Surprisingly Bradford is the first ever city in the world to be awarded the title of UNESCO city of film. A strange choice indeed. What about LA? What about Mumbai? What about Cannes? Don't get me wrong. We're not complaining. We think it is a great positive for the city how it has been awarded such a title and will hopefully bring in more tourists and will boost the local economy. Of course Bradford has a film connection. We've got the great National Media Museum which hosts interesting annual festivals such as Fantastic Films Weekend, the world cinema extravaganza Bite The Mango, Bradford Animation Festival and Bradford Film Festival. Cult classics such as Room at The Top, Billy Liar , Monty Python's meaning of Life and Rita Sue and Bob Too were all filmed in Bradford. The latter is set around the city's Buttershaw estate. Actors Rodney Bewes, Peter firth and Timothy West all have local connections and Full Monty and Slumdog Millionaire screenwriter Simon Beaufoy was born in Keighley. Fairy Tale: A True Story and Calendar girls are all based on true events that happened around the Bradford district. In your face Hollywood and well done Bradford.
