MOVIE buffs are set to roll out the red carpet after a top film critic was confirmed for a new film festival.

Holmfirth – the true home of movies – is set to launch its own film festival this May.

More than a century after local company Bamforths produced Britain’s first silent movies, film fans are in for treat at an evening with BBC legend Barry Norman.

Norman was best known for his 25-year run as the face of the late night Film review show, before he jumped ship to Sky in 1998.

Now after decades of meeting and interviewing Hollywood’s greatest actors, including John Wayne and Laurence Olivier, he is set to tell his tales to an audience of movie lovers at Holmfirth’s historic Picturedrome.

Talking to The Examiner from his Hertfordshire home, the 76-year-old said he was pleased to see another local film festival get off the ground.

He said: “I’m very much looking forward to it, it’s part of an intermittent tour I do of festivals giving a one man show.

“It’s something I’ve been doing on and off for a few years now, it’s great.

“I shall be talking about a bunch of classic movies, why they were made, how they were made, what happened when they were made and why I think they’ve lasted so long.

“That takes up the first half and the second half is a Q&A where people can ask me any questions they like about anything to do with the movies.

“The most frequent question I get asked is ‘what’s your favourite film of all time?’ to which I have no answer because I’ve seen far too many.

“I’ve seen more than 12,000 movies and there isn’t any one that stands out.”

And while Holmfirth may be the home of Bamforth’s Barry said he was not a particular fan of the classics.

He said: “I really have no patience for people who say, ‘they don’t make ’em like they used to’, because this is not true.

“The best films today are just as good and technically much better than any films that have been made before.”

With current Film 2010 host Jonathan Ross stepping down later this year, rumours are rife about who will replace him.

But Barry Norman fans are set to be disappointed after he swiftly ruled himself out of the running.

Barry, who last presented the show in 1998, said: “I thought I’d miss it but I never did.

“I got out at the right time, 30 years without remission for good conduct.

“The film industry was changing and it got to the point where the publicity tail was wagging the dog.

“If you were very lucky you got 15 minutes with the star or director or writer, which is rubbish – you can’t do a proper interview in that time.”

While Barry had no answer for his favourite film he did list his favourite interviewees as George Clooney, Clint Eastwood, Michelle Pfeiffer, Kim Basinger and his all time favourite, Sophia Loren.

Festival organiser, Stephen Dorril, said he was pleased to secure such a top expert.

He said: “We were looking for someone that was a big name in film and Barry Norman seemed an ideal choice.

“He’s still a well known name and is still the chief reviewer for the Radio Times.

“He’s met and talked to almost all the major stars in Hollywood and he will talk about his favourite films and people he has met in his long career in film.”

Mr Dorril, who is the film journalism course leader at Huddersfield University, said he was also in talks with a top female star to appear at the festival’s glittering red carpet launch.

Other events planned include a day of Bamforth’s films and a day dedicated to Huddersfield’s most famous theatrical son, Hollywood star James Mason.

The Holmfirth Film Festival is from May 22 to May 29. The evening with Barry Norman will be on Thursday May 27. Tickets £12.

www.holmfirthfilmfestival.co.uk