LMF Presents: The Sandbox Showcase is an exciting evening dedicated to celebrating short films from some of the most talented filmmakers in the North West of England. This event is designed to give both new and established filmmakers a platform to present their work in front of a live audience, bringing together creativity, community, and cinema under one roof at Liverpool’s renowned Picturehouse @ FACT.
Expect a night full of diverse storytelling, with a range of genres and themes, each film offering a fresh perspective and unique voice. Whether you’re a fan of drama, comedy, documentary, or experimental films, this showcase has something for everyone. Filmmakers will also have the opportunity to discuss their projects in post-screening Q&A sessions, offering valuable insights into their creative process and the challenges they faced during production.
Beyond the screenings, The Sandbox Showcase aims to foster connections and spark collaborations within the local film community. Attendees will have the chance to network with filmmakers, share ideas, and build relationships that could lead to future projects.
This event is part of Let’s Make Films’ ongoing mission to support and promote local filmmakers, offering a stage where new talent can be discovered and celebrated.
Join them for a memorable evening of film, conversation, and community.
Secure your spot for this celebration of North West filmmaking by booking your tickets now!
From the filmmakers behind Almost Liverpool 8 comes Liverpool Story. Join us for the premiere of this film showcasing our beautiful city, on 21st November at the Philharmonic Hall.
Finding beauty in the ordinary, Liverpool takes centre stage in this year-in-the-life documentary portrait.
Communities and voices are observed from a fresh perspective as the city navigates through an eventful year. Mirroring the ebb and flow of the River Mersey, Liverpool Story is an intimate document of daily life; observing the city and its people over the passing seasons.
This premiere is proudly supported by Williams Liverpool in its 50th year.
Join Fringe Flicks for an unforgettable evening of offbeat cinema, featuring the Soviet horror classic Viy (1967).
Directed by Konstantin Yershov and Georgi Kropachyov, and adapted from Nikolai Gogol’s novella, Viy is celebrated for its eerie atmosphere and groundbreaking practical effects. The film follows a young seminary student who is confronted with terrifying supernatural forces in a remote village, making it a must-see for fans of classic horror and dark fantasy.
In addition to Viy, the event will showcase a diverse selection of short films from around the globe:
– Carne Con Tomate (Meat with Tomato) – A darkly humorous Spanish tale of mysterious disappearances.
– Sincopat (Syncopation) – A surreal Spanish short about a tech executive trapped in an infinite musical loop.
– Why Worry – A quirky UK short film about a visit to a Chinese chippy.
– Antisocial (World Premiere) – A visually striking German short exploring themes of isolation and self-destruction.
Event Schedule:
Doors Open: 7:30 PM
Short Films: 7:50 PM
Interval: 8:30 PM
Viy Screening: 9:00 PM
Don’t miss this chance to experience a night of eclectic and chilling cinema that challenges the norm and captivates the imagination.
This is a free event, and while tickets are not required for entry, they strongly advise securing a ticket in advance. In the event of high attendance, having a ticket will guarantee your place and ensure you can enjoy the screening without any issues.
Join Bluecoat for a captivating journey into the surreal world of Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage), the critically acclaimed 1973 animated science fiction film directed by René Laloux. Known for its imaginative visuals and thought-provoking themes, Fantastic Planet has earned its place as a classic in animated cinema.
Set on the distant planet Ygam, Fantastic Planet explores the lives of the tiny, human-like Oms and their giant alien oppressors, the Draags. The film follows Terr, an Om who escapes with advanced Draag technology and uses it to ignite a rebellion. However, this technology brings unforeseen challenges and dangers, all within a visually stunning and imaginative alien world.
This screening is a part of Bluecoat’s Weird Futures season. Their current exhibition, Let Your Ideas Come Back As Children, by artists Roxy Topia and Paddy Gould, explores how children navigate a world dominated by technology and what this means for their future. Advances in artificial intelligence and technology have rendered some occupations obsolete, potentially limiting future career options. However, this exhibition suggests that human creativity is an irreplaceable skill that will become increasingly important in the years to come.
Don’t miss this opportunity to visit their current exhibition and watch one of the most visually and thematically distinctive animated films ever made. Mark your calendars and join them for an unforgettable screening of Fantastic Planet.
This film features French audio with English subtitles.
Fantastic Planet (La Planète Sauvage) 1973
Sun 15 Sept, 2.30pm
1hr12min
Rated 12A
FACT invited exhibiting artist R.I.P. Germain to guest curate a season of films that have influenced his creative practice.
For his final film, R.I.P. Germain has chosen acclaimed music video director Hype Williams’ only feature film to date, 1998’s influential crime drama Belly. The film stars New York hip-hop legends NAS and DMX in their debut roles, alongside T-Boz of TLC and Wu-Tang Clan’s Method Man. The story revolves around crime lords Tommy (DMX) and Sincere (NAS), who lead a group of criminals encountering difficulties while expanding their drug-dealing business. Throughout the film, the pair begin to realise that their lives are headed towards a dead end and start to consider taking different paths.
