Manchester Film Co-operative

24 January - Maidens in Uniform

2012-01-03T19:56:00.005Z

Now acknowledged as an early classic of gay cinema, Mädchen in Uniform / Maidens in Uniform is an atmospheric 1931 film so reviled by the Nazis that that they attempted – unsuccessfully – to destroy every copy.

Set in a Prussian boarding school for the daughters of officers and the bourgeoisie, it follows the part-tragic story of an unhappy pupil, Manuela whose crush on her angelic teacher, Fraulein Von Bernburg ruffles the feathers of the demonic Headmistress.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

13 December - Memories of Underdevelopment

2011-12-06T23:18:00.003Z

Memories of Underdevelopment is a seminal and unconventional film about gender roles in post-revolutionary Cuba.

Plot and perspective are organized around the character of Sergio, a bourgeois aspiring writer who stays in Cuba even when his wife and family leave the country.

A manipulative womanizer, Sergio likes to watch women from his privileged position of a high-up flat in Havanna, and he comments on them extensively. After his wife escapes (from him or from Cuba?) to the U.S., he becomes involved with the teenager Elena, who is only just discovering her sexuality – and this involvement eventually becomes his downfall.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

22 November - Viva Mexico!

2011-10-31T22:20:00.003Z

For this one off screening, we are lucky to have the director of this new documentary about the Zapatistas, Nicolas Défossé, over from France for a special screening of Viva Mexico! This is a collaborative screening with Manchester Zapatista Solidarity Group

City of Los Angeles, USA. In the heart of the city, undocumented Mexican immigrants are hunted by the police and struggle to earn a living without losing their identity.

On the other side of the border, in the mountains of southeastern Mexico, dawn arrives, hidden in mist. It is January 1st, 2006; thousands of indigenous Zapatistas prepare to say farewell to their spokesman Subcomandante Marcos.

His mission: to travel across the country for the next six months to learn from the resistance of Mexican men and women who fight for a better Mexico. A journey that’s meant to reach the other side of the country begins... A journey that dares to “start building the image of the people we really are.”

This challenge is not made without risk. What starts as an isolated murmur grows to become the clamor of hundreds of thousands: Viva Mexico! How will those in power respond?

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion with Nicolas Défossé.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

18 October - Breaking News and other protest shorts

2011-09-21T21:02:00.002+01:00

An evening of shorts films on policing and portest, built around Undercurrents’ award winning documentary, Breaking News.

The film investigates how the UK police control the national news agenda. Police video surveillance at demonstrations leads to arrests of journalists and, repeatedly, reporters are released without charge once their news deadlines have passed.

Undercurrents recorded incidents of reporters being arrested for filming police misbehaviour - and even for fogretting the PIN on their Press Card! A fantastic documentary, not to be missed.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Film suggestions for the next theme - sex/uality

2011-09-12T22:07:00.003+01:00

We have a new theme for the film co-operative's next series - sex/uality.

We've not got too long to decide the films to be shown as part of this, but we'd love to get your film suggestions or thoughts on those that have been suggested.

Once we've got the ideas in, we'll hold a meeting- which everyone can attend - to choose the best options.

Please post up by commenting below . . .

September 20 - Overheard

2011-09-12T22:02:00.004+01:00

From the writer and directors of the superb “Infernal Affairs” movies, “Overheard” is a gripping, enthralling and ultimately tragic story of a trio of police officers conducting surveillance on a trading company with ties to a suspected criminal overlord.

The film begins with the police officers entering the company’s premises after hours and planting bugs and hidden cameras. In a pivotal moment of the film, they elect to keep their newly obtained information to themselves, in order to conduct a little inside trading.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion led by film lecturer Andy Willis.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

23 August - Hidden Agenda

2011-08-08T23:12:00.004+01:00

An implicit condemnation of the repressive tactics of the British government in Northern Ireland. When an American attorney working for a humanitarian group who is investigating the torture of IRA prisoners is killed in Belfast, Inspector Kerrigan is sent to investigate the crime.

He’s joined by Sullivan’s fiancee, a lawyer working for the Intenrational League of Civil Liberties. They learn that he had been given a tape by a former British army officer named Harris that contained highly incriminating material concerning the activities of the British government.

This well-made, low-key political thriller was highly controversial upon its release because it cited real names and events in presenting its case for the existence of a conspiracy at the highest levels of the British government.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion led Michael Herbert of the Working Class Movement Library.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

19 July - We Live in Public

2011-06-05T23:12:00.009+01:00

We Live in Public is the story of the internets revolutionary impact on human interaction as told through the eyes of internet pioneer and visionary, Josh Harris.

Though once considered the godfather of the downtown Internet scene in NYC in the 90s, known far and wide for his outrageous parties, innovations in chat, streaming audio and the creation of the first online television network, Harris is but a footnote in history at this point all because he took his experiments with the Internet and media consumption too far.

Director Ondi Timoner focuses on the legendary, million-dollar millennium party 'Quiet', an experiment in voluntary submission to mass surveillance. The party, which took place at an abandoned loft-manufacturing building on lower Broadway, featured over 90 Japanese-hotel-style pods where artists lived, played, worked, and celebrated.

This was followed by Harris's submission of his own life, and new relationship to constant surveillance, whose disturbing results are like a pre-history of our current Web 2.0/Reality TV era.

The films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

24 May - Erasing David

2011-04-27T22:10:00.004+01:00

Filmmaker David Bond lives in the UK, one of the most intrusive surveillance states in the world. In this documentary, he decides to find out how much private companies and the government know about him by putting himself under surveillance and attempting to disappear a decision that changes his life forever.

Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind, he is tracked across the database state on a chilling journey that forces him to contemplate the meaning of privacy and the loss of it.

As always, the films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

19 April - Monkey Warfare and I Bike Mcr

2011-03-27T21:32:00.004+01:00

To coincide with the I Bike Mcr festival, we'll be having an evening of ever so slightly anarchist films about bikes.

As well as some nice shorts, we'll be showing Monkey Warfare, a 2006 film about two ex-revolutionaries living underground who have their lives turned upside down by a young radical who goes from smashing SUVs to fighting gentrification with bombs.

The evening will be run by Nes from I Bike Mcr.

As always, the films starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

March 22 - Happiness

2011-03-19T14:40:00.004Z

A rare chance to see one of the great unsung films of Soviet cinema. Made in 1934, and rediscovered in the 1960s, Happiness, directed by Aleksandr Medvedkin, is “a grotesquely funny parody of farm life, before and after the Revolution (1917), full of rich visual invention and eccentricities.” Sergi Eisenstein famously said after seeing the film, “Today I saw how a Bolshevik laughs.”

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion led by film lecturer Michael Goddard.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

Surveillance film suggestions

2011-02-13T19:30:00.002Z

The next film co-operative series will be on the theme of surveillance. The films for all our series are suggestions from people who come to the screenings (whether they are members or not), so please post up your suggestions as comments here.

Any surveillance related suggestions and good speakers are welcome. It's worth bearing in mind that we normally screen things that are not screened regularly.

22 February - Guantanamera

2011-02-01T20:47:00.003Z

Guantanamera is a 1995 comedy from Cuba, directed by Alea and Tabío. When Aunt Yoyita dies during a visit to Gina in Guantánamo, Gina must take the body to Havana. Gina’s overbearing husband Adolfo, a punctilious undertaker with political ambitions, takes charge of the journey.

On the road, they keep crossing paths with Mariano, a playboy trucker with a woman at every way station. He and Gina recognise each other from their student days. Before they reach Havana, Gina realises she can choose between Adolfo and Mariano.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussions on Cuba, politics and film.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

January 25 - Duck Soup

2010-12-29T19:50:00.002Z

The Marx Brothers’ classic anarchic comedy! To rescue the small country of
Freedonia from bankruptcy, Mrs. Teasdale agrees to donate 20 million dollars
if Rufus Firefly is appointed its new president. Firefly is a cynical, sarcastic
dictator who refuses to play politics by the book. When Firefly falls out with
a neighbouring country’s ambassador over Mrs Teasdale, war between the
countries is declared. Who will save the day?

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion on the Marx Brothers, anarchism and film.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

December 14 - Emily James, activism and film

2010-11-27T14:35:00.007Z

The next film co-operative evening is unique and brilliant. We’ll be screening some of the lesser known satirical, activist and animated films by Emily James, exec producer of Age of Stupid and currently making the crowdsourced activist film Just do it! Get off your arse and save the world.

Mark Ashmore of Future Artists co-operative – and film collaborator with Emily – will present the evening, which will focus on co-operation in new media and how social networks have helped people just do it in film and activism.

As it’s the December screening we’ll also be having a comedy raffle. Emily has offered two pairs of tickets to the premiere of Just do it!, there will be a copy of the Actors’ Guide to Survival from Future Artists. But as always the best things are things you don’t want – books, perfume, socks, whatever. Please bring them along and throw in for the raffle. It’s a kind of like a crowdsourced raffle.

Anyway, it will be a great evening. Please get there earlyish as probably will be busy.

Evening starts at 7.45, with film, raffle, drinks, discussion, music, the lot.

Entry £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

November 23 - Brother from another planet

2010-10-24T20:14:00.007+01:00

Joe Morton stars in John Sayles’ dramatic comedy, playing “The Brother,” an alien and escaped slave who, while fleeing “Another Planet,” crash-lands in New York.

Picked up as homeless, he is deposited in Harlem. The sweetnatured and honest Brother looks like any other black man, except that he is mute and his feet each have three large toes.

The Brother has telekinetic powers but, unable to speak, he struggles to express himself and adjust to his new surroundings. A satirical metaphor about immigration, racism and borders in the US.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion led by Andy Willis, film lecturer and specialist.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

October 19 – Hammer and Tickle

2010-10-06T19:50:00.003+01:00

What would happen if they introduced Communism to Saudi Arabia? Nothing at first but soon there would be a shortage of sand.

To kick off this season of films on humour we're showing Hammer and Tickle, a rarely seen film by Ben Lewis that tells the story of a political system that was (almost) laughed out of existence.

Under the oppressive regimes of the Soviet Union and its satellites, ordinary people told thousand of jokes about the society they lived in and the political system they suffered under – jokes that had a hugely subversive effect.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

September 21 - Last Resort

2010-08-30T21:19:00.002+01:00

Tanya arrives in London with her son Artyom, expecting to be met by her boyfriend. When he doesn’t show and immigration wants to send her back to Russia, she asks for political asylum to buy some time.

She has no idea that this will consign them for at least a year to a detention center, a fenced “city” near an abandoned seaside amusement park. Once there, realizing her boyfriend will never help her, she just wants to go home, but withdrawing the petition for asylum takes months.

She’s approached by pornographers inviting her to strip on line for cash; she’s befriended by Alfie, a clerk at a convenience store at the center. She’s a dreamer; what can she do?

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

August 17 - A Woman’s Place & others

2010-07-27T13:42:00.009+01:00

In partnership with the Working Class Movement Library, this will be an evening of short films and discussion dealing with the women's movement.

