Words and Pictures: An Evening of Birmingham Creativity

Join us for an evening of film and spoken word outdoors on the University of Birmingham campus.

We'll be closing the first day of the Royal Geographical Society conference with an eclectic mix of locally produced films, showcasing Birmingham's vibrant creative scene. Featuring everything from animation and documentary to archive material, this event will provide a crash course in the city’s rich artistic landscape, celebrating Birmingham as a place of creativity and resilience.

Programme highlights include *Rolling Out Brum (dir. Yonatan Tiruneh), a documentary depicting Birmingham's roller skating community, alongside Dr. XYZ *(dir. El Jones and Raviv Piccus), a satirical educational film on Trans healthcare. You'll also see you keep flying, flag, a new documentary on Birmingham’s Valmiki community from artist Seema Mattu, Nothing Happens Everywhere, a piece of poetic psychogeography from Tom Hicks (aka Black Country Type), as well as some performance footage of Handsworth treasure and renowned poet Benjamin Zephaniah.

Introducing the films will be live spoken word performances from Roundhouse national slam winner Maureen Onwunali and Birmingham favourite Nafeesa Hamid, highlighting poetry as a central part of Birmingham’s cultural ecosystem.

About the Poets:
Maureen Onwunali is a Dublin-born Nigerian published poet and a two-time national slam champion. She is currently a Resident Artist at the Roundhouse and poet in residence at the 2025 Milton Keynes International Festival. Her work has been featured by various musicians, radio shows, and organisations, including BFI, Pearson, Penguin, BBC Radio London, Apples and Snakes, and the Poetry Society. Maureen has also performed at festivals including We Out Here, Ledbury Poetry Festival, Hay Festival, Jazzx Festival (Romania), and Dulwich Festival.

Nafeesa is a Brum-Kashmiri poet; playwright; educator; performer; director. When she’s not archiving city council bankruptcy, Nafeesa uses an intersectional approach to her multi-disciplinary creative practice. Nafeesa is published in Forward Poems of the Decade 2011-2020, among other publications. Nafeesa appeared on BBC Bitesize, BBC Radio 4 Comedy, The Verb & international literary festivals. As a scholarship MA Writing Poetry student at Poetry School London, continues developing a body of work about corner shop culture, car boots, faith, divine love, blood and life. She is learning to incorporate film, bansuri, and puppetry into her spoken word practice.

For more information about the conference visit the Royal Geographical Society website.

Presented in partnership with the University of Birmingham.