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Salaam Pakistan Film Festival is a brand-new touring film festival showcasing the very best of Pakistan’s new independent films. Audiences will have the rare chance to see award-winning films, a UK premiere, Oscar winning documentaries and special Q&A’s. It will be on at Birmingham’s Midlands Arts Centre on Sunday 24 March, Wednesday 27 March and Saturday 30 March 2019. The inaugural Salaam Pakistan Film Festival is a small but mighty film programme, which will also be touring other UK cities throughout March.

Various prestigious organisations support the Festival, including the British Film Institute and Rangoonwala Foundation. This year’s festival covers a range of themes including the 1947 partition, class and social struggle, female rights and the fight for social justice.

Salaam Pakistan Film Festival Listings

The UK premiere of the compelling UK-Pakistani film Lakeer will open the festival. Film critics hail this as the first Pahari film. Pioneering filmmaker Shiv Dutt, who sadly passed away in 2018, is the film’s director. Lakeer tells the story of a Kashmiri couple divided by Partition in
1947. The film’s UK-based writer Ali Adaalat will be present for a special Q&A following the screening.

Further highlights of the festival are the rare screenings of A Girl in the River and Saving Face. These are two powerful and hopeful Oscar winning documentaries by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. In 2012, the Government of Pakistan honoured Sharmeen with the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, the second highest civilian honour. She is also the only woman to win two Oscars by the age of 37.

The festival is also excited to announce Pakistani filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal will be present for her film Josh. The thought-provoking film about class and social struggle closes the Festival. Iram, a Physics Olympian turned filmmaker, initiated the Pakistani Oscar committee and is the founder of Pakistan’s first professional screenwriting lab (QALAMBAAZ). Iram will be taking Q&A’s from the audience after the screening.

Book at Midlands Art Centre

MAC’s Chief Executive and Artistic Director Debbie Kermode commented “We’re delighted to welcome the first Salaam Pakistan Film Festival. Our audiences will appreciate the opportunity to see this fantastic collection of cutting-edge Pakistani and British Pakistani films.”

Tickets for all screenings at Midlands Arts Centre can be booked via the Box Office on 0121-446 3232 or online at www.macbirmingham.co.uk (all films are screened with English subtitles).

Click here to book your place.

Salaam Pakistan Film Festival acknowledges the support of all its partners: The National Lottery, BFI FAN, Film Hub Midlands, Film Hub North, Rangoonwala Foundation, British Pakistan Foundation (BPF).

Read more about the festival here.

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The Black Country Living Museum in Dudley will once again feature in Peaky Blinders, Series five, which wrapped up on set last month. The Museum in the West Midlands has been featured in series one to four of the hugely popular series. And creator Steven Knight was the first person to watch the first two episodes of series five consecutively.

After viewing, Steven couldn’t help but emerge with a big grin on his face. “It’s going to be the best [series] yet,” he promised. “I’ve just seen the first two episodes together. The Director Anthony Byrne (Ripper Street / Silent Witness) has done a fantastic job. And Cillian is right at the top of his game. The series is moving from BBC Two to BBC One… I don’t know when it will be transmitted yet, other than this year. But the BBC want to make maximum impact with it.”

In Peaky Blinders, Series five, Cillian Murphy returns as the lead role of Thomas Shelby, who became an MP for Birmingham South at the end of series four.  The new series will also feature a Glasgow gang called The Billy Boys, led by Billy Fullerton. How would Shelby the MP have dealt with Brexit? “I think he would just pick the side he thought he could make the most money with,” laughed Steven. Steven has indicated in the past that Peaky Blinders will run to a seventh series. However, he can’t commit himself to any timescale. “The truth is the momentum and energy with Peaky Blinders around the world is such that we don’t really want to forecast a time when it will end,” he said.

Following our report last May, Steven confirmed that Ballet Rombert was still in talks to create a Peaky Blinders’ ballet – and he is not ruling out a film either.

Steven Knight will be at the Everyman Cinema in the Mailbox, Birmingham today, February 26. There he will attend a 7 pm screening and Q&A of his new film Serenity. Serenity will then go on general release in cinemas and on Sky Cinema from March 1.

