This year, Flatpack Festival will be collaborating with storytelling wizards YARN on a new project called Five Stories High. They’re looking for talented film-makers, illustrators, and artists to help retell the entire plot of Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane in new and interesting ways.

Shortly before the start of the festival each of the selected teams will be assigned a section of the film (roughly 6.5%), and then you will have about a week to prepare for the grand finale.

On 18 March – the last day of the festival – the finished film will be shown in its entirety at the Custard Factory in a dazzling, multi-media performance known as Five Stories High.

So if you’re a performer, illustrator, or filmmaker who is interested in taking part then just fill in the short form on YARN’s website. Entry closes 1 March

For further information contact  holly@7inch.org.uk

Flatpack Festival takes place 14-18 March 2012 across Birmingham – some highlights have been announced here: www.flatpackfestival.org.uk

Don’t forgot Capsule are teaming up with Flatpack  on Saturday 17th March to present Panopticon – a night of psych featuring White Hills and Pontiak. Tickets available here: http://www.theticketsellers.co.uk/

Everybody’s favourite new band at Supersonic last year was London psych band Teeth of the Sea and so we’ve brought them back for an intimate gig at Hare & Hounds, on Monday 5^th March. Come along to witness one of the stand out bands of last year’s festival, pure space rock that stomps and prowls in a menacing fashion. Also are on the bill are psych, folk and no wave ensemble Health & Efficiency and Victories at Sea.

Each year we love to get involved with the excellent Flatpack Festival and we’re thrilled that this year we’re working in partnership to present the Saturday night knees up on 17^th March at Custard Factory. And what a knees up it will be! A night of psych of the highest order Panopticon will feature the full on wig out of White Hills and Pontiak as well as psych films and a DJ set from Club Unlikey. Tickets are available HERE

In collaboration with another Birmingham festival, we are presenting a night of sound art and performance as part of Fierce. The inimitable Grouper will present her recent work Violet Replacement at VIVID on Friday 30^th March, comprised of tape loops, field recordings and submerged atmospherics. Also on the bill are organic noisemakers Diamond Catalog and a merging of folk and abstract instrumentation from Swallows. Tickets to the show include entrance to the festival afterparty.

‘Metal on Film’
1-4 September 2011
part of the Black Country Weekender

Brace yourself for a juggernaut of Heavy Metal cinema, blazing a trail across the Black Country with an awesome programme of documentaries, rare archive, late-night horror and special guests. The heart of the action will be at the Light House Cinema in Wolverhampton, with a menu of movies that will take you from Midlands’ foundries to Moroccan rooftops, from spandex nonsense to raw doom.

Below are some of the highlights, but you can read the full programme at www.homeofmetal.com

The Home of Metal Roadshow – FREE

The Vintage Mobile Cinema is a beautiful 1960s cinema on wheels that has been restored and will be traveling across the Black Country for the weekend. Come onboard and watch archival and Heavy Metal related short films, exploring the industrial landscape of the region.

Thursday | 3pm – 8pm | Queen Square, Wolverhampton
Friday | 10am – 4pm | Dudley Museum & Art Gallery
Saturday | 11am – 4pm | The New Art Gallery Walsall
Sunday | 11am – 4pm | Haden Hill House

Detailed programmes for each day can be found here.

Between the Hammer and the Anvil | Friday 2 Sept | 6pm | The New Art Gallery Walsall | FREE

As part of a special knees up, Home of Metal is taking over the gallery with films, live music and a Silent Metal Disco. ‘Patch Jacket’ is a collection of shorts exploring the full spectrum of Heavy Metal devotion and Gentlemans Pistols will be bringing their no frills, filthy rock n roll.
Sponsored by The Kraken Rum – cocktails will be available.

Black Sabbath AKA I Tre Volti Della Paura | Friday 2 Sept | 11pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | £5.80/£4.40 concession

The legend goes that some blokes from a heavy blues band called Earth passed a film poster in Perry Barr, and decided to pinch its title for their new name. Expect women in peril, clunky dubbing, bags of suspense, lush, lurid colours and Boris Karloff threading it all together in style.

Sound It Out | Saturday 3 Sept | 4pm | The Public | FREE
Nottingham-based filmmaker Jeanie Finlay’s latest film sees her camera trained on the employees and punters of Sound It Out, Teesside’s last surviving independent record shop, and crafted a moving portrait of vinyl obsessions. We’re delighted that she will be present to talk about the film.

In Bed with Chris Needham + Q&A | Saturday 3 Sept | 6pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | £5.80/£4.40 concession

A self-portrait of Loughborough teenager, Chris Needham deals with adolescent trials including woman trouble, musical differences and an annoying little brother. Chris is still pledged to Heavy Metal, and will be here to talk about his film afterwards.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot : Silver Jubilee | Saturday 3 Sept | 8.30pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | FREE

It’s 25 years since Jeff Krulik and John Heyn walked around the Capital Center’s parking lot in Maryland, interviewing boozed up rockers before a Judas Priest gig. The resulting document has become required viewing on tour buses across the globe, and now you can enjoy the clothes, the hair and the language in all their glory. Featuring live music from Stinky Wizzleteat and Selfless, DJs and food. Sponsored by The Kraken Rum – cocktails will be available.