R.I.P. Germain’s immersive exhibition “After GOD, Dudus Comes Next!” (2024) is on display at FACT from Friday 5 July to Sunday 13 October 20204.
FACT invited exhibiting artist R.I.P. Germain to guest curate a season of films that have influenced his creative practice. R.I.P. Germain’s second selection is the 1982 cult sci-fi horror film, The Thing.
Directed by John Carpenter from a screenplay by Bill Lancaster, the film combines Kurt Russell’s outstanding performance with incredible visuals to create a chilling adaptation. Based on the 1938 John W. Campbell Jr. novella Who Goes There?, the film tells the story of a group of researchers in Antarctica who encounter the eponymous “Thing,” an extraterrestrial life-form that assimilates and then imitates other organisms.
The group is overcome by paranoia and conflict as they learn that they can no longer trust each other, knowing that any one of them could be the Thing.
R.I.P. Germain’s immersive exhibition “After GOD, Dudus Comes Next!” (2024) is on display at FACT from Friday 5 July to Sunday 13 October 20204.
What began as a documentary about the reggae scene in the 1970’s and turned into a feature length film, Rockers is a great lighting in a bottle film with a stellar cast of iconic Jamaican musicians.
Not only is it a fantastic film with an amazing soundtrack but it also encapsulates this era of music in an extraordinary way. To celebrate Jamaican Independence Day, BGW film club presents a screening of this film. They’re screening it on August 8th with a post-screening discussion. Come along, have some bun and cheese and share your thoughts!
Tickets start from £1 so grab yours now before it’s too late!!
6:30PM – DOORS OPEN
They’ll be serving refreshments
7.15PM – ROCKERS BEGINS
9PM – POST SCREENING DISCUSSION
THE FILM
Year: 1978
Runtime: 1h 40m
Certificate: 15
Director: Theodoros Bafaloukos
Writers: Theodoros Bafaloukos
Country: Jamaica
Languages: English, Jamaican Patois
Genre: Drama, Comedy, Musical
Cast: Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace, Burning Spear, Gregory Isaacs, Big Youth, Dillinger, Robbie Shakespeare, and Jacob Miller
Synopsis: Legendary reggae artists play themselves in this exuberant tale of struggle and triumph. Leroy “Horsemouth” Wallace and Richard “Dirty Harry” Hall recruit a “Robin-Hood” band of friends to get even with some oppressive mafia types.
FACT invited exhibiting artist R.I.P. Germain to guest curate a season of films that have influenced his creative practice.
To kick off the season, R.I.P. Germain selects one of the most influential gangster epics of all time, Brian De Palma’s 1983 classic Scarface.
The film tells the story of Cuban refugee Tony Montana, who arrives penniless in Miami during the Mariel boatlift and becomes a powerful drug lord. Lead actor Al Pacino gives an unforgettable performance as one of the most ruthless gangsters ever depicted on screen, alongside the dazzling Michelle Pfeiffer in what is widely regarded as her breakthrough role.
R.I.P. Germain’s immersive exhibition “After GOD, Dudus Comes Next!” (2024) is on display at FACT from Friday 5 July to Sunday 13 October 20204.
Discover the full Artist’s Choice film season
The team behind Variety Lunch Club have hatched a new plan so that you can come and have an afternoon out with friends while watching some of the greatest films ever produced.
You can book a £7.50 ticket which gets you a bowl of scouse and a cup of tea along with the film or a £4 ticket for just the film.
The Commitments (1991)
Jimmy Rabbitte, just a tick out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey “The Lips” Faga
Mystery Theatre Club in collaboration with Anfield People’s Cinema present – Occupy!
Kitty’s Laundrette 77 Grasmere St, Liverpool L5 6RH
Doors and food from 7pm
Film starts at 7:30pm
Pay What You Can
Free Hot Meal! – Discussion after the Screening!
Join the Mystery Theatre Club for a monthly archived screening of unique, world-class theatre shows. Embrace experimental and contemporary works from exciting theatre makers.
This time they are collaborating with Anfield People’s Cinema and will be presenting Occupy! (1976 ) Pete Postlethwaite, Bill Nighy and Julie Walters, make some of their earliest performances on film in the story of a four-year struggle to set up a worker’s cooperative at a Fisher-Bendix factory in Kirkby. GaelDohany’s polemical and formally radical documentary recounts the passage of industrial dispute through a mixture of interviews, news reports and scenes from a play about the occupation performed by the Liverpool Everyman Theatre.
Also intercut are ‘eye-witness’ reports from similar events in Turin in 1919 and Detroit in 1936. With the use of such fictionalised interviews and its intercutting of material, the film has stylistic echoes of the work of Peter Watkins and Jean-Luc Godard, but rather than making broader political commentary Dohany is focused on the intrigue of this localised struggle. Occupy! was funded by the BFI Production Board during a brief period of mid-1970s political radicalism when the Board also funded films by London Women’s Film Group, Cinema Action and the Berwick Street Collective.