Source: birminghammail.co.uk

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Tesco deli manager John Walker is celebrating the release of his horror movie which was filmed in Dudley. John has made over 200 appearances as an extra in some of Britain’s biggest shows. Now, he has made a new film called ‘Ouijageist’ which follows on from his 2015 debut ‘The Amytiville Playhouse’. The film tells the story of a single mother who is terrorised by evil spirits when she discovers a ouija board in her house. Horror star Lesley Scoble, who appeared in The Elephant Man and Village of the Damned stars in ‘Ouijageist’. The film was released on DVD in Japan and Germany. It is also available to buy or download in the UK via Amazon.

John, who is originally from Bath, now lives on Old Park Road in Dudley, and chose to fill his film with local talent. ‘Ouijageist’ was shot on location across Dudley. The Pet Pantry shop in Birdcage Walk in the town centre and All Saints Church in Sedgley take a leading role. The filmmaker, who works as a deli manager at the Tesco superstore at Castle Gate, says he looked close to home for inspiration.

John is no stranger to his work and film life colliding. He met his wife while playing her on-screen husband in an episode of BBC’s ‘Doctors’. He also has also appeared in Coronation Street, Eastenders, Doctor Who and Scott and Bailey, to name a few. The film is also a family affair, with his wife Neilum and four-year-old daughter India, making an appearance. The horror flick took four years to make and John began working on it when his daughter was newly born. John said: “I wrote a scene where a baby crawls up the stairs, so I was pushing the baby on to learn to crawl. She even has her own credit!”

Source: www.dudleynews.co.uk

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Fantastic Figures at Light House Cinema

The Black Country’s only independent cinema, Light House Cinema, has announced record admissions for its January programme of films.

Figures showed an increase of over 100% on last January and the highest monthly admissions in the Wolverhampton cinema’s 28 year history. This is partly down to a strong set of films for the month. These range from Mary Poppins Returns through to Stan and Ollie (partly filmed in Birmingham and the Black Country). Such films exceeded all expectations with sell out screenings over a two week period. A return of Bohemian Rhapsody demonstrated the bio-pic’s continued appeal and BAFTA-winning and Oscar-tipped The Favourite, starring Olivia Colman as Queen Anne, encouraged more full houses. As a consequence, takings in the cinema’s cafe bar Lock Works were also at a record high.

Appeal to Save Light House Cinema

Light House cinema launched a ‘Save Light House’ campaign last summer following statements from the management team that closure could be imminent. With media coverage and public support, admissions and donations have increased. However, the charity venue’s position is still far from secure.

Cinema and Operations manager Jas Kapur reported to trustees in January. He said, “Audiences are choosing Light House not just because of the current films – but because of its welcome and community feel. They enjoy seeing an exhibition by local artists before a film and enjoy taking a glass of wine in with them. If we could keep monthly admissions like this, we could feel confident about our future here in the city.”

To find out more about Light House Cinema and Cafe Bar, visit www.light-house.co.uk

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Reclaim the Frame 2019 launches in Birmingham

Reclaim The Frame 2019 kicks off with the drama “The Kindergarten Teacher” directed by Sara Colangelo. The film is released on 8 March and RTF will be at the Mockingbird Cinema on 12 March, 6.30pm for the Reclaim the Frame screening. As always there will be an ace panel discussion plus a post screening poetry workshop. More details will also be released as they are available.

The film – a favourite at  Sundance Film Festival 2018 and the 62nd BFI London Film Festival – stars Maggie Gyllenhaal as Lisa Spinelli. She’s a teacher and poet tired of her career, with an oblivious husband and teenage kids who largely ignore her. When she discovers that a five-year-old in her class may be a poetic prodigy, Lisa becomes fascinated and tries to protect him from neglectful parents. She soon finds herself risking her career and family to nurture his talent.

Reclaim the Frame 2019 opportunities

Also a new year brings new opportunities from Birds’ Eye View, the agency behind Reclaim the Frame! Birds’ Eye View (BEV) has always encouraged creating networks and opportunities for those they collaborate with. So, they have put out an open call for Super Influencers in 2019. BEV is looking for a passionate, dynamic, creative individual to support the next four Reclaim the Frame 2019 films and develop the Birds Eye View Influencer (BEVI) network in Birmingham.

