21-31 March - Birmingham 2013
‘Magnificently eclectic.’ Time Out
‘Flatpack feels like an essential component in Birmingham’s cultural life.’ The Quietus
‘Putting invention and unabashed imagination front and centre.’ Little White Lies
Flatpack Festival returns to Birmingham from 21-31 March 2013, spreading across two weekends for the very first time. Firmly established as one of the most atypical and inventive events in the UK's cultural and film calendar, Flatpack 2013 looks set to provide the stimulating array of experiential cinematic treats that its growing legion of fans has come to expect.
Mixing brand new talent with forgotten classics and the usual dose of eccentricity, Flatpack festivalgoers can expect live scores, late night parties and cycle-powered screenings all while exploring some of Birmingham’s more unusual venues and locales. Screenings and events are just as likely to be found in warehouses and churches as more traditional venues like the century-old Electric Cinema. This year will also see an extension of the popular Film Bug programme, with free screenings, events and installations in Birmingham city centre kicking off the festival from 21-23 March.
Once again the Flatpack Palais will provide the festival’s beating heart; a place to meet people, eat cake, pick up a brochure and sample the programme. In the past it has taken over a warehouse, a gallery space, and a disused dance studio. In 2013 it will be found in a Victorian building which started life as the Deritend Free Library. Flatpack will be collaborating with students from Birmingham School of Architecture to transform it into a screening space and social hub. A Kickstarter campaign is underway to help make this ambitious project happen.
FLATPACK FESTIVAL 2013 FEATURE FILMS & DOCUMENTARIES INCLUDE:
ONE MILE AWAY - After shooting a hip-hop musical in north Birmingham, director Penny Woolcock stayed around to make a documentary about some of the young non-professional actors who appeared in her film. The result is One Mile Away, a candid portrait of two gang-members and their attempt to forge an unlikely truce.
THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC – Featuring an unforgettable performance by Maria Falconetti, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s startling 1928 silent film has recently been restored and will be screened at Birmingham Cathedral with a new live score by pianist Paul Shallcross.
THE ADVENTURES OF PRINCE ACHMED - Lotte Reiniger’s beguiling 1926 cut-out fairy-tale is refreshed for Flatpack 2013 by a new live score from Dutch ensemble the Sonja Van Hamel Trio.
The programme of feature films also includes: MONDOMANILA, an unhinged, hilarious and defiantly scuzzy voyage through the Philippino underground; ONLY THE YOUNG, a documentary about two Christian skate-punks in the Californian suburbs; VANISHING WAVES, a bold Lithuanian sci-fi film about an experiment to enter the consciousness of a coma victim; and CONSUMING SPIRITS, Chris Sullivan’s small-town portrait combining a number of different animation style.
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
SHYNOLA – the legendary filmmaking collective present a selection of their mould-breaking music videos, and talk about their long-awaited feature film The Red Men.
DEMDIKE STARE – An opportunity witness the duo’s dark, hypnotic powers in a live AV set, complete with a visual barrage of obscure VHS horror. Their stated aim is “get a load of ingredients, throw them in a cauldron, set fire to it and see what happens.”
CYCLOMANIA - Pedal-powered screenings and an archive programme exploring Birmingham’s bike-building heritage.
GANGLAND STYLE - In anticipation of a new six-part BBC series about Birmingham’s Edwardian roughs, the Peaky Blinders, historian Chris Upton will lead a walking tour through the city’s forgotten battlegrounds.
THE MIND OF EVIL – Thanks to a painstaking restoration by the BFI as part of the show’s fiftieth birthday celebrations, this landmark Doctor Who serial can now be seen in full colour for the very first time.
SON OF MAN – Screening at Carr’s Lane Church a few days before Easter, Flactpack provides a rare chance to see Dennis Potter’s 1969 television play, a stark and controversial retelling of the story of Christ,
REVISITING THE ARTS LAB – Although labs sprang up across the UK throughout the 60s, Birmingham’s Arts Lab flourished long after the others had died out and became fertile ground for new talent across a range of artforms. Flatpack will pay tribute to the Lab and its legacy, gathering key contributors, screening relevant works, and displaying some of the mind-bending posters that emerged from their screen-print workshop.
GANGLAND STYLE - In anticipation of a new six-part BBC series about Birmingham’s Edwardian roughs, the Peaky Blinders, historian Chris Upton will lead a walking tour through the city’s forgotten battlegrounds.
3D DELIGHTS – A strand containing a beautiful selection of 1960s Soviet animation and a climactic 3D Party complete with A/V performances and stereoscopic activities as well as a screening of Vincent Price’s THE MAD MAGICIAN
COLOUR BOX - This year, Flatpack’s family strand coincides with Easter weekend, and boasts an even bigger and more varied line-up of screenings and activities for younger viewers and doers.
