FOR three weeks this autumn, Dudley youngsters can enjoy a free, fun and educational trip to the cinema as part of the Into Film Festival 2016.

The world’s biggest youth film festival will return from November 9 to 25, with a diverse programme of free screenings and events for five to 19-year-olds.

Open to schools, colleges, home educators and youth leaders, the festival, which uses the power of film to captivate young minds and bring learning to life, will host 11 screenings in Dudley, including films linked to diversity, wellbeing and anti-bullying.

Teaching resources linking to each of the festival strands will be available to download from the Into Film Festival website for use at screenings and in the classroom to facilitate further exploration of the films and the themes within them.

Films that will be shown at Dudley Showcase and Odeon throughout the festival, include Suffragette, Inside Out, Ghostbusters and an autism-friendly screening of The Princess and The Frog.

Actor, director and Into Film ambassador, Sir Kenneth Branagh, said: "I’m thrilled to support the Into Film Festival. It’s an incredible opportunity for young people to experience the cinema and be immersed in a film or a discussion. The fact that they could watch something that they would not necessarily consider seeing on their own - all for free - is a truly magnificent offer. I hope that young people and teachers take advantage of the Into Film Festival and come away with a head full of new insights, ideas and an invigorated passion for film.”

The annual celebration of film and education is made possible by funding from Cinema First and support from the BFI through Lottery funding, a wide collaboration with UK cinema industry partners, and delivery partners National Schools Partnership.

For more information about the festival and to book tickets, visit www.intofilm.org/festival