Super Influencers are the go to people for BEV Influencers as well as being responsible for promoting screenings. They will be an advocate on social media and on a grassroots level, as well as attend the screenings. That way, BEV can find out what audiences thought about the films shown. This is a part-time, year long role. If you are interested in finding out more please register your interest here.

To read more on Birds’ Eye View, visit their site.

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At Focus on Filmmaking, you will hear from the region’s finest factual and documentary filmmakers. These include the team behind BBC4’s “A Very British History” series and Iain Cunningham, director of feature documentary “Irene’s Ghost”.

This is a Creative England event, held on Wednesday, 20 February, 12:00 – 17:00 GMT at BBC Birmingham, The Mailbox.

The session starts at 12 noon, with buffet lunch followed by speakers. At 4pm there will be networking and the opportunity to tour BBC Birmingham, to get behind the scenes of Midlands Today, BBC WM and The Archers studio (production schedule permitting). Priority will be given to those in the West Midlands area for this event.

Confirmed speakers for Focus on Filmmaking include:

Iain Cunningham

Iain Cunningham grew up in Nuneaton, in the Midlands of England. He runs production company Forward Features, making documentary, VR and short films. Usually self-shooting, his work is often personal and intimate. Iain has worked in drama and animation, but more frequently in factual television, developing documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4 and working on observational films, including BAFTA winning series “School of Hard Knocks”. “Irene’s Ghost” is Iain’s first feature documentary, and follows his search for information about his mother.

Sue Brown

Sue is the presenter of upcoming documentary for BBC Four “A Very British History”. It looks primarily at the black community in Birmingham in the mid 60s. It uses archive footage such as The Colony as a point of reference. Between 2010 and 2018 she worked as a Family Social Worker at Lillian de Lissa Children’s Centre, Birmingham. During her time with families she used a range of approaches and resources to improve emotional well-being, social skills and opportunities for children to enjoy and achieve. Over the years, Sue has worked with various creative projects and cross art forms, which has included collaboration with musicians, theatre and radio as well as educational work mainly within primary schools.

Paul Ashton

Paul is Head of Film at Creative England where he leads all film activity. This includes executive producing features, the iFeatures programme and the West Midlands Production Fund. He will share information on Creative England’s investment programmes and the West Midlands Production Fund.

Ed Barlow

Ed is a Producer/Director at Factual Unit BBC Birmingham, Ed Barlow hasspent the last year making two documentaries for a new BBC FOUR series A Very British History based at BBC Birmingham. His credits include A Floating History of Britain, Embarrassing Bodies, The Gadget Show, Coast, Countryfile, The ONE Show and The Best Bottoms in the Land, a collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

To register for Focus on Filmmaking, click here.

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BAFTA NOMINEES – BEST FILM 

• BLACKkKLANSMAN Jason Blum, Spike Lee, Raymond Mansfield, Sean McKittrick, Jordan Peele
• THE FAVOURITE Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Yorgos Lanthimos, Lee Magiday
• GREEN BOOK Jim Burke, Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga, Charles B. Wessler
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodríguez
• A STAR IS BORN Bradley Cooper, Bill Gerber, Lynette Howell Taylor

BAFTA NOMINEES – OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

• BEAST Michael Pearce, Kristian Brodie, Lauren Dark, Ivana MacKinnon
• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Graham King, Anthony McCarten
• THE FAVOURITE Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• McQUEEN Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui, Andee Ryder, Nick Taussig
• STAN & OLLIE Jon S. Baird, Faye Ward, Jeff Pope
• YOU WERE NEVER REALLY HERE Lynne Ramsay, Rosa Attab, Pascal Caucheteux, James Wilson

BAFTA NOMINEES – OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

• APOSTASY Daniel Kokotajlo (Writer/Director)
• BEAST Michael Pearce (Writer/Director), Lauren Dark (Producer)
• A CAMBODIAN SPRING Chris Kelly (Writer/Director/Producer)
• PILI Leanne Welham (Writer/Director), Sophie Harman (Producer)
• RAY & LIZ Richard Billingham (Writer/Director), Jacqui Davies (Producer)

BAFTA NOMINEES – FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

• CAPERNAUM Nadine Labaki, Khaled Mouzanar
• COLD WAR Paweł Pawlikowski, Tanya Seghatchian, Ewa Puszczyńska
• DOGMAN Matteo Garrone
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón, Gabriela Rodríguez
• SHOPLIFTERS Hirokazu Kore-eda, Kaoru Matsuzaki

