ILKLEY Film Festival launches the first of a new series of ‘Live Cinema Experiences’ with a day-long programme reflecting on the miners’ strike in its 30th anniversary year.

The day-long event on September 7, takes place at Ilkley’s King’s Hall. It is supported by Film Hub North, part of the BFI Film Audience Network, and will feature four screenings including a national preview of the critically acclaimed film Pride and Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller’s The Battle of Orgreave.

At 1pm the documentary The Miners’ Hymns will be shown. Directed by Bill Morrison, the film looks at the history of mining in the north of England. The directer took segments from 100 years of archive footage. The score was composed by award-winning Icelandic musician Johann Johannssons.

The Battle of Orgreave, directed by Mike Figgis, starts at 2.15pm. On June 18, 1984, the Orgreave coking plant in South Yorkshire was witness to one of the strike’s most violent confrontations that began in a field and culminated in a dramatic cavalry charge through the village.

Seventeen years on, Turner Prize-winning artist Jeremy Deller’s The Battle of Orgreave, presents a re-enactment of that day featuring more than 800 actors, including former miners and policemen, reliving the events.

The film will be followed by The Miners’ Strike 30 Years On: Panel Discussion. It will take the form of a question and answer session and will feature filmmakers, first-hand account witnesses and journalists discussing and debating the effects of the strike and how it impacted on the political and economic climate today.

The documentary Still the Enemy Within will be shown at 5pm. Not due for national release until October, the film weaves together archive footage of the strikes and never-before-seen interviews with a number of the miners involved.

Still the Enemy received a two-minute standing ovation at Sheffield Doc/ Fest where it also won the festival’s Audience Award. It will be followed by a special question and answer session with the filmmakers and some of the miners featured in the film.

Followings its premiere at Cannes Film Festival, the feature film Pride will be shown at 7.30pm, before it opens across the country later this year. Directed by Matthew Warchus, it features two of the UK’s finest actors with Oscar-nominated Imelda Staunton and BAFTA-winning Bill Nighy starring. Pride is based on a true story from the summer of 1984 and tells the story of two communities who form a surprising and triumphant partnership when a group of gay and lesbian activists decide to raise money to support the families of the striking miners. The screening will take place in the presence of Mike Jackson who was a miner in the strike and is portrayed by Joseph Gilgun (This is England and Emmerdale) in the film.

Martin Pilkington, festival director, said: “We are thrilled that, in our first year, we have been able to programme live monthly events this autumn, bringing more great cinema experiences to Ilkley.

“I am really pleased that we have been able to attract major films such as Pride to the town. We’ve programmed a complete mix of films, catering to a broad range of tastes, which I hope means that there is something for everyone.”

Tickets are available online at www.ilkleyfilmfestival.co.uk, from the Ilkley Visitor Information Centre and by phone on 01943 602319. Investment secured from Film Hub North, led by Showroom Workstation part of the BFI Film Audience Network, means that this event will be followed by a series of monthly events, all gearing up to Ilkley’s first Christmas Film Festival.

Further details will be made available in coming weeks and when tickets are on sale. Confirmed dates to note include:Thursday, October 2, A night at the Movies in 1914; Sunday, November 2, A Halloween Special; Sunday, November 30, Sci-Fi...Live!; December 23 and 24, Ilkley Christmas Film Festival.