This creature will be unveiled in Shrewsbury’s Quarry Park this Friday as one of the headline acts at the Shift_Time festival. It’s called Anima Umerus and the man who made it, kinetic sculptor Theo Jansen, has a vision of herds of these things roaming around beaches doing their own thing. They’re wind-powered, and you can see some in action on youtube.

Every festival has a few choice acts/films that don’t come off; the trick is to be thick-skinned and keep your options open. One of those that got away when planning this year’s Flatpack was British Sea Power, who we hoped to have up with their rescore of Robert Flaherty’s windswept documentary Man of Aran. The timing wasn’t quite right, but happily it’s all come together a few months later and BSP will be performing with the film at midnight on 21 August as part of a packed film-tent programme at the Green Man festival. Taking a lead from Flaherty’s film we’ll be showing an assortment of ‘edge-of-the-world’ movies including lunar shorts and cult documentary The Moon and The Sledgehammer (trailer below). More info on the whole thing here.

Images by Naz and Oona. With thanks to Ioannis Ioannou for inviting us. [Flickr]

1) Buster Keaton shorts
Bloody superb box-set of all Keaton’s shorts between 1917 and 1923. Can be got here at the bargain price of £20.

2) Cambodian pop
This was actually flavour of the office last year, yesterday resurrected by our discovery of LA-based surf-rockers and Cambodian covers band Dengue Fever. They play the Scala in London next month, and look out for their road-trip documentary Sleepwalking Through the Mekong. If you want to hear the originals - and believe me, you do - then go download the Cambodian Rocks compilation from WFMU, or a home-made alternative at The Horse Drawn Zeppelin.

3) Birmingham super prix
In anticipation of a guest-turn at the 24 Hour Scalextric being put together by Stans Cafe next month (on which, more next week), we have been delving into the history and hearsay surrounding Birmingham’s brief hey-day as the UK’s only legal city-centre street-race. This youtube clip from 1989 is nice and tense.

4) Glückskugel
Discovered for £7 in Rise, Warwick Arts Centre’s great little record shop (it’s like Fopp never went bust). One of the earliest releases by Andy Votel’s Finders Keepers label, a half-hour assortment of proto-techno, quirky mood music and machine noises composed by Bruno Spoerri.

5) Roy Andersson
Currently beating Lukas Moodysson hands-down for the title of Sweden’s Greatest Living Director. Finally I caught up with Songs from the Second Floor, and like pretty much everything else by Andersson it’s ideal viewing for anyone contemplating social meltdown. Strangely enough he has also made a good living out of directing adverts - here’s a selection:

Ok, so a few things have been sneaking up on here that we should draw your attention to…

TRAVELLING PICTURE SHOW
Project page for this summer’s kids tour, following a storming weekend of matinees at the Electric. Dates already booked in Bromsgrove, Brum, Pershore, Shrewsbury, and plenty more to come;

WORCESTERSHIRE ON FILM mk2
Worcester and Bretforton, lock up your granddaughters. Actually, don’t;

MAKING DO
Walsall knees-up on 7th May in tandem with Capsule and featuring Pram, July Skies, and the Winter League. And most imminently;

7INCH no.36
Back to the Hare and Hounds, with a crate of good short stuff and guest DJ Jonny Costello. Includes Jeff Keen’s cut-up comic-book overload MARVO MOVIE (pictured above, from the ace new BFI dvd set), a taster for Jo Hamilton’s tour diary GOWN (ditto, and vimeo’d here) and Lucy McLauchlan’s timelapse mural in TACIT (embedded below). Beyond the jump I’ve pasted this morning’s emailout - to receive these as nature intended, sign up on the left.

Beat13 / Lucy McLauchlan “Tacit” from Beat13 on Vimeo.

On 22 Apr 2009, at 10:26, 7 Inch Cinema wrote:

hello,

A month on from Flatpack and what do we have
to show for it? The last few films are flying home
in recycled jiffy-bags, the warehouse in Floodgate
Street has been cleared of cogs, and whistling a
happy tune we work our way through a pile of
invoices and evaluation forms. As mentioned before,
nostalgists can relive the magic through various
writeups and reports here:
http://tinyurl.com/flatpackmemory
and photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/7inchcinema
(extra images added this week)
or buy tshirts and bags here:
http://www.flatpackfestival.bigcartel.com

Moving onwards…

7INCH no.36
Sunday 26 April, from 7pm
The Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath B14 7JZ

Returning to familiar Sunday filmnight territory, a
joyous barrage of shorts, animation and music
videos with a bit of a post-Flatpack flavour. Includes:

THERE ARE MONSTERS (Jay Dahl)
creepy Canadian horror
PLEASE SAY SOMETHING (David O’Reilly)
bittersweet cat-and-mouse cartoon
TACIT (Matt Watkins)
timelapse record of Lucy McLauchlan’s recent exhibition
EIDOLON (Matt Murtagh)
angels in Birmingham

Plus kids animation, a sneaky peek at Jo Hamilton’s
tour diary film GOWN (showing in full next week, see
below) and a cracking selection of music videos. With
musical interludes from Jonny Costello (BLEEP BLEEP).
And some giveaways.
£4 on the door.
http://www.7inch.org.uk/event/7inch-no-36
Info is also up on the new Hare & Hounds site:
http://www.hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

MAKING DO
Thursday 7 May, 6-9pm
New Art Gallery, Walsall

7 Inch Cinema and Capsule are hitting the A34
with several vanloads of music, film and activities
to fill up spaces all over the gallery. Very much in
a post-war, make-and-mend spirit, this free evening
will include: live guests PRAM, JULY SKIES and
THE WINTER LEAGUE; archive fillum programme
Housewives Choice; flipbook fun with animator
Trevor Woolery; two-wheeled tales from resident
artist Sima Gonsai; cake-decorating; Sugarfoot DJs;
I-Spy; and refreshments. Should be good.
http://www.7inch.org.uk/event/making-do