BAFTA NOMINEES – DOCUMENTARY

• FREE SOLO Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin, Shannon Dill, Evan Hayes
• McQUEEN Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
• RBG Julie Cohen, Betsy West
• THEY SHALL NOT GROW OLD Peter Jackson, Clare Olssen
• THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS Tim Wardle, Grace Hughes-Hallett, Becky Read

BAFTA NOMINEES – ANIMATED FILM

• INCREDIBLES 2 Brad Bird, John Walker
• ISLE OF DOGS Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson
• SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman, Phil Lord

BAFTA NOMINEES – DIRECTOR

• BLACKkKLANSMAN Spike Lee
• COLD WAR Paweł Pawlikowski
• THE FAVOURITE Yorgos Lanthimos
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón
• A STAR IS BORN Bradley Cooper

BAFTA NOMINEES – ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• COLD WAR Janusz Głowacki, Paweł Pawlikowski
• THE FAVOURITE Deborah Davis, Tony McNamara
• GREEN BOOK Brian Currie, Peter Farrelly, Nick Vallelonga
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón
• VICE Adam McKay

BAFTA NOMINEES – ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• BLACKkKLANSMAN Spike Lee, David Rabinowitz, Charlie Wachtel, Kevin Willmott
• CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME? Nicole Holofcener, Jeff Whitty
• FIRST MAN Josh Singer
• IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Barry Jenkins
• A STAR IS BORN Bradley Cooper, Will Fetters, Eric Roth

BAFTA NOMINEES – LEADING ACTRESS

• GLENN CLOSE The Wife
• LADY GAGA A Star Is Born
• MELISSA McCARTHY Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• OLIVIA COLMAN The Favourite
• VIOLA DAVIS Widows

BAFTA NOMINEES – LEADING ACTOR

• BRADLEY COOPER A Star Is Born
• CHRISTIAN BALE Vice
• RAMI MALEK Bohemian Rhapsody
• STEVE COOGAN Stan & Ollie
• VIGGO MORTENSEN Green Book

BAFTA NOMINEES – SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• AMY ADAMS Vice
• CLAIRE FOY First Man
• EMMA STONE The Favourite
• MARGOT ROBBIE Mary Queen of Scots
• RACHEL WEISZ The Favourite

BAFTA NOMINEES – SUPPORTING ACTOR

• ADAM DRIVER BlacKkKlansman
• MAHERSHALA ALI Green Book
• RICHARD E. GRANT Can You Ever Forgive Me?
• SAM ROCKWELL Vice
• TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET Beautiful Boy

BAFTA NOMINEES – ORIGINAL MUSIC

• BLACKkKLANSMAN Terence Blanchard
• IF BEALE STREET COULD TALK Nicholas Britell
• ISLE OF DOGS Alexandre Desplat
• MARY POPPINS RETURNS Marc Shaiman
• A STAR IS BORN Bradley Cooper, Lady Gaga, Lukas Nelson

BAFTA NOMINEES – CINEMATOGRAPHY

• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Newton Thomas Sigel
• COLD WAR Łukasz Żal
• THE FAVOURITE Robbie Ryan
• FIRST MAN Linus Sandgren
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón

BAFTA NOMINEES – EDITING

• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY John Ottman
• THE FAVOURITE Yorgos Mavropsaridis
• FIRST MAN Tom Cross
• ROMA Alfonso Cuarón, Adam Gough
• VICE Hank Corwin

BAFTA NOMINEES – PRODUCTION DESIGN

• FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD Stuart Craig, Anna Pinnock
• THE FAVOURITE Fiona Crombie, Alice Felton
• FIRST MAN Nathan Crowley, Kathy Lucas
• MARY POPPINS RETURNS John Myhre, Gordon Sim
• ROMA Eugenio Caballero, Bárbara Enríquez

BAFTA NOMINEES – COSTUME DESIGN

• THE BALLAD OF BUSTER SCRUGGS Mary Zophres
• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Julian Day
• THE FAVOURITE Sandy Powell
• MARY POPPINS RETURNS Sandy Powell
• MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Alexandra Byrne

