"Britain's most exciting and innovative film festival"

- Lonely Planet
"Promises innovation, and does not disappoint"
- Plan B magazine
"Like the perfect mixtape, the choices jump from era to era and genre to genre, yet perfectly segue into each other. You’re not quite sure how or why the selection works, but that is precisely what makes it so magical.”
- Electric Sheep magazine

“Friendly and well-organised, with a laid-back, generous spirit”
- audience feedback

Flatpack Festival started life in 2006, an outgrowth of the itinerant film events put together by 7 Inch Cinema. The general idea was (and is) to show things that people might not get to see otherwise, and create a sense of occasion by using different venues, putting films alongside live elements and mixing things up.

Festival no.1 included Portland’s unique Vladmaster Experience, the UK premiere of Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and a tribute to sound artist Henry Jacobs. Festival no.2 was a bit bigger, with more installations, an opening do in St Paul’s Church, guests including Broadcast, Andy Votel and Misty’s Big Adventure, and previews of Paprika and The Science of Sleep.

We had a breather in 2008 for a bit of long-term planning and the break paid off, with the UK Film Council picking the festival as one of seven key national events in recognition of our “innovative approach to programming and PR.” Nice reward after a couple of years slogging on teeny budgets, and along with commitments from Arts Council England and ScreenWM it has helped us step up our ambitions for festival no.3 and beyond.

The people responsible for this hodge-podge are Pip McKnight and Ian Francis (7 Inch Cinema) and designer Dave Gaskarth (Cyrk), as well as a host of others who have given freely of their time and ideas over the years.

>> More background on the festival here.

>> The 2007 programme archived here.