The Smallest Show on Earth (35mm)

A young couple inherit a cinema from a distant relative, but their movie dreams are given a swift reality check when they see the place in action. Known locally as the 'flea pit', the Bijou in Sloughborough is a rickety back-street venue run by an eccentric team including Peter Sellers as an alcoholic projectionist. Will Jean and Matt be able to keep the place going in the face of stiff competition from the Grand up the road?

Many cinema workers have a special place in their heart for this 1957 comedy, and it seemed only fitting to screen it on actual film. The main feature will be preceded by Federica Gargarella's 2018 short Love in 35mm, a documentary portrait of one of the central characters in our Wonderland exhibition, Joan Pearson and her late husband Bill. Joan and Bill both worked as projectionists in a number of Birmingham cinemas including the Orient in Aston, the ABC Bristol Road and the Robin Hood in Hall Green.

This event is part of Wonderland, a new project mapping the city's picture-palaces past and present and exploring the stories associated with them. Wonderland is presented by the Birmingham 2022 Festival, supported by Arts Council England and the National Lottery Heritage Fund, produced by Flatpack Festival.