Films A-Z
Until the line-up for 2010 is announced, we are keeping 2009's A to Z in place, so that visitors to the site can find out more about the films screened in our previous festival.
Join legendary documentary filmmaker Randy Henry, to discover the secret world of a Salford Car Park. Here, three misfits inhabit their own little worlds: Steve dreams of a distant, unobtainable future, managing a multi-storey carpark in the Arndale; SAS tries to recapture the certainties of a lost past, and Frank simply pretends he isn’t there at all. But why do paying customers keep disappearing? Why do they never have the same manager two weeks running? Will Frank ever get to eat his cheese and pickle sandwich in peace? At the heart of it all is a secret so terrible, so life-threatening that our unlikely heroes may never have to park a car again, as long as they live. Because in Salford, parking your car is murder…
Screening as part of our NORTH WEST UNDERGROUND strand.
Punch and Judy man Barry Shepherd is worn out. After 50 years working the wooden dolls, it's time for a splashy puppet finish, an adieu. As things begin to fall apart around him, Barry's life becomes increasingly pervaded by the reality of his tawdry and violent profession. Drinking and cursing his way unrepentantly onwards, he continues with the show. Even as it threatens to destroy him and take his soul . . . Written and directed by Julian Barratt of 'The Mighty Boosh' in collaboration with theatre and opera director Dan Jemmett, himself a former Punch and Judy Man, and featuring a magnificently sordid star turn by the great Bob Goody. Showing as part of CAUGHT SHORT ONE: LAUGH THIS OFF!
It’s a sporting life with the Pigeon Men of Wigan…
Showing as part of REEL LIFE
For this year’s accompanied silent film, we’ve a low-key bittersweet romance from the 1960s, that offers a glimpse of a Manchester and Salford long-gone, from the book market on Corporation Street, to the boatyards of Salford Quays. This film will have live accompaniment on the Wurlitzer organ. Showing as part of UNDERSTANDING THE PAST
Servicemen from Moston, Salford and Atherton gather at Penang racecourse to send their messages home… Showing as part of UNDERSTANDING THE PAST
A propaganda film with a difference, demonstrating the need to improve working conditions in the local mills through dance, animation and experimental editing – all to a swinging Jack Parnell score! Showing as part of UNDERSTANDING THE PAST
CLIFF TWEMLOW: THE ORSON WELLES OF SALFORD
Following on from our tribute screening last year, we are delighted to be hosting the launch of The Lost World of Cliff Twemlow: King of Manchester Exploitation Movies (Hotun Press: www.hotunpress.com) - the first critical study of the great man, by CP Lee and Andy Willis. Maverick pioneer of low-budget independent filmmaking in the region, Cliff Twemlow was writer, producer, soundtrack composer, and star of a series of startling straight-to-video exploitation classics, shot in locations ranging from Manchester and Salford to Ibiza, the West Indies - and even Outer Space! Characterised by droll humour, cartoonish violence, and a general sense that everyone involved is having a wild time, the films offer a snap-shot of the golden age of UK home video entertainment, and are a testament to the drive and ambition of a filmmaker working without a net, in an era before the digital film revolution.
As we focus this year on the New Wave of underground and micro budget feature filmmaking in the region, it seems a good idea to give ourselves a reminder of the man who led the way. CP and Andy will be there to give an overview and answer questions, and there’ll be a chance to see some of Cliff’s seminal work for yourselves, with a screening of one of his difficult-to-see cult classics, title to be announced shortly. To book tickets for this event - and to order a copy of the book - email: books@hotunpress.com
A trip to the gents is filled with potential hazards for the unwary.