The Beyond | Saturday 3 Sept | 11pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | £5.80/£4.40 concession

After our Saturday night party, you can check out a late night screening of this video nasty. Napalm Death lynchpin Shane Embury has selected one of his favourite horror movies, where a  hotel conceals the gateway to hell. Expect gore, mayhem and face chewing spiders.

Cathy Come Home + Q&A | Sunday 4 Sept | 3.30pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | £4.70/£4.20 concession

The gripping tale of a family turfed out of their home, Cathy Come Home is best known as a campaigning drama-documentary that helped to change housing policy. It’s also a vivid snapshot of Birmingham in the 60s, filmed on the same Aston streets where Black Sabbath played as kids. Producer (and long-suffering Villa fan) Tony Garnett will be here to talk about the film.

This is Spinal Tap | Sunday 4 Sept | 8.30pm | Light House, Wolverhampton | £4.70/£4.20 concession

What better way to round off the weekender than with the mother of all metal films? A spoof documentary (or, if you will, rockumentary) which set out to satirise the worst excesses of hair metal and pomp rock, This Is Spinal Tap ended up becoming a touchstone and perhaps even an inspiration for many of the bands it took the mickey out of.

Full film schedule is available at www.homeofmetal.com

An overall ‘Metal on Film’ pass is available for £25 and can be booked online at www.light-house.co.uk

If you’re around the Black Country, you may have seen Home of Metal splashed all over your buses, metro stations and more, all promoting our Heavy Metal dedicated day on Saturday 26th March.

We’re starting off at The Public, West Brom where we’re inviting Heavy Metal fans to bring along their memorabilia to add to our digital archive, anything from t-shirts, ticket stubs, fanzines and records are all invaluable to the project!

Johnny Doom will be hosting the event, interviewing cult metal hero Krusher (former ‘Raw Power’ presenter and Kerrang! art director) who will be talking about some of the Black Sabbath and Monsters of Rock artwork he has created.

Steve Gerrard will be giving a masterlass in music photography, showing you how to get the perfect live shot. Please note that this class is now full.

Steve has been an accredited photographer for bands such as Radiohead, Metallica, Kiss, Muse, Nine Inch Nails, Iron Maiden, The Sex Pistols, Bon Jovi and Melvins. As part of the Home of Metal open day he will be giving one lucky unsigned band a free photoshoot!

We’ll also be screening the first and only Led Zeppelin feature film  ‘Song Remains the Same’ – along with (sometimes bizarre) dream sequences the film sees the band storm through ‘Stairway to Heaven’, ‘Black Dog’, ‘Heartbreaker’ and the rest, to thunderous effect.

Birmingham based artists Juneau Projects will be in attendance on the day to help you create your very own  electronic cardboard instrument. Use cardboard to build your own Telecaster or Flying V, drumkit, keyboard or invent your own instrument. Then add some simple electronics to trigger sound samples, take to the stage, dress up and play!

It’ll be a great day, and it’s all FREE – Home of Metal Open Day, The Public, 11am-4pm

And that’s not all as in the evening we’re hooking up with Flatpack Festival and The Quietus to bring you a very exciting screening of ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ at IKON Eastside

“The plot: Chris Needham, a 17 year-old Thrash Metal fan from Loughbrough who has been absolutely lacerated by the puberty stick, is about to play his first gig with his band, Manslaughter. The problem is, they’re complete rammel. Between their first painful attempts to stand musically upright and their debut gig, Chris takes the time to defend Metal and Youth, unleashes torrents of adolescent venom upon the Green movement, ‘old bastards’, vegetarians, ‘Chart Music’, organised religion, teachers, and Neighbours, conducts a relationship with his girlfriend in excruciating silence, gets hassled by Mr Taggart and His Amazing Shirt, and goes fishing.”
- Al Needham, Leftlion

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’, IKON Eastside, 8.30pm, tickets from HERE

For up to date news and to contribute to the archive go to http://www.homeofmetal.com/

Home of Metal is collaborating with Flatpack Festival to bring a very special screening to this year’s edition of the prestigious film festival. On Saturday 26th March, ‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ will be screened at IKON Eastside, followed by a Q&A with Chris Needham himself.

‘In Bed with Chris Needham’ follows a 17 year old thrash fan as he about to embark on his band’s debut gig. Full of quotable lines, its a fantastic insight into teenage fan-dom and is, of course, a testament to the power of Heavy Metal. Unscreened for two decades, this will be a very special event.

20:30 – 23:00 Sat 26th March 2011
Screening : £6.50 Tickets from HERE

In 2009, Home of Metal brought the Led Zeppelin classic ‘Song Remains the Same’ to Flatpack Festival – if you missed it (or just really need to see it again) we’ll be showing it earlier that day at our Home of Metal Open Day at The Public, West Brom. So come along and make a day if it!

Flatpack Festival 2011 programme is now online!