WORCESTERSHIRE ON FILM
Saturday 9 May, Worcester Guildhall
Monday 25 May, the Fleece in Bretforton

Slight return for the archive programme which toured
the county last autumn. An hour-long programme
relevant to each area will show for free throughout the
day; the latter is in our favourite venue, a thatched
medieval barn, as part of Evesham Asparagus Festival.
http://www.7inch.org.uk/event/worcestershire-on-filmpt-2
http://www.britishasparagusfestival.org

>>COMING ATTRACTIONS…

TRAVELLING PICTURE SHOW
After sell-out screenings and much excitement on its
launch at Flatpack, this programme of childrens films
and activities will be circling the West Mids
throughout the summer and autumn. Write to
pip[at]7inch.org.uk if you’re interested in bringing TPS
to your neighbourhood.
http://www.7inch.org.uk/project/travelling-picture-show/

SHIFT_TIME
We’ve been asked to gather some evolutionary flicks for
this ‘Festival of Ideas’, coming to Shrewsbury in early July.
More info in the next mailout.

DESK GOING SPARE
Now that festival madness has subsided we have a bit
more room at 7inch HQ. If you’d like a chunk of an airy
Custard Factory office at reasonable rates (oh no I’m
turning into an estate agent), give us a shout on 0121
771 1509 or info[at]7inch.org.uk.

>>OTHER STUFF GOING ON
Nothing to do with us, but might be good

Tonight and tomorrow on channel 4
THREE MINUTE WONDERS
Two more short pieces in a series of four by Glasgow
artist Luke Fowler, worth a look. Interview here:
http://tinyurl.com/lukefowler

Thursday 23 April, 6pm at Wild Building, Digbeth
FIFTY ONE DEGREES LAUNCH
Flatpack venue now transformed for this new show
by graffiti artist Chu, charting the journey from Walsall
to Birmingham.
http://www.jibberingart.co.uk

23 April, 8.15 at Birmingham Library Theatre
THE MAN FROM LONDON
Bela Tarr’s first English-language feature.
http://tinyurl.com/manfromlondon

23-25 April at AE Harris, 110 Northwood St, Bham B3 1SZ
HOME OF THE WRIGGLER
‘Lo-fi sci-fi docu-drama’ based on the experiences of
Longbridge locals and devised and performed by Stans
Cafe. This is the first performance in their new home,
the Jewellery Quarter space which housed their rice
show last year. Tickets are £10.
http://www.stanscafe.co.uk

23-26 April in Ghent, Belgium
COURTISANE
Weekend of media arts stuff, including a focus on Flatpack
guest Guy Sherwin.
http://www.courtisane.be/

Friday 24 April, 10am at Coffee Lounge, Navigation St in Bham
BIRMINGHAM SOCIAL MEDIA CAFE
http://birminghamsocialmediacafe.wordpress.com/

24-26 April at Wolverhampton Light House
THE UNIVERSE OF KEITH HARING
Portrait of frisky 80s pop artist, part of Disability Film Festival.
http://www.light-house.co.uk/whats_on_article.php?id=195

Weds 29 April, 7pm at Library Theatre in Birmingham
LOCAL SHORTS FILM CLUB
Possibly the last one for a while, including guest speaker Tony
Jopia and the first screening of Jo Hamilton’s Gown.
http://www.makeyourmarkconnect.org/event/3766
http://www.johamilton.com

Til 30 April at the Electric in Birmingham
LET THE RIGHT ONE IN
Sod Twilight.
http://www.theelectric.co.uk/booking

From 1 May at Ikon Eastside in Digbeth
MY VERY OWN CINEMA
Selection of personal work produced over thirty years
by Polish video artist Józef Robakowski.
http://tinyurl.com/robakowski

til 4 May at New Art Gallery Walsall
REIMAGINING ASIA
Includes amazing installation by Song Dong.
http://www.artatwalsall.org.uk

Thursday 7 May at Bham Academy 2
JEFFREY LEWIS & THE JUNKYARD
Touring new album Em Are I?
http://www.thejeffreylewissite.com/

Sat 9 May, 8pm at Hare and Hounds, Kings Heath
PAPER AEROPLANE FUNDRAISER
Various live acts and DJs playing in aid of micro-
budget feature shooting this summer. Tickets £7.
http://www.sticklebackproductions.co.uk

Til 31 August at Bham Museum & Art Gallery
OBAMA’S PEOPLE
53 portraits of Baz and his administration.
http://www.bmag.org.uk/events?id=109&start=3
http://www.obamaspeopleexhibition.com
(The Supremes show also runs until 7th June)

We were alerted to this bizarre piece of cinema by Vanessa Toulmin when she visited the festival a couple of weeks ago to do a talk. I’ve a feeling she said it was her favourite film ever, and who are we to disagree? It can be found on volume 3 of Lobster Films’ brilliant Retour de Flamme series.

Unfortunately we won’t be able to make this, what with a festival to organise, but you might be interested to know that Mike Figgis is up in Birmingham on 12 March as part of a series of talks called Boilerhouse Voices in the Jewellery Quarter. There’s a very good chance that he’ll be talking about digital film-making and seismic changes in the distribution and consumption of film. Tickets are £15.

During the 1970s Figgis performed at Birmingham Arts Lab as a member of experimental theatre troupe The People Show. The People Show is still going today, and their site has a nice archive of the old shows.

howdy –

Please excuse the tumbleweed, we’ve been busy on this.