Amongst other films, the evening will include A Woman’s Place – a 20 minute film that covers the first Women’s Liberation Conference in February 1970.

Also part of the evening is Six Sides of a Square which documents the lives of working mothers in 1966. The film introduces an actress, an office cleaner and a mother who chooses to stay at home and hear from the narrator about how it is beginning to 'look like a woman's world'.

The films will be followed by discussion led by Louise Livesey, a lecturer in women’s studies at Ruskin College, Oxford.

The screening is being supported by Salford TUC.

Film starts at 7.45. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

November 19 - Brother from Another Planet

2010-07-26T19:34:00.001+01:00

Joe Morton stars in John Sayles’ dramatic comedy, playing “The Brother,” an
alien and escaped slave who, while fleeing “Another Planet,” crash-lands in
New York. Picked up as homeless, he is deposited in Harlem. The sweetnatured
and honest Brother looks like any other black man, except that he is
mute and his feet each have three large toes. The Brother has telekinetic powers
but, unable to speak, he struggles to express himself and adjust to his new
surroundings. A satirical metaphor about migrants in the US.

December 14 - Emily James Evening

2010-07-24T19:35:00.001+01:00

For this screening we’ve teamed up with Future Artists and Emily James,
executive producer of Age of Stupid who is currently working on ‘Just do it, get
off your arse and save the world’. Emily and Mark Ashmore will be presenting
a series of her satirical, creative and politically engaged short films. A unique
opportunity to discuss the place of film in promoting climate justice.

January 25 - Duck Soup

2010-07-22T20:26:00.003+01:00

The Marx Brothers’ classic anarchic comedy. To rescue the small country of Freedonia from bankruptcy, Mrs. Teasdale agrees to donate 20 million dollars if Rufus Firefly is appointed its new president. Firefly is a cynical, sarcastic dictator who refuses to play politics by the book. When Firefly falls out with a neighbouring country’s ambassador over Mrs Teasdale, war between the countries is declared. Who will save the day?

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion on the Marx Brothers, anarchism and film.

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged, students or OAPs.

February 22 - Guantanemera

2010-07-21T20:29:00.001+01:00

Guantanamera is a 1995 comedy from Cuba, directed by Alea and Tabío.
When Aunt Yoyita dies during a visit to Gina in Guantánamo, Gina must take
the body to Havana. Gina’s overbearing husband Adolfo, a punctilious undertaker
with political ambitions, takes charge of the journey. On the road, they
keep crossing paths with Mariano, a playboy trucker with a woman at every
way station. He and Gina recognise each other from their student days. Before
they reach Havana, Gina realizes she can choose between Adolfo and Mariano.

March 22 - Happiness

2010-07-20T20:30:00.001+01:00

This screening offers a rare chance to see one of the great unsung films of Soviet
cinema. Made in 1934, and rediscovered in the 1960s, Happiness, directed
by Aleksandr Medvedkin, is “a grotesquely funny parody of farm life, before
and after the Revolution (1917), full of rich visual invention and eccentricities.”
(silentsaregolden.com) Sergi Eisenstein famously said after seeing the film,
“Today I saw how a Bolshevik laughs.”

July 20 - Lone Star

2010-07-05T20:56:00.002+01:00

John Sayles’ murder-mystery is a classic piece of film-making that explores interpersonal and interracial tensions in Texas.

Sam Deeds is the local sheriff who is called to investigate a 40-year-old skeleton found in the desert. As he delves into the town’s dark secrets, he begins to learn more about his father, the legendary former sheriff Buddy Deeds, who replaced the corrupt Charlie Wade.

Sayles’ complex characters are brought together as the tightly woven plot finally draws to a dramatic close.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

June 29 - Revolution OS

2010-05-26T21:18:00.007+01:00

As part of Co-operatives Fortnight, we're screening Revolution OS - a film about co-operation and the open source and online collaborative movement, which seems to be transforming ownership and control.

Revolution OS is a great documentary about the open source software revolution, featuring many of the personalities involved - Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, Bruce Perens, and Eric Raymond.

Afterwards we'll be having speakers, so come along to discuss co-operation - online and offine - and whether the growth of online collaboration is showing us that we're moving towards a more democratic age.

The film starts at 7.45. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

May 18 - Berlusconi’s Mousetrap

2010-05-02T07:23:00.000+01:00

In July 2001 over a quarter of a million people gathered to protest against the G8 in Genoa. The Italian state responded to these demonstrations with violent repression.

Eighteen thousand cops were drafted into the city; they beat and gassed thousands of people off the streets, arrested hundreds and shot one young Italian man in the head.

Berlusconi’s Mousetrap is a feature length documentary produced by Irish Indymedia about the events in Genoa.

The film is based on footage shot by Irish Indy media and some film culled from the International Indymedia archive.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Discussions led by Jim Newell, Professor of Italian politics

April 20- Rize

2010-04-21T23:01:00.000+01:00

Rize documents the practice of Clowning and Krumping – radical, energetic, and vividly extreme dance forms that have taken on enormous importance for black communities in south-central Los Angeles on many levels: as serious forms of spiritual and artistic expression, as alternatives to gang participation, as a means for knitting social fabric.

Directed by David LaChapelle

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

86 mins

September 21 - Last Resort

2010-04-21T22:55:00.003+01:00

August 17 - A Woman’s Place & Others

2010-04-21T22:54:00.006+01:00

An evening of short films and discussion dealing with political movements. The evening will include A Woman’s Place – a short film that covers the first Women’s Liberation Conference in February 1970 and explores the views of feminists and other women not yet committed to activism. and a march through London in March 1971.

