – a portrait of Joy Division frontman Ian Curtis, capturing the youthful intensity of his brief life and tragic end in haunting black-and-white.
Further details, including guest speakers and additional events, will be announced in the coming weeks.
