Keighley Arts and Film Festival all set for this weekend

Keighley’s annual Arts and Film Festival will celebrate the town’s creative and cultural talent with three days of events starting on Friday (7th October).

More than 40 free or low-cost attractions have been lined up by Keighley Creative, the charity organising the event.

Shoppers will be able to show their artistic flair as part of the Drawing Box Shop. Empty retail spaces in the Airedale Shopping Centre and the Royal Arcade will be turned into giant art installations, with members of the public able to draw on the walls and floors using materials inside the shops. There will also be a pop-up Drawing Box with a space theme at Cliffe Castle museum on Sunday.

The charity first ran the Drawing Box Project in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, when 500 boxes of high-quality art materials were distributed to Keighley communities, and the festival programme is a chance to give more townsfolk the chance to show their talents.

Cinema-goers at the Picture House will be able to enjoy a free hairstyling session before viewing a screening of Blow Dry, the 2001 film scripted by Keighley-born Simon Beaufoy. The movie depicts the comic action around the national hairdressing championships in Keighley and has a star-studded cast including Alan Rickman, Natasha Richardson, Bill Nighy, Heidi Klum, Josh Hartnett and Hugh Bonneville. Keighley College hairdressing students will also be on hand on Sunday afternoon to give film buffs a quick free restyle. Tickets for the 15-rated film are £5.

Stand-up poet Kate Fox will return to her hometown with a thought-provoking performance of Where There’s Muck There’s Bras at Keighley Library on the Friday evening. The show explores the sung and the unsung women of the North. Kate Fox is a Keighley-born writer, performer and broadcaster. You may have heard her on Pick of the Week on BBC Radio 4 and her regular contributions to BBC Radio 3's The Verb, as well as being poet in residence for the Great North Run, Glastonbury Festival and Radio 4's Saturday Night Live.

Following her performance, there will be an ‘in conversation with Kate Fox’ event with an opportunity to buy her book. Kate will also be at KAFF on Saturday 8 October at Keighley Creative’s hub in the former Sunwin House on Hanover Street, for a free spoken word workshop. Try performing your words in a supportive environment as Kate guides you through spoken word performing.

Javed Bashir, Keighley Creative’s cultural heritage and diversity lead, said: “Arts have the uncanny ability to overcome cultural and ethnic differences. Art is like a universal language that brings people together. Keighley Arts and Film Festival is bringing three extraordinary events to prove this power.

A Peace Meal with the theme Journeys into Keighley will take place on the Friday. Javed said: “The Journeys into Keighley Peace Meal aims to build bridges between people who might not normally have an opportunity to meet each other, and to replace ignorance and fear of the unknown with increased familiarity and a sense of the richness that diversity can bring.

"This interfaith Peace Meal gives people a chance to socialise, enjoy good food in the company of their neighbours and discuss ways in which they and their faith communities could build stronger connections with each other.”

 Asian food will be served at the event at Keighley Shared Church, beginning at 6pm.

There will also be a screening of Ruth & Safiya, a short film written and directed by Louisa Rose Mackleston, about friendship in unlikely spaces, challenging stereotypes and the power of community. Ruth, a local pensioner, meets Syrian refugee Safiya and proves that the power of earth and nature can build relationships that transcend age, race and nationality. The movie won best short film at Cardiff International Film Festival in 2021. Bradford-based filmmaker Louisa Rose will talk about how she is continuing to make waves to get more young people into the industry. The film touches on loneliness and the friendship between two people, who may not necessarily cross paths.

Cecil Green Arts will be returning to the grounds of Cliffe Castle Park for their third KAFF on the Saturday of the festival with a stunning lantern parade of stars and their amazing giant puppets.

Cathryn Murray, festival co-ordinator, said: “All families are invited to come along and join the parade and experience the amazing community-made star lanterns.

“With performances from Punjabi Roots Academy’s Bhangra Dancers and Dhol Drummers and a special appearance by Q20s bouncing stars stilt-walkers it’s set to be the place to be on the Saturday.” The event starts at 6pm.

For those interested in trying something new there are a number of workshops. On Saturday, the Musician’s Centre on Russell Street is offering visitors a recording-studio workshop with an introduction to the art of recording music, live sound production, a jazz drumming workshop and a beginners ukulele workshop throughout the day.

There will be a writing with cultural sensitivity workshop at Keighley Civic Centre on Saturday afternoon. A Bradford-born author who went from the BD3 district to one of Bradford's best-selling writers will talk about her journey into the world of literature.

Javed Bashir said: “Until eight years ago, lawyer Abda Khan had never considered picking up a pen until she realised the power it held.

“Having worked with victims of domestic violence throughout the career, Abda realised how she could use her experiences to inspire gripping plots, raise awareness and help women from both BAME backgrounds and non-BAME backgrounds too.”

Abda Khan mainly writes literary fiction, and has two published novels.

Festival-goers will have the chance to hear music from top qawwali artist Qaiser Mahmood and his group, rated one of the best proponents of the genre in Europe.

Qawwali is a Sufi devotional form known as the ‘path of the heart’. The traditional music works its way to ecstatic peaks with strong voices and percussive handclaps, seeking to transport musicians and audiences closer to the divine.

Qawwali emerged in what is now India and Pakistan in the 13th century, in close association with the Sufi and their Islamic mysticism. Typically, many musicians are involved in a performance, with eight or nine players making music with harmoniums, tabla, dholak and other percussive instruments.

A lead vocalist and a small team of side singers take turns weaving in several different melodies, some of which will be improvised. After a long, improvised introduction for the main song, the singers all join in and vie with each other as the song builds towards its crescendo and sudden, abrupt end.

The qawwali performance starts at 8pm on Saturday. Tickets are £10 and refreshments will be available.

On Sunday at Keighley Creative visitors can take part an introduction to comedy workshop and an introduction to careers in film workshop for free.

Family-friendly activities will take place across the weekend. On Saturday in the Airedale Shopping Centre there will be a range of dance performances and workshops for everyone to get involved in, including Bollywood, street dance and Latin. On Sunday families can join photographer Lisa Holmes at Cliffe Castle for a cyanotype workshop that will show you how you can create amazing banners from plant dyes. Visitors can also experience a show explaining the wonders of the solar system in a pop-up planetarium, where they will even have the chance to try on a real spacesuit.

More information, tickets and booking forms are on the Keighley Arts and Film Festival website. https://keighleycreative.org/festival/

See the full programme: https://issuu.com/keighleycreative/docs/kaff_2022_online_programme