WFMU, benshi and zoetropes

Before Christmas we announced a few Flatpack 9 highlights with our first peek post. Since then, the festive season has become a distant memory and at Flatpack HQ there has been a frenzy of programming. As a bit of a mid-January pick-me-up, here’s a few more details of what's in store in March.

WFMU come to Birmingham

We are very excited to be screening the UK premiere of Sex and Broadcasting, the improbable tale of freeform listener-funded radio station WFMU. Following the New Jersey outfit's choppy passage through the recession, it's an inspiring film that raises all sorts of questions about survival and independent culture. Given that production of Flatpack has been soundtracked by WFMU since our early years, we're delighted to confirm that Station Manager Ken will be broadcasting a special one-off show from Birmingham to mark the premiere.

Way of the Benshi

We’ll be celebrating the Japanese art of live film narration, benshi, in suitably eclectic style. As well as a traditional benshi performance to accompany Ozu’s gangster film Walk Cheerfully, we will have a range of writers and performers, including the wonderful Stan’s Cafe, talking back to the screen.

Amusement Park Exhibition

Exploring the relationship between animation and interactivity, this exhibition makes its way from Finland for its UK debut at Flatpack. The exhibition is made up of nine works by a group of Finnish animators, including Elli Vuorinen’s, Memory Trace, which invites viewers to leave their mark in a bed-sized pin board, and Kaisa Penttilä’s immersive life-size zoetrope, Garbage Whirl.

Usaginingen

A Japanese due based out of Berlin, Usaginingen (or ‘rabbit man’) use ingenious contraptions of their own devising to perform mesmerising audio-visual spectaculars inspired by their admiration for nature.

 

Tickets for selected events and festival passes will be on sale from Thursday 29 January 2015.