Opening Film - The Seashell And The Clergyman

Produced in 1927 from a script by Antonin Artaud (who later disowned it), The Seashell and the Clergyman is widely considered as the first surrealist film. A singular vision of doubt and desire is played out through dreamlike imagery, daring editing techniques and a rich sense of the absurd. Its most famous review was issued by the British Board of Film Censors: 'This film is so cryptic as to be almost meaningless. If there is a meaning, it is doubtless objectionable.' The Band Accompanying the film are Minima, a four-piece outfit who use bass, drums, guitar and cello to build up an intense atmosphere which perfectly meshes with the world onscreen. Tonight they’ll also be performing a live score to pioneering experimental animation Symphonie Diagonale (dir: Viking Eggeling, Germany 1924, 7 mins). St Paul’s Church was built during Birmingham’s industrial heyday in 1779, and its congregation once included Matthew Boulton and James Watt. Situated in the Jewellery Quarter in the city’s last-remaining Georgian square, the building’s terrific acoustics have been used for musical performances for over two hundred years.