Cover version. New films in Manchester.

Manchester’s newest film festival has a bookish bent

The city’s literary scene is smack in the middle of a bonafide renaissance, with new publications, live lit events and online writing endeavours springing up all over the place. Even those newspapers down south have taken notice. So it’ll come as no surprise to find that our newest film festival has one foot squarely in the literary camp. Version: The Adaptation Film Festival brings more than 40 new films to venues across Manchester this week. All are cinematic covers of short stories and poems by the likes of Hanif Kureshi, Frank Cottrell Boyce, John Cooper Clarke, Helen Clare and Simon Armitage.

On Friday 13 November at Instituto Cervantes, an international showcase features some of the most highly rated adaptations currently making the rounds of the international short film circuit. On Saturday, Version Verse brings Comma Film’s poetry adaptations to Cornerhouse, and an evening premiere programme debuts four new Comma films based on short stories. Master classes and workshops for filmmakers round out the offering.

The culmination of three years’ work, Version was born out of a desire to create new creative opportunities for Northwest filmmakers, says Festival Director Ra Page. While running Exposures, a student film festival based at Cornerhouse, Page said he met dozens of filmmakers who had recently left school and were desperate to keep working. ‘It comes from that thing Andy Warhol said – if I could employ one person in life it would be a boss, someone to kick me in the arse. Filmmakers love the idea of having these goals.’

As part of the Exposures festival, Cornerhouse paired new bands with filmmakers. ‘It seemed like a no-brainer to do the same with poetry,’ said Page. And, through publishing house Comma Press and promotional organisation Literature Northwest, both of which Page runs, he had access to a great deal of writing ripe for adaptation.

‘We’ve shown our films in something like 30 countries. It brings real, unadulterated poetry to film audiences,’ says Page. But he makes no bones about the fact that the role of the writer is secondary to the process – having created the original piece, their job is to stay out of the way and let the filmmakers do their thing, even if their work ends up being completely rewritten. ‘Authors just have to turn up to the premiere, smile and say politic things.’ Welcome to Hollywood, Manchester-style.

Version runs 13-14 November.

Image credit: The House on Nowhere Street, Dir. Dean Brocklehurst, based on a poem by John Cooper Clarke

Possibly related to this:

1. Calling Manchester writers. A free workshop. It’s not often you get something for free, but Creative Tourist is running a writing workshop in Manchester this month...
2. Manchester Day Parade. Just don’t call it a float. Vuvuzelas at the ready! Neil McQuillian prepares for a new midsummer parade in Manchester, which kicks off this Sunday in...