Friday 26th March / 8pm til late / Rainbow Warehouse, Digbeth

Synth Eastwood: Fast Forward – a night of audio visual revelry

Live sets from:

CLARK (Warp)
performing a one-off set using sounds recorded around Birmingham;
GANGPOL & MIT (Pictoplasma)
Manic French AV duo
HEALTH AND EFFICIENCY
Digbeth-born psych six-piece
Plus the Synth Eastwood band, a man in a box responding to your art requests and a lineup of Dublin and Birmingham DJs into the wee hours.

Tickets: £8

http://www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/fast-forward-with-synth-eastwood

Saturday 27th March / 8pm / IKON Eastside

Capsule & Flatpack Festival present a screening of Mogwai film ‘Burning’,  featuring a Q & A with Stuart Braithwaite

Tickets: £6

http://www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/burning

Saturday 27th March / 10pm til late / VIVID

A Plasticine Party – an Eastside knees up celebrating the beginning of the end of Flatpack. As well as various guest DJs, punk-dub multi-media threesome Jackdaw with Crowbar and Zappa-infused ten-piece outfit Moon Unit will be performing, plus there will be a DJ set from Stuart ‘Mogwai’ Braithwaite. Presented in association with We Are Eastside.

Tickets: £4

http://www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/event/a-plasticine-party

Capsule have been busy bees just recently and have co-ordinated the WE ARE EASTSIDE initiative, a guide to some of the most exciting creative spaces and projects happening in Eastside (aka Digbeth). As part of the project we have created this beautifully designed brochure (designer James Langdon) as well as a brand new blog to keep people up to date with activity in the area. There will also be a walking tour EAST STRIDE over the weekend of FLATPACK FESTIVAL with local historian Ben Waddington.

This is a really thrilling time for Birmingham as many of the independent creative organisations start working together, we can now really see a cluster of activity. Here’s to the future of collaboration!

As part of Flatpack Festival and the launch of We Are Eastside, local historian Ben Waddington will be conducting walking tours of Eastside. Explore hidden gems, learn more of its industrial heritage and discover the creative explorations in this creative playground.

Saturday 27th March 12pm
Sunday 28th March 12pm
Sunday 28th March 3pm

Meet outside the Old Crown pub.

The tour is FREE, places are limited though so book ahead by emailing admin@capsule.org.uk with ‘East Stride’ in the title.

We Are Eastside; your guide to the organisations that host and produce bold new work across film, digital media, crafts, music, visual arts, literature and photography all based in Eastside, Birmingham, UK.

We are:
7 INCH CINEMA / FLATPACK FESTIVAL – BIRMINGHAM JAZZ – CAPSULE –CRAFTSPACE – THE CUSTARD FACTORY – EASTSIDE PROJECTS – GRAND UNION – IKON EASTSIDE – PROJECT PIGEON – PUNCH – RHUBARB RHUBARB – THE EDGE – TINDAL STREET PRESS – THE LOMBARD METHOD – VIVID – VRU

We’re delighted to co-host an evening with Stuart Braithwaite from MOGWAI as part of FLATPACK FESTIVAL on Sat 27th of March. We’ll be starting off with a Q & A followed by a screening of BURNING dir. Vincent Moon, a documentary of the band, filmed during their residency at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn.
This event starts at 20:30pm at Ikon Eastside, 183 Fazeley Street, Digbeth
Birmingham, B5 5SE  Advance Tickets can be purchased from HERE

We’ll be DJing alongside Stuart at the Plasticine Party held at VIVID following the screening – more details HERE

There are loads of amazing screenings on during the festival, highlights include Palace Of The Winds (Sublime Frequencies), Until The Light Takes Us (feat Birminghams own Black Metallers Frost) and No One Knows About Persian Cats.

Check out the Flatpack website for full programme.

This week the ‘musical whirlwind’ known as The Destroyers will be presenting a brand-new set specially commissioned to open the Flatpack Festival. Curzonora is a tribute to Birmingham’s early film showman WALLER JEFFS, and will feature live scores to some of the films you would have found at his 1900s shows, including pioneering sci-fi movie TRIP TO THE MOON (Georges Melies), the rootin’-tootin’ GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY (Edwin S. Porter) and a selection of amazing footage from the Mitchell and Kenyon Collection, shot around Birmingham at the dawn of the 20th century.

Weds 11th March, 7.30pm at Birmingham Town Hall, Birmingham B3 3DQ
Book tickets online, at the venue or by calling 0121 780 3333
> http://www.thsh.co.uk/view/flatpack-festival-presents-curzonora
> http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/event.php?eid=69594063311
> http://www.flatpackfestival.org.uk/09/festival/event/curzonora

Flatpack Festival 3 runs in venues across the city from 11-15 March.
More info at http://www.flatpackfestival.org.uk

Other events during the festival include a screening of the Led Zeppelin film ‘The Song Remains The Same‘  with a talk by music archivist Chris Phipps as part of our Home Of Metal celebrations. This will take place on Saturday 14th, 4pm at South Birmingham College in Digbeth.
Other music related events as part of the festival include a film about singer-songwriter Vashti Bunyan, a performance by the lovely Bela Emerson, Sublime Frequencies film Sumatran Folk Cinema + heaps more amazing stuff. Go check stuff out!!!