July 20 - Lone Star

2010-04-21T22:54:00.005+01:00

June 29 - Revolution OS

2010-04-21T22:53:00.001+01:00

This is a great documentary about the open source software revolution. The interview format of the film does give a feel for the personalities involved, including Linus Torvalds, Richard Stallman, Bruce Perens, and Eric Raymond. What is most intriguing is how each person is portrayed as feeling that their contribution to the open source community stands out as the most important part of the revolution: Torvalds’ Linux, Stallman’s GNU Project, Raymond’s “The Cathedral and the Bazaar”, Perens’ “Open Source Definition”, and Behlendorf’s Apache.

May 18 - Berlusconi’s Mousetrap

2010-04-21T22:51:00.005+01:00

Berlusconi’s Mousetrap is a feature length documentary produced by Irish Indymedia about the events in Genoa.

The film is based on footage shot by Irish Indy media and some film culled from the International Indymedia archive.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Discussions led by Jim Newell, Professor of Italian politics

Pictures from Boss of it All

2010-04-19T23:00:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Phoebe for this - nice one!

March 23 - El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet)

2010-02-25T20:50:00.002Z

The Pope’s impending visit to a small Uruguayan town stimulates a flurry of activity among the poorest residents, who hope to strike it rich by catering to the needs of the 50,000 expected pilgrims. Convinced that his idea is the best, one man uses up his family´s savings to build a paying toilet . . . El Bano del Papa (The Pope’s Toilet) is a humorous and poignant story of dignity and solidarity that demonstrates the human impact of poverty and employment.
Director: César Charlone – 85 mins

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

February23 - The Boss of it All

2010-02-04T20:35:00.002Z

Director - Lars von Trier, 99 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion with Paul A Taylor (editor of International Zizek Journal)

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

January 19 - Roger and Me

2010-01-01T20:25:00.003Z

Blistering, satirical documentary about the closing of the General Motors plants in Flint, Michigan in the mid-1980s. This move, which eliminated 33,000 jobs and left the one-industry town destitute, was a particularly bitter tragedy, considering that Flint was the town that gave birth to General Motors during post-war boom era of the 1950s. The film revolves around Moore’s dogged attempts to gain an interview with Roger Smith, the elusive and well-insulated head of GM and the man responsible for the layoffs. While tracking the eponymous Roger, Moore takes time out to record the devastation of Flint and the desperate, often unintentionally hilarious attempts of the citizens and the city fathers to deal with the catastrophe.

Director - Michael Moore, 91 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Pictures from I am Somebody

2010-01-01T20:13:00.005Z

Liz Murphy has taken these great pics of the screening and raffle on 15 Dec . . .

John and Ian, the speakers

Ian talking about the Changing Face of Salford

Andy doing the raffle

I am Somebody

Members of the co-operative

Tout Va Bien Photos

2009-12-28T13:25:00.006Z

15 December - I am Somebody and other shorts

2009-11-26T20:29:00.003Z

This will be an evening of short films, discussion, music and a slightly bizarre raffle with random DVDs and books on offer.

Films will include I am Somebody by Madeline Anderson. In 1969, 400 poorly paid Black women - hospital workers in Charleston, South Carolina - went on strike to demand union recognition and a wage increase, only to find themselves in confrontation with the National Guard and the state government. Directed by Madeline Anderson, who was part of a production team for Black Journal - presenting an African American audience with a Black perspective for the first time in America. Described as an ‘inspirational picture’, the short film demonstrates just how stratified society is. 28 minutes.

Films start at 7.45. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Photos from Bread and Roses 27th October 2009

2009-11-07T22:07:00.010Z

November 24 - Tout Va Bien

2009-10-28T21:07:00.000Z

Tout Va Bien is set in 1972, i.e. four years after the “events” of 1968. President De Gaulle and his successor president Pompidou had rolled back the would-be revolution and the political right wing held France in its grip. And yet “everything’s fine” (tout va bien). Relations between people have changed. A factory is occupied, a woman striker phones her husband and tells him to mind the children, a Communist Party militant sells party literature in a supermarket and is ignored by young people.

Director - Jean Luc Godard, 95 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Battle of Algiers photos

2009-10-04T11:02:00.006+01:00

Photos from The Battle of Algiers 21st September

2009-10-02T14:21:00.003+01:00

Hi all!

I'm the film coop's resident photographer - you'll probably see me bobbing about at the next screening trying to capture the atmosphere of the discussions following the screenings and trying to do some justice to all the hard work and effort that goes into making these screenings happen. Here's a few photos from the last screening - the excellent Battle of Algiers which I had seen previously when at Uni some 10 years ago or more. I was really pleased to have the opportunity to see it again with a more grown up head on my shoulders, and gain an insight into what an contemporary audience made of it.

October 27th - Bread and Roses

2009-09-29T21:12:00.004+01:00

The first film in our series on work. Mexican sisters Maya and Rosa work as cleaners in a down town office block in Los Angeles. Pay is low and bullying is common place. A fated meeting with Sam, a passionate American union organiser, leads to an unorthodox and imaginative campaign against their employer. The fight threatens their livelihood, family and risks their expulsion from the country. Bread and Roses is a story about the most marginalised of LA communities daring to take on their corporate bosses against all odds.

