Two of the North West’s best film festivals return for their 2024 editions this November. Manchester Animation Festival has long been a favourite here at Creative Tourist, bringing world class animators, producers and directors together with previews from some of the world’s foremost studios, from Netflix, to Aardman Animations, to the BBC.

Meanwhile Leeds International Film Festival is always something of a juggernaut, combining curated picks from the international festival circuit with smaller films and a robust selection of gems from the archive. This year there’s new films from the likes of Mike Leigh, Andrea Arnold and Jesse Eisenberg, plus a strand dedicated to offbeat cult Australian film.

The British Film Institute backed Art of Action season is getting underway across the country and our local cinemas have come up with inspired responses. At HOME in Manchester there’s films by Sam Peckinpah, Buster Keaton and more. Sheffield’s Showroom has scheduled strands showcasing action pioneers, female-led movies and essential classics. While Leeds’ Hyde Park Picture House delves into the burning rubber of automobile action.

There’s much more too, from Factory International’s Weekend of Film and Music, a selection of LGBTQ+ cinema from East and Southeast Asia, as well as UrbanArtistry’s latest street art event at Cultplex. The nights might be drawing in but the cinemas are certainly calling.