Bradford, the world's first UNESCO City of Film
About this in-person event
From the dawn of cinema through to Peaky Blinders and new series for Netflix - Bradford plays a leading role in Film and TV.
Bradford is the world’s first UNESCO City of Film. This permanent title bestows international recognition on Bradford as a world centre for film because of the city’s rich film heritage, its inspirational movie locations, the Bradford Film Office and its many celebrations of the moving image through the city’s film festivals, filmed related events and unique approach to learning about film and learning with film. In this lecture, David Wilson, Director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film, unpacks the gems, history and wonders of Bradford's film and filmmaking heritage dating back to the birth of cinema and the role of the Bradford City of Film Office is playing in developing a global UNESCO Creative Cities Network - a network of creative cities, working together towards a common mission for cultural diversity and sustainable urban development.
Speaker: David Wilson
David Wilson is an expert advisor to the UK Commission to UNESCO on the development of creative cities and has provided mentoring and support to many candidate cities applying to join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network over the past decade. David has a long career history in cultural programmes and in depth knowledge in the use of culture and creativity as a driver for sustainable development in relation to the UN 2030 Agenda and practical application of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
He is invited to speak at international conferences, festivals and events on the impact of culture and creativity on sustainable development and is often asked to facilitate high level discussions in this area.
David is Guest Professor at the Qingdao Film Academy and Fellow in Film at the University of Bradford (UK). In May 2019 was appointed as international chair to the Editing Committee of China's Blue Book of Film - an annual publication on the development of the global film industry, published by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and was appointed as researcher at the school in 2020.
David was awarded as Honorary Doctor of Technology at the University of Bradford for his work in Creative Industries to support sustainable development.
He is also a member of the advisory board at the Centre for World Cinema & Digital Cultures – University of Leeds, UK.
Please Note: Tickets are for the 'Bradford, the world's first UNESCO City of Film' Guest Lecture only. This ticket can not be used for entry to the Big Bradford Reunion taking place on Saturday, 24 September 2022. A separate ticket is required on entry for the Big Bradford Reunion event.