Director - Ken Loach ,110 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

September 22 - The Battle of Algiers

2009-09-03T20:42:00.000+01:00

This award-winning black-and-white film is probably one of the most powerful films about colonial occupation, and resistance, ever made. Made in 1965, it dramatises the bloody anti-imperialist struggle against colonial rule in Algeria from 1957-1962. The film portrays, in brutal honesty, the tactics used by both the French authorities and the Algerian resistance, the FLN. The film ends not with a pacified population but with the outbreak, a few years later, of mass demonstrations and a renewed Algerian uprising that eventually forced France to cede power to the FLN.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged

November 24 - Tout Va Bien

2009-09-03T13:52:00.005+01:00

Director - Jean Luc Godard, 95 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

December 15 - I Am Somebody and other shorts

2009-09-03T12:00:00.002+01:00

January 19 - Roger and Me

2009-09-03T11:58:00.001+01:00

February 23 - The Boss of it All

2009-09-03T11:56:00.002+01:00

Ravn (Peter Ganzler), the head of an IT firm, has always told his staff that there was a mysterious, absent boss so that when difficult decisions needed to be made, he could put the blame on someone else. However when he wants to sell the company, he is required to get this shadowy CEO to appear and sign away the firm, and must get an unemployed actor, Stoffer (Jens Albinus), to play what becomes the role of a lifetime. The film deals with sex, power, and manipulation.

Director - Lars von Trier, 99 minutes

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion with Paul A Taylor (editor of International Zizek Journal)

Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

March 23 - El Baño del Papa (The Pope's Toilet)

2009-09-03T11:54:00.001+01:00

The Pope’s impending visit to a small Uruguayan town stimulates a flurry of activity among the poorest residents, who hope to strike it rich by catering to the needs of the 50,000 expected pilgrims.

Convinced that his idea is the best, one man uses up his family´s savings to build a paying toilet . . . El Bano del Papa (The Pope’s Toilet) is a humorous and poignant story of dignity and solidarity that demonstrates the human impact of poverty and employment.

Director: César Charlone – 85 mins

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion. Entry to film £3 or £2 for unwaged, low waged or students.

Photos from Aristide and The Endless Revolution

2009-08-21T13:07:00.007+01:00

Photos from Resurrection Man

2009-08-17T20:41:00.005+01:00

August 18 - Aristide & the Endless Revolution

2009-08-11T21:03:00.001+01:00

In 1991 Haiti’s citizens elected a former Roman Catholic priest and exponent of liberation theology, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, as president. Popular among Haiti’s poor and disenfranchised, Aristide become a target of Haiti’s business interests (and the political parties that served those interests) because of his daring policies which tried to raise the standard of living for the huge majority of Haitians. During his second term in office, his government came under increasing pressure from many sides and by 2004 political violence had escalated sharply. On February 29, 2004, Aristide and his family left Haiti on a US-dispatched airplane -- according to Aristide, against his will; the US claims with his full cooperation. Aristide and the Endless Revolution offers a moving testimony to the Haitian peoples’ struggle against oppression and exposes the tangled web of hope, deceit, and political violence that brought the world’s first black republic to its knees.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged
Running time: 84 mins

July 21 - Resurrection Man

2009-07-05T12:59:00.002+01:00

Resurrection Man (1998) explores the deeds of the Loyalist Shankhill Butchers in 1970s Belfast, who killed upwards of 30 people, mainly Catholics but also a significant number of Protestants, in sectarian attacks, paramilitary feuds, personal grudges and bombing raids.

Their story is told as a retrospective by Victor Kelly, a criminal and ruthless murderer who is the leader of a gang of men known as 'Resurrection Men'. Victor's cruelty makes him a local legend, both feared and venerated. On his trail is Ryan, a journalist, driven by his own personal demons and by an obsessive need to discover the truth. Loosely based on real events, this is a disturbing, chilling look at one of the more gruesome episodes of Northern Irish history.

Discussants for the film are Jim McAuley, Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Huddersfield, and Jon Tonge, Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks, food and general frivolities.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged

Das Experiment Photos

2009-07-02T15:52:00.007+01:00

June 16 - Das Experiment

2009-06-09T19:55:00.003+01:00

The movie is based on the infamous "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. A makeshift prison is set up in a research lab, complete with cells, bars and surveillance cameras. For two weeks 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards. The 'prisoners' are locked up and have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the 'guards' are told simply to retain order without using physical violence. Everybody is free to quit at any time, thereby forfeiting payment. In the beginning the mood between both groups is insecure and rather emphatic. But soon quarrels arise and the wardens employ ever more drastic sanctions to confirm their authority.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. Discussion led by Pete Williams - criminologist and co-editor of Chimp magazine.

£3 entry to film . £2 students, low waged, unwaged

Running time: 120 min

Photos from Lumumba Screening

2009-05-29T09:04:00.013+01:00

Some photos from Lumumba Screening, 26th May 2009

Some stills from the film :

Lumumba leaving prison to go to Brussells Independence Day Speech

Army stage Mutiny over wages Mobutu's rise to power after Lumumba's assasination

Photos from the discussion following film:

Get Involved

2009-05-04T17:06:00.005+01:00

Manchester Film Co-operative is organised and run by its members – that’s one of the things that makes it different from your average cinema. So there always a need for people to get involved in organising stuff.

It’s up to you how active you are. You might want to help out with the website, research films, order films, speak at a screening, distribute flyers and posters, help get the word out, do techy stuff, or other things that no-one’s thought of.

How?
Turn up to a screening early (around 7pm) and have a chat and drink with people there about getting more active. Come along to film co-operative organising meetings, which are held monthly at The Kings Arms. As a member you’ll receive the dates. Or email info@manchesterfilm.coop saying you’re interested and we’ll definitely be in touch.

