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The wait is over! We’re delighted to unveil the full programme for this year’s Big Picture Film Festival 2025! This year’s theme is Connection & Disruption with our programme offering a dynamic variety of films and discussions that navigate the tension - and synergy - between these two powerful ideas. Check out the events below and book your Pay-As-You-Feel tickets or unlimited access festival passes now. Whether you're a devoted film buff or just in it for the popcorn, there’s something for everyone.
Scroll Down for Event Information or Click Here to go straight to the Box Office!
Narrated by the legendary David Attenborough, this documentary takes viewers on an awe-inspiring journey beneath the waves, exploring the critical role our oceans play in sustaining life on Earth. Our Opening Gala, in proud partnership with Stratford Net Zero and River Hope, includes a post-screening panel discussion with special guests from the environmental sector sharing practical ways we can all help make a difference to our planet’s health.
28th Aug 2025 | 7:30pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
Pixels meet popcorn as four misfits are suddenly pulled through a mysterious portal into a bizarre cubic wonderland that thrives on imagination. Loved by young people of all ages and based on the popular videogame, this blockbuster family film caused giddy mayhem at cinemas around the world when it was released back in May. Directed by Jared Hess (Napoleon Dynamite), the film mixes big-budget spectacle with his trademark quirky humour. Be there and be square!
28th Aug 2025 | 2pm | Stratford Youth Hub
Join BAFTA winners Geoff Thompson, Michael B. Clifford and Natasha Carlish for a powerful retrospective Q&A screening of their acclaimed short film trilogy: Bouncer, Brown Paper Bag and Bardo: A Rogue and Peasant Slave. An unmissable evening of cinema excellence, conversation and inspiration from three master storytellers. Audience discretion is advised, as the films contain scenes that may be intense and distressing for some. Recommended for over 18s. Support literature and a safe space will be provided.
29th Aug 2025 | 7:30pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
Stratford Net Zero, Welcome Here, River Hope and Stratford Amnesty merge their values, activism and services into the theme of “Climate Refugees” and Flow is the perfect cinematic answer. This beautiful Oscar winning animated family film follows a black cat in a flooded world, joining other displaced animals on a journey of survival and cooperation. With no dialogue, it speaks a universal language and says so much about the vulnerabilities of our planet and the importance of compassion, hope and refuge.
30th Aug 2025 | 11am | Holy Trinity Parish Centre
Hailed as a “landmark of Japanese queer cinema”. Toshio Matsumoto’s debut feature is a bold, avant-garde exploration of queer and trans life in 1960s Tokyo. Blending documentary techniques and hard hitting realism with fun pop art stylistics, the film disrupts narrative norms to create a vivid, lively and empathetic portrait of identity. 50 years on, it remains a groundbreaking, progressive work that resonates with today’s queer and trans community through its fearless humanist vision.
30th Aug 2025 | 11am | The Bear Pit Theatre
In this deeply intimate documentary, filmmaker Ella Glendining presents a first-hand account of living with disability, developing a spirited conversation about her own disability and challenges ableism head-on. Nominated at Sundance and the BAFTAs, this film asks bold questions about disability, identity and representation in film. With warmth, courage and an unapologetically honest voice, Glendining opens the door to vital conversations - on screen and off.
30th Aug 2025 | 2pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
Set in a small Iranian town the film follows two children as they find a mysterious golden statue (an Oscar!). With the help of a cinema-loving adult (played by veteran Rezi Naji), the children embark on a journey to reunite this prestigious award with its mysterious owner. With its poignant storytelling, rich cultural texture and a deep affection for cinema itself, this award winning film is a love letter to Iranian cinema whilst symbolically examining the mistreatment of the country’s repressed talent.
30th Aug 2025 | 2pm | Holy Trinity Parish Centre
Join us for our awards ceremony as we showcase the winning films from our annual short film competition. This year's festival theme is "Connection & Disruption" so expect our winning films to reflect the tension - and synergy - between these two powerful ideas. Come along and support some of the very best in short filmmaking.
30th Aug 2025 | 5pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
Join the BAFTA winning Brothers McLeod for a fun and candid discussion about the life and death of ideas! With decades of experience in animation, writing and storytelling, Greg and Myles offer a glimpse into the unpredictable, mysterious nature of creativity. This engaging talk offers rare access to unseen concepts, abandoned animations and ideas that almost became reality alongside projects that emerged unexpectedly, born from chance encounters and surprise opportunities…
30th Aug 2025 | 7:30pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
When 93-year-old Thelma becomes the victim of a phone scam, she embarks on a perilous quest across the city to confront the scammers! June Squibb finally gets her flowers as a leading lady and is absolutely delightful as the scorned granny with a grievance. This heartwarming action comedy brings the thrills, spills - and pills - and through its leading lady and its message, Thelma proves it’s never too late to get your flowers… or seek bloody vengeance!
31st Aug 2025 | 10:30am | The Bear Pit Theatre
Don’t miss this live score screening of the oldest surviving animated feature film in the world! This unique and wondrous film tells the story of a young royal who is tricked by a wicked sorcerer into flying a magical horse to far-away lands. Oxford-based group Flights of Helios at The Midnight Riyaz will be performing their ethereal original music to Reiniger’s evocative, inventive visuals. Arrive early for a shadow puppet workshop to get you in the mood!
31st Aug | 2:30pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
For our closing film of the festival, we are proud to host the award-winning documentary London Recruits, which tells the fascinating story of the undercover missions carried out by ordinary Londoners-turned-freedom fighters during South African apartheid. This edge of your seat thriller features rare archive footage, cinematic recreations and candid testimony from the London Recruits themselves. The screening will be followed by a Q&A with the film’s director Gordon Main.
31st Aug 2025 | 5:30pm | The Bear Pit Theatre
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