So, the programme is out! It’s time to pick your films for this year’s Leeds International Film Festival. Taking place during the first two weeks of November in some of the best cinematic spaces in the city, it’s time to get it in your calendar.

Yes, we know the programme can be a little overwhelming, especially if you’re new to the city and the festival itself. So, being the helpful little cherubs that we are, we’ve put together a list of our top flick picks! Whoop! We can’t wait.

(Also, did you spot the East Street Arts advert in the LIFF programme? It’s 90s-tastic!)

You can book your tickets to all of the films mentioned below (and more) on the Leeds Film City website: www.leedsfilmcity.com

Something Left Behind
10th November at 8.30pm, Hyde Park Picture House
UK

This one comes straight from the corners of our very own city. If you’re old enough to have been around in 1987, the album George Best by The Wedding Present may well have been the soundtrack to your summer.

Dubbed the greatest break up album of all time, this film explores how it came about and why it resonated with a generation, and those who followed, along with interviews with band themselves. The film culminates with footage from the 30 year homecoming anniversary of the band at Leeds O2 Academy last year. There’s going to be a special Q+A too! It’s bound to light a fire in the heart of any die-hard indie music fan!

The Travelling Cat Chronicles
11th November at 3pm, Hyde Park Picture House
13th November at 4.30pm, Vue at The Light
Japan

If you’re a cat lover, this one’s for you. Part of the Planet Japan series at this year’s festival, it’s much more than a story about a cat! Based on the Japanese novel by Hiro Arikawa, you’ll get to know and love Nana the cat as she accompanies her adopted master as he visits friends from his past. The Leeds Film City site calls it a “humorous and tender exploration of how small acts of kindness and sacrifice can make a difference in unexpected events of people’s lives”. Expect warm glows aplenty!

The Goodiepal Equations
10th November, 6.30pm, Leeds Town Hall Albert Room

The Albert Room is one of our favourite mini-film fest venues. You can expect a host of special encounters in the lovely space within our beautiful Town Hall. This film is a documentary about the Danish tour-de-force, Goodiepal, an enigmatic artist and musician who is a notorious figure in his home country.

Sami Sänpäkkilä gives us access to Goodiepal’s world which includes a self-built bicycle no less, which he uses to power his shows. How will he fare when he embarks on a more mainstream exhibition for the National Museum of Denmark? This one is quite firmly up our street!

The Images You Missed
2nd November, 4.45pm, Leeds Town Hall Albert Room
5th November, 4.30pm, Leeds Town Hall Albert Room
7th November, 4.30pm, Leeds Town Hall Albert Room
Ireland

This is a “what it says on the tin” kinda film. It is literally the images you missed. The documentary essay combines the troubles in Northern Ireland with the story of a son who is searching for his father. With more than 30 years of never-before-seen images, it will take you on a journey and a half.

Being Natural
11th November, 12.45pm, Hyde Park Picture House
12th November, 3.45pm, Vue at The Light
Japan

Another Japanese ditty, Being Natural, we’re confident that this one deserves a spot on this list. If you’ve experienced the countryside of Japan, you’ll love this film. The quiet existence of a nephew and uncle in rural Japan is threatened by a returning cousin and a nature-obsessed family from Tokyo. It’s directed by Tadashi Nagayama and according to the programme, you can expect events to take a very unexpected direction.

Clerks
4th November, 4.30pm, Vue at The Light
USA

This one is almost as old as East Street Arts. A throwback to 1994, this one is, from our perspective, an absolute classic. We’re going to warn you…it will appear to the untrained eye that nothing really happens in this film. It’s all about two buddies hanging out and shooting the breeze. Skipping from subject to subject, from the inane and the trivial to deep topics like the nature of love.

And that’s just a selection! Explore the programme for yourselves and book your tickets now. The festival also offers special ticket options for under 25s. Go on then…!

Have we missed any films? What’s in your top 10?