Taking place from July to September, the inaugural edition is now underway. We're excited to share the full season line-up and to be supporting a wide-ranging series of events that's testament to the North's rich moving image heritage and the vibrancy of our independent film exhibition scene. In 2018, the season's main focus shines a spotlight on the Northern writers that have effectively captured the realities of local life and brought stories of the area to wider audiences. Beyond our curated selections, the extended programme sees a variety of film organisations make the season their own and present their visions of what Our North means to them.

In Halifax, Square Chapel Arts Centre explore the much-loved work of South Yorkshire writer Barry Hines and his fruitful collaboration with Ken Loach; while, in Chester, Storyhouse's Young Programmers ask emerging literary talent how the notion of Northern identity features in their work - novelists Danielle Jawando and James Rice and poet Ian Walker will share their thoughts at a special screening of Educating Rita.

Other programmes respond to Our North's geographical focus with The Dukes revisiting locally shot productions in their Filmed in Lancashire series and Forum Cinema are teaming up with the North East Film Archive to uncover a collection of shorts that shows the history of their hometown, Hexham, on film. Away from the familiar voices of the North's great writers, Film Hub North Members have sought out the region's less-told stories too: Side Cinema showcase women filmmakers working in the North with a month-long programme of screenings, while Leeds Queer Film Festival spend a night celebrating local LGBTQ+ talent and exploring the audio-visual archive of Liverpool's queer community in the 70s, 80s and 90s.

In addition to supporting our exhibitor Members with their Our North programmes, Film Hub North is pleased to have partnered with the North East, North West and Yorkshire Film Archives on a special commission for the 2018 edition. Our North: Our Film Heritage is a short film that draws on the collections of all three archives to present a condensed history of the North as captured on film over the past 120 years. It will screen in venues across the North as part of the 2018 season.