Arts centre launches TV Festival for third year in Birmingham
The Square Eyes TV Festival has been commissioned for a third season.
This year's broadcast schedule features another mouth-watering mix of archive rarities, classic series and recent favourites.
The third iteration once again features a number of special guests, this year welcoming Shazia Mirza, Lucy Prebble, Arthur Matthews, Michael Cumming, Tara Prem and Hugo Myatt to MAC and Mockingbird Cinema.
David Baldwin, Square Eyes festival producer, MAC Cinema and screen producer, said: “My parents used to tell me that I watched too much TV, but luckily, as an adult I've managed to turn that obsession into running a festival where I get to watch even more TV.
“I'm particularly pleased to bring The Mockingbird on board Square Eyes this year, hopefully the start of a beautiful relationship akin to the timeless romance of Frank and Pat Butcher.”
Highlights include;
Writers’ Room: Succession on Friday, 3 November where award-winning executive producer Lucy Prebble and story editor/staff writer Jamie Carragher host a special Writers’ Room discussing Succession’s roots in the darker side of British comedy.
Brum On The Box with Chris & Shazia on Saturday 4 November with fresh off Celebrity Masterchef, successful comedian Shazia Mirza and failed author Chris Beanland. They will delve into the best, worst and truly cringe-inducing examples of Midlands television from across the decades.
Toast of London and Q&A on Saturday, 4 November where director Michael Cumming (Brass Eye, Snuff Box) and writer Arthur Matthews (Father Ted, Big Train) have chosen two of their very favourite episodes for this special screening at The Mockingbird Cinema in Digbeth, and will be chatting in between about all things Toast, including the show’s genesis for Channel 4 and its eventual transformation into Toast Of Tinseltown for the BBC.
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors on Saturday 4 November to mark the 60th anniversary of Doctor Who Square Eyes. The event will revisit the 20th anniversary special The Five Doctors, a 90-minute special that reunited all (but one) previous incarnations of the Time Lord.
Death To Smoochy on Thursday, 9 November with Danny De Vito’s utterly chaotic 2002 feature screens at MAC’s Cinema.
20 Days In Mariupol on Friday, 10 November. After nearly a decade covering international conflicts, 20 Days In Mariupol is journalist Mstyslav Chernov’s first feature film, following a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol as they struggle to continue their work documenting atrocities of the Russian invasion.
Carry On Up The ‘Scope! on Saturday, 11 November where British comedy will take on the stage. TV archivists Kaleidoscope will once again be getting their hands absolutely filthy as they dig up a collection of rarities and obscurities that saw Carry On plastered across the gogglebox.
This unique celebration of television brings celebrated talent, hidden gems, and broadcast classics to two of Birmingham’s much-loved indie cinemas. An eclectic programme like no other in the UK. Click here to book tickets.
