ARTS DIARY
Northern Silent Film Festival:
The inaugural Northern Silent Film Festival, a month-long celebration of silent films with new music will be visiting Sheffield next month. The four screenings in three different venues bring together black and white movies and live music. The Saturday Slapstick programme on October 21 will feature films from artists such as Charlie Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy and Buster Keaton, including his final short film The Love Nest and his first feature Three Ages, made in 1923. There will also be a screening of an early sci-fi movie from the Soviet Union Aelita, Queen of Mars, a film which inspired directors like Fritz Lang and Stanley Kubrick. On October 31 there will be a special Halloween screening of the horror classic Nosferatu. For the full festival programme and to book visit northernsilents.com/ northern-silent-film-festival
West Yorkshire’s Young Poets Laureate:
West Yorkshire’s first Young Poets Laureate have recently been revealed following a search to discover and celebrate a new generation of creative talent in the region. Mayor of West Yorkshire, Tracy Brabin, spearheaded the initiative with Poet Laureate Simon Armitage and the National Literacy Trust to boost skills and inspire more young people to explore careers in the creative industries. After listening to the 16 shortlisted poets Brabin and Armitage selected 15-year-old Isabelle Walker as the winner in the secondary school category and nine-year-old Alina Brdar in the younger category.
Encounters Festival: Yorkshire Dance will be welcoming dance artists and families to Leeds for a one-day festival of dance for children and their grown-ups on October 28. The festival boasts a mix of imaginative new performances and exciting movement workshops. It includes Skydiver by Greek dance artist, director and dramaturg Xenia Aidonopoulou, a new dance work for children, commissioned as part of the Little Big Dance which is challenging the arts industry to rethink how dance is made and presented for very young audiences. Encounters is a pay-as-you-feel festival. Tickets via yorkshiredance.com