Bath Film Festival launches 2025 events series

Bath Film Festival returns this October for its 35th edition, with 10 days of screenings across the city. But there’s more than meets the eye: FilmBath will showcase an exciting, thought-provoking and immersive selection of cinema, with a parallel series of special events hosted in unique and captivating locations. This early release of the events series and ticket sales gives audiences a first look at what’s to come—ahead of the full programme of exclusive previews to be announced in September.

Image: Bath Film Festival 2025

Combining iconic films with atmospheric venues and unexpected pairings, the events series reflects the festival’s distinctive approach: creating one-off cinematic experiences that are as much about where and how we watch as what we watch. From a live organ score of Wings (1927), a silent film set against the backdrop of the First World War in Bath Abbey, to an immersive House Party following Move Ya Body: The Birth of House—a joyful tribute to the origins of house music on Chicago’s South Side—these events push beyond traditional cinema settings. At Roseberry Road Studios, in collaboration with Polymathic and Leap & Dance, the screening is followed by a VJ chill-out space curated by Polymathic and a house-fuelled Leap & Dance Party. Over at the Museum of East Asian Art, a rare screening of Godzilla (1954) will explore the deeper themes of trauma, nuclear fear, and post-war identity in Japanese cinema, with an expert introduction by Steven Sloss in collaboration with Bath Archeo-Heritage Film.

One of this year’s most striking venues is the Bath Colonnades, the 17th-century architectural gems recently featured in Wonka starring Timothée Chalamet. Bathed in shadow and sound, this riverside setting will host a double bill screening of local director Ric Rawlins’ Wild Swimmers (2025) and Guillermo del Toro’s The Shape of Water (2017). Both films have been carefully selected to accentuate the aesthetics of the venue and centre stories around creatures lurking in the water. Bath Film Festival is excited to launch this new venue collaboration as one of the first events to be held in the Bath Riverside Colonnades.

There’s also a strong focus on community and conversation. Big Night (1996), a film about two Italian brothers who stake everything on one spectacular evening at their struggling 1950s restaurant, will be paired with a post-film meal served by social enterprise Bath Community Kitchen—menu inspired by the feast at the heart of the story. Hitchcock’s psychological thriller Rope (1948) meets a macramé workshop held by queer horror collective Reel Life Monsters. A special screening of Selma (2014), Ava DuVernay’s acclaimed account of Dr Martin Luther King Jr.’s campaign for equal voting rights, at the American Museum & Gardens will be followed by a discussion with broadcaster and commentator Roger Griffith MBE, exploring the UK’s own civil rights legacy.

Image: IMDb Awards 

As part of its commitment to championing emerging talent, Bath Film Festival presents the IMDb Awards on Wednesday 22 October at Komedia. Celebrating bold new voices in film, the evening features live readings of shortlisted scripts and screenings of finalist short films, with winners selected by an expert industry jury. The following day, Industry Day takes place in the Forum’s historic Ballroom, bringing together filmmakers, exhibitors and creatives from across the South West for curated panels, practical workshops and vital networking. Together, these events offer a rare and dynamic platform for connection, discovery and career development.

Tickets for these events go on general sale Friday 1 August at 10am.

All tickets will be available through Bath Film Festival’s Flexible Pricing model, ensuring broad access to the programme.

The full festival line-up—including UK previews, international films and filmmaker Q&As—will be announced in September.

Thank you to our sponsors and partners: IMDb, BFI FAN Audience Network, Visual Impact, Emerys, Mechanical Mouse, Red Central, Freestyle Designs, Loop Studio, TSL Consulting, Independent Spirit, GWR, Apex Hotels, Bath BID and Bath Box Office.