///www.manchesterfilm.coop
///info@manchesterfilm.coop

Arna's Children Evening

2009-05-04T16:52:00.006+01:00

Thanks to Pete for facilitating the discussion and Sarah Irvine for providing a contemporary context for the film. Here are a few photo's from the night...........

April 21 - Arna’s Children

2009-03-28T13:08:00.000Z

Arna’s Children is a 2003 Palestinian documentary film directed by Juliano Mer Khamis about a children’s theatre group in Jenin in the Palestinian territories. The film won “Best Documentary Feature” 2004 Tribeca Film Festival. Arna Mer-Khamis, a Palestinian Jewish woman, was a legendary activist for the rights of the Palestinian people. During the First Intifada she helped establish a children’s theatre group in Jenin refugee camp in the West Bank, teaching children, including Zakaria Zubeidi, to express themselves through acting. After her death in 1994, the project was abandoned. Her son Juliano, a well-known actor in Israeli television and the director for the group, filmed Arna working with the children over a 6-year period. Following Arna’s death, he returns to the camp to find out what became of the young refugees.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged.

Running Time: 85 mins

The third series - Political Violence and Resistance

2009-03-28T13:07:00.000Z

April 21st - Arna's Children
May 26th - Lumumba
June 16th - Das Experiment
July 21 - Northern Ireland
August 18 - Aristide and the Endless Revolution
September 22 - The Battle of Algiers

More details to follow soon . . .

End of Suburbia Evening

2009-03-28T13:06:00.000Z

A few snaps from end of suburbia

March 24 - End of Suburbia

2009-03-28T13:05:00.000Z

In the USA suburbia’s promise of space, affordability, family life and upward mobility is embedded in the American consciousness. But as we enter the 21st century, this looks less and less sustainable. With brutal honesty and some irony, The End of Suburbia explores the prospects of the American way of life as global demand for fossil fuels begins to outstrip supply.

So, what does peak oil mean for the USA? As energy prices skyrocket in the coming years, how will the populations of suburbia react? Are today’s suburbs the slums of tomorrow? And what can be done NOW, individually and collectively, to avoid The End of Suburbia?

£3 entry

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. Running time: 78 mins

May 26 - Lumumba

2009-03-28T13:04:00.000Z

The true story of the rise to power and brutal assassination of the formerly vilified and later redeemed leader of the independent Congo, Patrice Lumumba. Using newly discovered historical evidence, Haitian-born and later Congo-raised writer and director Raoul Peck renders an emotional and tautly woven account of the mail clerk and beer salesman with a flair for oratory and an uncompromising belief in the capacity of his homeland to build a prosperous nation independent of its former Belgium overlords. Lumumba emerges here as the heroic sacrificial lamb dubiously portrayed by the international media and led to slaughter by commercial and political interests in Belgium, the United States, the international community, and Lumumba's own administration; a true story of political intrigue and murder where political entities, captains of commerce, and the military dovetail in their quest for economic and political hegemony

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged
Running time: 115 mins

June 16 - Das Experiment

2009-03-28T13:03:00.000Z

The movie is based on the infamous "Stanford Prison Experiment" conducted in 1971. A makeshift prison is set up in a research lab, complete with cells, bars and surveillance cameras. For two weeks 20 male participants are hired to play prisoners and guards. The 'prisoners' are locked up and have to follow seemingly mild rules, and the 'guards' are told simply to retain order without using physical violence. Everybody is free to quit at any time, thereby forfeiting payment. In the beginning the mood between both groups is insecure and rather emphatic. But soon quarrels arise and the wardens employ ever more drastic sanctions to confirm their authority.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged
Running time: 120 min

July 21 - The Resurrection Man & BBQ

2009-03-28T13:02:00.002Z

The Resurrection Man (1998) explores the deeds of the Loyalist Shankhill Butchers in 1970s Belfast, who killed upwards of 30 people, mainly Catholics but also a significant number of Protestants, in sectarian attacks, paramilitary feuds, personal grudges and bombing raids. Their story is told as a retrospective by Victor Kelly, a criminal and ruthless murderer who is the leader of a gang of men known as 'Resurrection Men'. Victor's cruelty makes him a local legend, both feared and venerated. On his trail is Ryan, a journalist, driven by his own personal demons and by an obsessive need to discover the truth. Loosely based on real events, this is a disturbing, chilling look at one of the more gruesome episodes of Northern Irish history.

Discussants for the film are Jim McAuley, Professor of Irish Studies at the University of Huddersfield, and Jon Tonge, Professor of Politics at the University of Liverpool.

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged

August 18 - Aristide & the Endless Revolution

2009-03-28T13:01:00.000Z

September 22 - The Battle of Algiers

2009-03-28T13:00:00.002Z

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.
£3 entry to film / £2 students / unwaged

22 January - Garbage Warrior evening

2009-01-28T14:14:00.007Z

Thanks to everyone who attended last nights showing of Garbage Warrior.

As you can see from the photos we were packed out!

If you are planning on attending the next showing (Salt of the Earth - 17th February) please turn up early to avoid disappointment.

See you all at the next screening.

February 17 - Salt of the Earth

2008-09-20T14:16:00.047+01:00

Salt of the Earth was produced, written and directed by victims of the “UnAmerican Activities” blacklist, who were unable to make films in Hollywood. The movie was blacklisted in the 1950s during the height of the Cold War, the only film in American film history ever to be blacklisted.

Members of the International Union of Mine, Mill and Smelter Workers, Local 890, who were part of the original strike upon which the story is based, appear in this film either as extras or supporting cast.

