A FILM shot largely on Holme Wood estate will have a 'homecoming premiere' at the National Science and Media Museum.

Ali & Ava isn't due for release until February 2022 but Bradford audiences have chance to see it at a special presentation at Pictureville Cinema on Thursday, October 14, attended by the Mayor of West Yorkshire, the film's Otley-born director Clio Barnard, and members of the cast.

Filmed around the Bradford district, Ali & Ava is the story of an exuberant music enthusiast and landlord struggling with the breakdown of his marriage and a middle-aged teaching assistant and grandmother with a large, close-knit family. After a chance encounter, Ali and Ava begin a tentative friendship formed around a shared love of music that blossoms into an unexpected romance.

Weaving together social realism and romantic drama, Barnard presents an "intelligent, warm and nuanced depiction of 21st century Britain"; a love story touching upon issues of race, class and domestic abuse.

Ali & Ava, financed by Screen Yorkshire, is written and directed by Clio Barnard, director of the critically acclaimed The Selfish Giant (2013) and Bafta-nominated The Arbor (2010) about the life of Bradford playwright Andrea Dunbar.

The UK premiere of Ali & Ava is on October 13, when it will be the Mayor of London's special presentation at the BFI 65th London Film Festival. Its Bradford screening, the following day, is part of the London Film Festival's nationwide preview events .

Tracy Brabin, Mayor of West Yorkshire, said: “It’s an honour to work with Screen Yorkshire in bringing this very special presentation of Ali & Ava to Bradford. I’m passionate about championing the power of the arts and creative industries in our region, and it’s wonderful to see how people in Bradford supported the making of the film and helped to make it such a success.

“Building on the momentum of Ali & Ava, I hope my Creative New Deal, which was launched earlier this year, will continue to put West Yorkshire talent at the heart of the creative industry, generating jobs and kick-starting local economies.”

Producer Tracy O’Riordan said: “Ali & Ava is based on real people Clio and I got to know through making our previous films in Yorkshire and is a tribute to their generosity of spirit in sharing their stories and the love of their city. From cast to crew to locations, local people played an integral role, so a big thank you to the wonderful diverse local talent we found to work in front and behind the camera and the welcome we received. It’s very important to be screening the film in Bradford. Many of the cast and crew haven’t seen the film due to Covid, so it’s a wonderful opportunity for them to see their amazing hard work pay off.”

Kathryn Penny, Head of Screen and Cultural Engagement at the National Science and Media Museum, added: “As with Clio Barnard’s previous works set in Bradford, this film will chime closely with the experience of our local communities."

Screen Yorkshire chief executive Sally Joynson added: “We’re so pleased to be supporting another of Clio’s films. Thought-provoking, beautifully shot and with captivating performances from the cast, many of whom are from Bradford, Ali & Ava is a tender love story with Yorkshire at its heart. We can’t wait to share it with audiences in Bradford, where it was filmed.”

* Tickets for the special preview screening are at scienceandmediamuseum.org.uk/cinema

* The T&A has re-launched an online events page. Go to thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/local-events