MERYL Streep and Tom Hanks star in a political thriller coming to Glusburn Institute & Community Arts Centre on March 8.

The Post is set in 1971 when major newspapers like the New York Times and Washington Post made a brave stand for freedom of speech.

The publications reported on the Pentagon Papers, a massive cover-up of government secrets that spanned four decades and four presidents. The classified documents concerned the involvement of the USA in the Vietnam War.

The well-received 2017 film was directed by Steven Spielberg with music by his long-time collaborator John Williams. Streep stars as Katharine Graham, the first female publisher of a major American newspaper, while Hanks is Ben Bradlee, the executive editor of the Washington Post.

The film received positive reviews on its release, critics praising the film’s allusions to the presidencies of Richard Nixon and Donald Trump. It was named as one of the top 10 films of the year by Time magazine and the American Film Institute.

In 1966, during the Vietnam War, State Department military analyst Daniel Ellsberg accompanies American troops in combat, documenting the U.S. military progress in the region for Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. On the flight home, McNamara privately tells Ellsberg that the Vietnam war is hopeless. Upon landing, he tells the press he has every confidence in the war effort.

Years later, a disillusioned Ellsberg photocopies hundreds of classified reports dating back to the Truman administration and leaks them to the media. The ensuing storm, involving politics, business and friendship, ties, take the Washington Post and New York Times as far as the Supreme Court as they battle to publish the documents.

The 12a-certificate film starts at 7.30pm. The bar opens at 7pm. Tickets cost £5 by visiting gicac.org.uk or calling 01535 630223.