Please arrive early to avoid disappointment

£3 entry

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. Running Time:94 mins

January 20 - Garbage Warrior

2008-09-20T14:16:00.046+01:00

Rubbish – it’s all around us and piling higher by the day. If lucky, it may get put in a green bin and recycled to be rubbish once again in the future. However, for one maverick US architect Michael Reynolds, waste is his construction material for building radically sustainable housing.

Garbage Warrior is a feature length documentary that follows one man’s triumph over bureaucracy and his aim to change the world. Reynolds experimental structures, named ‘Earthships’, do not meet building standards which unsurprisingly creates conflict between himself, his profession and the authorities who are backed by wealthy corporations. Natural disasters intervene to allow him to demonstrate his garbage construction to the world.

£3 entry

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. Running Time: 86 mins

October 21 - The Gleaners and I

2008-09-20T14:16:00.045+01:00

‘’The Gleaners and I’’ is both a diary and a kind of extended essay on poverty, thrift and the curious place of scavenging in French history and culture.

Agnes Varda’s film uncovers a subterranean world of poverty and loneliness in the midst of plenty. An elderly peasant woman recalls the old days, when, as in Millet’s painting, gleaning was a communal activity, festive and sociable even as it was backbreaking. Now, Ms. Varda notes, people scavenge alone, and they gather not only agricultural surplus but supermarket trash as well.

For more information on the film click here.

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. Running Time: 82 mins

November 25 - Blood Car

2008-09-20T14:16:00.043+01:00

In the near future gas prices have reached $40 a gallon. Archie Andrews, an environmentalist school teacher, is trying to discover an alternate fuel source. While experimenting with wheat grass, Archie accidentally stumbles upon a solution. Blood, HUMAN BLOOD!

Several recent films have tried to recapture the 70s exploitation feel and failed. What made those 70s films great were their serious intent delivered with such camp. That’s what works for “Blood Car.” This 2007 indie film from Alex Orr offers horror and humor over a political satire of current affairs. With over-the-top acting, a silly yet disturbingly plausible story (in the most twisted of minds), and some brilliant editing considering its budget.

Save gas.... drive Blood Car!

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks. £3 entry. Running Time: 76 mins

December 16 - Shorts inc Au Rez-de-Chaussee de la ville

2008-09-20T14:16:00.042+01:00

To celebrate manchester film co-operative’s first Christmas we will be showing a series of short films followed by food and music.

The series of short films will include the doccumentary Au Rez-de-chaussee de la ville[Ground floor of the city] which documents the ecoBox project. Since 2003 EcoBOX has initiated a series of self-managed projects in the La Chapelle area of northern Paris by encouraging local residents to gain access to and critically transforming temporary, misused or underused spaces.

£3 entry

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

September 23rd - The Take

2008-08-28T11:30:00.002+01:00

Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein’s inspirational documentary shows how, “after Argentina's economic meltdown in the late 1990s, groups of unpaid and unemployed factory workers decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the amount they were owed in wages roughly corresponded to the value of their employers' material assets, the workers thought it fair to take control of the factories and resume production without permission. The bosses call it thievery, the factory workers call it expropriation . . .”
The Guardian

Discussions will be led by Bob Cannell, a long-standing advocate of worker co-operatives and member of Suma, one of the largest worker co-operatives in the UK.

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

August 19 - Zapatista!

2008-08-02T17:35:00.005+01:00

On 1 January 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, several thousand Mayan peasant soldiers took over half the state of Chiapas in Southeastern Mexico, declaring a war against the global corporate power they say rules Mexico. They called themselves the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). With exclusive access and interviews with the EZLN’s spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos, as well as Noam Chomsky and others, the film is the definitive look at the Zapatista uprising, its historical roots and its lessons for the present and the future.

The film will be introduced by Japhy Wilson of the Zapatista Solidarity Campaign.

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

July 22 - The Weather Underground

2008-06-30T13:10:00.002+01:00

Thorough archival footage and interviews, this fascinating film documents the violent campaign of the Weather Underground, a faction of young protestors in 1960s and ‘70s US frustrated by the seemingly ineffectual methods of peaceful protest. It covers the whole violent campaign – from streets riots and bombings to eventual disillusionment and repression by the FBI. The Weather Underground raises difficult questions about protest, violence and political change that are as timely now as ever.

Discussions will be led by M A Branes-Wynters (aka barney doodlebug)

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

June 24 - 12:08 East of Bucharest

2008-05-21T14:14:00.003+01:00

12:08pm on the 22 December 1989 was the moment of Ceausescu's fall from power in Romania. 16 years on, a TV talk show commemorates the event by asking local heroes to reminisce about the revolution. But without any suitable guests the producer is left with a drink-addled history teacher and a retired, lonely sometime-Santa Claus. The men's fanciful boasts of rebellious glory are hilariously disputed by phone-ins from viewers who recall an altogether different version of events. The film sharply satirises the short memories and inconsistencies of post-revolutionary Romania.

Discussion will be led by Paul A Taylor, Senior Lecturer in Communication Studies, Leeds Uni, and editor of International Journal of Zizek Studies.

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

May 20th Soy Cuba

2008-05-09T18:56:00.003+01:00

An astonishing and rarely screened film blessed with some of the most extraordinary camerawork in film history. Ostensibly this is Communist propaganda, celebrating the progress achieved by the Cuban Revolution and dramatising four examples of injustice to the common man in pre-Revolutionary Cuba. It's still pushing the boundaries of pure cinema – a stirring and unforgettable experience.

"Communist agitprop's most unrestrained diva hymn and one of the most visually titanic works in the century of movies."
The Village Voice

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussions and drinks.

