The Mayor of Hebden Royd Town Council, Councillor Keith Butterick shares his reflections on a packed weekend of events in Hebden Bridge.
“I had the pleasure and honour of attending two events as Mayor this weekend. The first was opening the 2026 Hebden Bridge Film Festival, one of the most important in the town’s cultural calendar and proudly supported by Hebden Royd Town Council’s Community Funding. This year’s Film Festival theme was ‘Bearing Witness’. I’ve shared some of my words from the opening night below.
The second event was an event by the excellent Annapurna Indian Dance Company at Birchcliffe Centre. A celebration of International Womens Day, the event included an Indian dance workshop and vibrant performance by Annapurna Dance featuring unique Indian instruments, a group song by Indian women’s group led by Lalitha Sahu and a workshop with Marguerite Eccles who created a new dance piece titled “Common Threads,” which was developed using the archives at the Birchcliffe Centre.
It was an afternoon full of dancing, music, singing and samosas. Absolutely perfect.”
“Hebden Bridge Film Festival – taken from my words on opening night
Hebden Bridge has always been a place that values creativity, independence, and community. It’s a town that has never been afraid to think differently, to support the arts, and make space for voices that might not always be heard elsewhere. And this festival is a perfect reflection of that spirit.
This year’s theme is Bearing Witness, and it feels particularly appropriate here.
Because if there is one thing Hebden Bridge understands, it’s the importance of community and the importance of looking out for each other. This is a place that knows how to come together — not just in the good moments, but when things are difficult too. This is perhaps demonstrated in the way the community rallied after the floods of 2015. And I’m proud of the Picture House outreach programmes which also manifest that. That sense of paying attention to each other, of not looking away, is really what bearing witness is about.
As a writer, I often think about how stories shape the way we see the world. The stories we choose to tell — and the ones we choose to listen to — say a lot about who we are.
Film gives us a powerful way to do that. It allows us to step into someone else’s experience for a while. To see lives we might not otherwise encounter. And sometimes it asks us to sit with uncomfortable truths rather than easy answers.
Because bearing witness to me isn’t just about seeing. It’s about recognising. It’s about understanding that behind every issue, every conflict, every headline, there are human beings trying to make sense of their lives just like us.
What makes festivals like this special is that they give us a chance to do that together. To watch together. To think together. To talk afterwards. To disagree sometimes. But always to stay curious.
And that feels very Hebden Bridge to me.
Because this has always been a place where culture matters. Where independent thinking matters. Where people believe that creativity is not just something extra, but something essential to how communities stay alive and connected.
So over the next few days I hope you see films that move you, films that challenge you, and films that stay with you long after you’ve left the cinema.
Because when we take the time to see each other properly, we remind ourselves what community really means.
In the end, bearing witness is really about one simple thing — refusing to look away from each other’s humanity.
Thank you for being part of that tonight.It takes a huge amount of effort to organise the event, congratulations for all the effort to the Festival Director Louise Wadley, her committee and the volunteers for making it such a successful weekend.“
