Flatpack
Film. And then some.
Highlights
Sol Cinema
A caravan converted into a solar-powered picturehouse – easily the smallest cinema at this year’s festival, and one of the snazziest.
Consuming Spirits
Beautifully detailed 16mm animation about a rust-belt town, fifteen years in the making.
Grey Gardens
One-of-a-kind documentary by the Maysles Brothers, selected and introduced by Alice Lowe (Sightseers).
MondoManila
This delirious, trashy slum voyage has emerged from a wave of fresh, street-level filmmaking coming out of the Philippines.
Wadjda
Wadjda arrives weighed down not just with festival plaudits but plenty of history too, as the first film shot entirely in Saudi Arabia and the first by a female director.
Safety Last!
Great Western Arcade becomes a cinema for the evening, playing host to a rip-roaring Harold Lloyd comedy famous for one particular moment.
Ernest and Celestine
Charming, funny animated tale about a forbidden friendship between a bear and a mouse, by the duo behind A Town Called Panic.
International Space Orchestra
A group of space scientists from NASA form an orchestra, to perform a piece based on the Apollo 11 mission.
3D Party
Stereoscopic Saturday night hijinks.
Eastern Lo-Fi (Repeat)
There are some trailers which make viewing the complete film a new life-priority.
The Lebanese Rocket Society
The incredible story of the Lebanese space race.
The Adventures of Prince Achmed
Lotte Reiniger’s spell-binding 1927 animation, with live dulcimer score by Geoff Smith.
Only The Young
A beautifully composed snapshot of two teenage Christian skaters in Suburban California played out to old soul tunes.
Demdike Stare + Lee Gamble
Live AV sets by two of the best electronic acts around. Expect VHS horror, mangled jungle, fuzzed-out beauty and a bit of throbbing menace.
The Passion of Joan of Arc
Dreyer’s timeless marvel in Birmingham Cathedral, with live piano by Paul Shallcross.
The Mad Magician
Vincent Price in 3D, complete with whirring buzzsaws!
Kopf Kino
A converted shopping trolley that projects your face onto the nearest building.
The Queen Ant Made Me Do It!
Little Earthquake present cult insect horror classic Empire of the Ants.
Celluloid Nights
An evening of analogue film antics at Thinktank, in the birthplace of celluloid.
Cyclomania
A celebration of the two-wheeled velocipede, featuring pedal-powered films, the Cyclotrope, bike polo and the world famous Bicycle Basket Bazaar.
Flatpack Festival 2013
After months of frenzied speculation and attempted espionage, the Flatpack programme is live! Extended to eleven days for the first time, and featuring an unrivalled range of events, screenings, exhibitions and activities in venues all over Birmingham, this is probably more fun than anyone should legally be allowed.
Physical brochures are now out and about. A digital version can be browsed here: issuu.com/flatpack/docs/fp7
…You can also download a pdf of the calendar, or the whole caboodle (PDF, 6MB).