With film awards season in full swing, the UHArts film and TV season at the University of Hertfordshire couldn’t come at a better time.

The new season of events at the university celebrates the contribution Hertfordshire’s film studios have made to British and world cinema.

The Elstree Film Season returns for a second visit, after its successful inaugural season last autumn, and features film and television programmes made in the 1960s at the various studios in Elstree and Borehamwood, hosted by The Elstree Project.

Each screening will be introduced by Paul Welsh, chairman of Elstree Screen Heritage, and will include exclusive highlights of interviews with the people who helped make these classic productions.

Village of the Damned (1960) kicks off the season on Thursday, March 14. This British sci-fi classic is the eerie tale of the blonde, glowing-eyed children of the small English village of Midwich. Two further screenings follow; on Thursday, March 28 is The Devil Rides Out (1968), the Hammer horror classic featuring Christopher Lee; and on Thursday, April 18 is a cult 60s TV double-bill of The Avengers and The Prisoner.

In April, UHArts focuses its attention on the sometimes forgotten Welwyn Studios. Originally opened in 1928 as British Instructional Films, the studio ran in Welwyn until the late 1950s. During this time it produced a number of important British features starring such luminaries as Bela Lugosi, James Mason, Alec Guinness and Margaret Rutherford.

The first screening, on Tuesday, April 2, is Brighton Rock (1947), one of the most widely known and celebrated British films. This will be followed by a Hitchcock double-bill on Tuesday, April 9, featuring the rarely-screened World War Two French language propaganda short films Bon Voyage (1944) and Aventure Malgache (1944).

Also appearing at the campus, on Wednesday, March 13, is Britain’s favourite film reviewer Barry Norman, who will be sharing tales from his 26 years – Film 72 to Film 98 – of reviewing films for the BBC and talking about the many stars he’s met, interviewed and admired. Barry will be available to sign books after the event.

Among his favourite films are Casablanca, Gone with the Wind, The Adventures of Robin Hood and Dirty Harry.

  • The Elstree Film Season, the Welwyn Studios programme and Barry Norman’s Favourite Films take place at the Weston Auditorium, de Havilland Campus, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield. Details: 01707 271127, www.herts.ac.uk/artsandgalleries