BAFTA NOMINEES – MAKE UP & HAIR

• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY Mark Coulier, Jan Sewell
• THE FAVOURITE Nadia Stacey
• MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS Jenny Shircore
• STAN & OLLIE Mark Coulier, Jeremy Woodhead, Josh Weston
• VICE Kate Biscoe, Greg Cannom, Patricia DeHaney, Chris Gallaher

BAFTA NOMINEES – SOUND

• BOHEMIAN RHAPSODY John Casali, Tim Cavagin, Nina Hartstone, Paul Massey, John Warhurst
• FIRST MAN Mary H. Ellis, Mildred Iatrou Morgan, Ai-Ling Lee, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor
• MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – FALLOUT Gilbert Lake, James H. Mather, Chris Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith
• A QUIET PLACE Erik Aadahl, Michael Barosky, Brandon Proctor, Ethan Van der Ryn
• A STAR IS BORN Steve Morrow, Alan Robert Murray, Jason Ruder, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic

BAFTA NOMINEES – SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

• AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR Dan DeLeeuw, Russell Earl, Kelly Port, Dan Sudick
• BLACK PANTHER Geoffrey Baumann, Jesse James Chisholm, Craig Hammack, Dan Sudick
• FANTASTIC BEASTS: THE CRIMES OF GRINDELWALD Tim Burke, Andy Kind, Christian Manz, David Watkins
• FIRST MAN Ian Hunter, Paul Lambert, Tristan Myles, J.D. Schwalm
• READY PLAYER ONE Matthew E. Butler, Grady Cofer, Roger Guyett, David Shirk

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION

• I’M OK Elizabeth Hobbs, Abigail Addison, Jelena Popović
• MARFA Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod
• ROUGHHOUSE Jonathan Hodgson, Richard Van Den Boom

BRITISH SHORT FILM

• 73 COWS Alex Lockwood
• BACHELOR, 38 Angela Clarke
• THE BLUE DOOR Ben Clark, Megan Pugh, Paul Taylor
• THE FIELD Sandhya Suri, Thomas Bidegain, Balthazar de Ganay
• WALE Barnaby Blackburn, Sophie Alexander, Catherine Slater, Edward Speleers

EE RISING STAR AWARD

• BARRY KEOGHAN
• CYNTHIA ERIVO
• JESSIE BUCKLEY
• LAKEITH STANFIELD
• LETITIA WRIGHT

Source: BAFTA

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Birmingham’s Lickey Hills will feature in the inspiring film about a Black Country hero. Dave Heeley immortalised himself as the first blind man to run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. Now his incredible true story has been told on the big screen.

Producer Martin Nigel Davy has turned the story of Blind Dave into a feature length film, 7 Days, which was premiered at Birmingham Repertory Theatre on February 1. The 45-minute flick was shot on location in Birmingham’s Lickey Hills area, tells the inspirational tale of how West Bromwich Albion fan Dave battled to overcome his disability to take on one of the toughest challenges on the planet.

Directed by Ian and Dominic Higgins of Pixel Revolution Films, the film sees theatre actor Jack Lane taking on the role of Dave. Casualty and Doctors actress Sarah Manners plays Dave’s wife Debbie. Harry Potter stars James and Oliver Phelps (who played Fred and George Weasley in the blockbuster movie franchise) also appear in the film. Also appearing is TV newscaster Suzanne Virdee and Stourbridge actress Amanda Edwards.

Director Ian Higgins said: “Dave’s story is so inspiring – it was an absolute honour to bring it to the screen. The word celebrity today is one that is bandied around too freely, but with Dave we have a life that is truly worth celebrating. That’s exactly what we intended to do with the film.”

Co-director Dominic added: “There’s a moment in the film when Dave says ‘blindness has taught me another way to see the world’. That sums up the story we wanted to tell. Dave’s blindness has taken away his ability to look out into the world, but he’s gained the ability to look inwards, to find that toughness, that iron will that’s there deep down inside him somewhere. That’s what’s so inspiring about Dave’s story and it’s a message we hope will resonate with all audiences.”

Producer Nigel added: “It wasn’t because of what Dave’s done – it’s because of who he is; that’s why we made the film. We were a bit overwhelmed with the reaction. We can’t wait to put it out on public release which hopefully will be in the first week of May.”

Source: www.worcesternews.co.uk

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