The film will be introduced by Mark Burton of Cuba Solidarity Campaign Manchester and Parvathi Kumaraswami, Lecturer in Latin American Cultural Studies at the University of Manchester.

New Theme

2008-05-09T18:49:00.002+01:00

In an attempt to be organised we will be starting to think about a possible theme for the next set of 6 films.

Any suggestions?

Opening Night

2008-05-09T18:48:00.003+01:00

Thanks to everyone who attended our opening night. (We had 53 people attend which was great!)

We also had 14 people join up as members of the co-op bringing us up to 24 members - already!

A big, big thanks to Andy for leading the discussion and Jeb for stepping up to the stage.

See you all at the next screening.

April 22 - The Revolution will not be Televised

2008-03-30T15:59:00.007+01:00

This incredible documentary was created when two independent filmmakers found themselves inside the presidential palace on 11 April 2002 when Hugo Chavez was forcibly removed from office by the Venezuelan elite and 48 hours later when, remarkably, he was returned to power by the people.

The film forces viewers to think about the connection between powerful leaders and popular democracy and provides an extraordinary portrait of the man The Wall Street Journal credits with making Venezuela "Washington’s biggest Latin American headache after the old standby, Cuba."

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

To celebrate the launch of Manchester Film Co-operative snacks and music will follow the screening and discussions.

We would like to thank Unicorn Grocery for providing the food, Stagalee for the music and Cuban Solidarity Campaign Manchester for the film.

September 23 - The Take

2008-03-30T15:36:00.008+01:00

August 19 - Zapatista!

2008-03-30T15:36:00.006+01:00

On 1 January 1994, the day the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect, several thousand Mayan peasant soldiers took over half the state of Chiapas in Southeastern Mexico, declaring a war against the global corporate power they say rules Mexico. They called themselves the Zapatista National Liberation Army (EZLN). With exclusive access and interviews with the EZLN’s spokesperson Subcomandante Marcos, as well as Noam Chomsky and others, the film is the definitive look at the Zapatista uprising, its historical roots and its lessons for the present and the future.

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

July 22 - The Weather Underground

2008-03-30T15:35:00.007+01:00

Discussions will be led by M A Branes-Wynters (aka barney doodlebug)

£2 entry to film

Film starts at 7.45 and will be followed by discussion and drinks.

June 24 - 12:08 East of Bucharest

2008-03-30T15:35:00.006+01:00

May 20 - Soy Cuba

2008-03-30T15:34:00.004+01:00

Find and contact us

2008-03-25T08:41:00.013Z

All screenings take place upstairs at the Kings Arm, Bloom Street, Salford, M3 6AN

The Kings Arms is a great venue with excellent beer and the home to many leftfield arts organisations.

The Kings Arms is a 5 minute walk from Deansgate – just head down Bridge Street and cross straight over Chapel Street to get to Bloom Street. It’s about a 10 minute walk from Piccadilly Gardens or St Peter’s Square. Salford Central train station is a 1 minute walk, and dozens of buses going to Salford can drop you on Bridge Street or Chapel Street if needed.

Contact us at: info@manchesterfilm.coop

Venue

2008-03-25T08:41:00.009Z

Kings Arms, Bloom Street, Salford
(5mins walk from Deansgate)

The Kings Arms is one of the most exciting venues in Manchester. A great pub downstairs, upstairs it offers a diverse programme of leftfield cultural events – from rock and experimental bands to jazz and theatre.

The Kings Arms offers a real alternative to the increasingly corporate Manchester city centre. Manchester Film Co-operative is proud to screen its films at this determinedly independent venue.

http://www.myspace.com/kingsarmssalford

About

2008-03-25T08:40:00.006Z

Manchester Film Co-operative organises regular non-commercial screenings of films that challenge current economic, social and political arrangements and offer progressive alternatives. The focus is on independent films that are not available in mainstream cinema.

Screenings are followed by informal discussions led, where possible, by activists and experts. They provide a lively and friendly space in which progressive alternatives and ideas can be explored. The screenings bring together a diverse range of people and groups committed to exploring political alternatives as well as specialist cinema fans. It aims to inform, educate and inspire as many people as possible through film and discussion.

Membership

2008-03-25T08:40:00.002Z

Manchester Film Co-operative is a co-operative, meaning that it is owned and run by its members – the people who come and watch the films. You don’t need to become a member, you can just come and watch the films if you want. But membership is open to all. You just need to buy a £5 share to become a member.

As well as giving you democratic ownership in the co-operative membership entitles you:

1. To one vote in any elections or decisions made by the co-operative;
2. To propose films, speakers and other ideas for vote by the members of the co-operative;
3. To get involved in running the film screenings (finances, ordering films, advertising etc).

The co-operative is a not-for-profit organisation, and the members manage the day-to-day affairs of the film co-operative and determine its overall strategic direction. It is currently run as a collective, with members volunteering for particular roles and getting involved as they wish.

Manchester Film Co-operative

2008-03-08T14:42:00.000Z

The purpose of Manchester Film Co-operative is to provide public non-commercial screenings of films followed by discussions. The co-operative will show a broad range of films, but all those screened and the discussions that follow will challenge current economic, cultural, political and social arrangements and/or offer a progressive alternative. The co-operative will screen films rarely available in the mainstream. Discussions will be informal. Where possible they will be led by experts and activists, focussing on the film and its wider implications.

Overall, Manchester Film Co-operative aims to provide a lively and friendly forum to promote progressive alternatives to capitalist society. It aims to help link together different politically engaged people and groups, and to educate and inspire as many people as possible through film and discussion.

Welcome to Manchester Film Co-operative

2008-02-08T16:43:00.000Z

Hello all