We invite you to join us for a special event introducing the work of Stuart Croft (1970-2015), organised to coincide with the Leeds International Film Festival (LIFF) and on the opening day of the exhibition Stuart Croft: Eternal Return at Leeds Art Gallery. 

Before the event, free coffee and pastries will be served in the Tiled Hall Café for all attendees, hosted by the Stuart Croft Foundation. This event will involve talks from friends and peers of Stuart’s, Emma Bennett and Steven Eastwood, along with the Programme Manager at LIFF, Alex King. Screenings of Croft’s earlier films will follow the talks and an audience Q&A.

Stuart was a talented and influential artist-filmmaker from Leeds, whose films imaginatively collapse the boundaries between art and cinema. Four of his films are being screened in a major exhibition at Leeds Art Gallery and more of his films shown as part of a spotlight film programme for LIFF (1-17 November).

More about Stuart Croft

Stuart Croft’s films tamper with fiction and re-purpose genre in playful ways – borrowing from road trip movies, sci-fi, film noir and Hollywood musicals, to name a few. Eternal Return at Leeds Art Gallery is the first major exhibition of artist film works by Stuart Croft since his death in 2015. Both the exhibition and this event are presented in partnership with the Stuart Croft Foundation. Established by the family and friends of the artist after his death, the Foundation’s mission is to make accessible the artist’s legacy and archive.

More about the speakers

Emma Bennett is a Welsh artist, based in London, UK. Emma met Stuart on the MA programme at Chelsea College of Art and Design (1997-98) and worked on several of his films. She is a founding trustee and co-chair of the Stuart Croft Foundation. Emma is also the Editor of ‘Stuart Croft Returns’, the first monograph to focus on the artist, which was published by The Everyday Press in April 2024.

Steven Eastwood is an artist-filmmaker who works in both cinema and galleries. His most recent feature The Stimming Pool (2024) was co-created with The Neurocultures Collective and premiered at CPH:DOX, before a world festivals tour. His second feature ISLAND premiered at IFFR 2018 and had a UK theatrical release that year. His first feature Buried Land (2010) was officially selected for Tribeca, Moscow, Mumbai film festivals. Multiscreen exhibitions include STIM CINEMA (2023); The Interval and the Instant (2017); The Hiss of the Blow (2009). He has been the recipient of numerous awards and commissions, including Wellcome Trust, BFI, Film London FLAMIN, Arts Council, AHRC. His documentary Those Who Are Jesus (2001) was nominated for a Grierson Award. He holds a PhD from UCL The Slade and is Professor of Film Practice at Queen Mary University of London.

Complimentary coffee and pastries served from 10am in the Tiled Hall Cafe.