Due to popular demand we’ve added a Sunday lunchtime showing of Juan of the Dead at 12:30. Tickets are on sale now!
A few other updates and additions while we’re on the subject:
As mentioned in the previous blog post, the Sugarfoot kneesup tonight at the Jekyll and Hyde after Another Fine Mess is free of charge, not £8 as stated in the brochure calendar.
Kismet Cafe are hosting a little open day with tea, cake and installations throughout Saturday. They have recently taken over a space at the awesome PST club on Lombard Street, just around the corner from The Edge.
Pieterjan Grandry, proprietor of the Gif Shop at the Custard Factory, will be giving a little presentation on his ingenious Animated Gif Player at the Flatpack Palais on Saturday morning from 11am.
And we’re delighted to confirm that Adil Ray will be present at the Electric on Sunday to introduce his Misspent Youth choice Blazing Saddles.
It’s all kicking off! After a leisurely lunch in the Flatpack Palais (thanks to the excellent Milan on Stoney Lane), the festival team have scattered across the city in preparation for five days of cinematic mayhem. With about 90 events and screenings jammed in, the chances are something in there will amuse you – and plenty of it is free so there’s plenty of opportunity for dipping and browsing.
Tonight’s opening is shaping to be another very special launch, with a masses of Flatpackers descending on Birmingham Cathedral for an evening of silent comedy hosted by pianist Neil Brand. Presales have finished now, but if you show up at the venue around 8 there should be tickets on sale still. (Cash only!) And also keep in mind that Sugarfoot Stomp will top off the evening with vintage knees-up tunes at the Jekyll and Hyde until midnight (contrary to the brochure, this event is free).
Sad, soulful image of Stan Laurel in his dressing room at the Birmingham Hippodrome, during a music hall tour in 1953. The photo was taken by fan John McCabe, who became the comic duo’s first biographer and during their backstage conversations set the ball rolling for Sons of the Desert – the worldwide network of Laurel and Hardy devotees.
All of this territory will be explored by John Ullah in his talk on Saturday at the Bartons Arms, and you’ll also have a first chance to pick up a copy of This Is More Than I Can Stand, John’s new book on Charlie Hall (see also: today’s Birmingham Mail). Below is a slightly more cheerful souvenir of the boys’ 1947 Birmingham visit, taking tea at the Midland Hotel (now Burlington).
Splendid little trailer put together by Andy Goodman, compressing five days of cinematic mayhem into 1 minute 22 seconds. Music by The Destroyers, taken from their new album HOLE IN THE UNIVERSE which is out next month.
Something intriguing landed on our doormat this morning…
To find out more, book yourself a bed for Outer Sight Over Night. Please bear in mind that all campers must congregate at the Edge at 11pm next Saturday.
Here’s a lovely new illustration in honour of Harry Nilsson’s The Point, screening as part of 16mm Cartoon Rock next Sunday. The man who drew it, Ben Javens, is a massive fan of the music from the film, and has used the lead song Me And My Arrow as a starting point. He has also run off 20 super-limited edition screen prints for the festival, and these will be on sale at the Flatpack Palais shop throughout the weekend.
While I’m here I should just reiterate how flipping lucky we are to have this programme screening at Flatpack. In the process of clearing The Point for us, curator Kier-la Janisse discovered that even the company that made it don’t have this print of the original broadcast version which she’ll be screening. (The one with Dustin Hofmann’s narration, as opposed to the ropier Ringo Starr version which you can get on DVD.) Janisse herself is a very good egg, with a CV which includes programming Montreal’s Film Pop and Fantasia Festivals as well as co-founding the Blue Sunshine Psychotronic Film Center (LWL interview here). In addition to the cartoon show she may also be presenting a little bonus extra on Saturday night, exploring the phenomenon of the Quincy Punk.
© Flatpack Festival 2010