Culture Guides
Destination Guides
With the country in lockdown and venues closed, cinemas, distributors and film festivals have had to get creative. From drive-in screenings, to online Q&As and zoom panels, organisations have stepped up, and there are plenty of novel ways to watch movies and engage with wider film culture.
Some films have moved directly to streaming, and while independent-minded services such as BFI Player, MUBI and Curzon Home Cinema have vast libraries to dig into, they are also providing vital platforms for new releases. We’ve enjoyed David Thewlis in Atom Egoyan’s Guest of Honour, the release of Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network and, brand new this week, Stéphane Demoustier’s The Girl With a Bracelet.
Local venues and festivals have been innovating too. The world-renown non-fiction event Sheffield DocFest has moved online for the time being, with a selection of films and digital events that begs to be explored. Manchester’s HOME has announced that it’s aiming to reopen early September — but for now keep an eye out for online programming. They’ve collaborated with Manchester Met on A City Seen: Dangerous Associations, a free online screening and panel looking at joint enterprise law, young people and racism.
We are so grateful to National Lottery players, The National Lottery, DCMS and Arts Council England for supporting our freelance writers during this crisis. This means that, although venues remain shut and campaigns cancelled, our writers can be reengaged to help arts organisations and artists across the North of England share their online content with our culture-hungry readers.
Here are our picks
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1. Drive Thru Cinema at Middlewood Locks
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2. Moonlight Drive at Linehall Car Park
Moonlight Drive at Storyhouse, Chester, 10–12 July 2020, from £32.5 - Book now
Storyhouse’s Moonlight Flicks series turns drive-in for 2020, with a weekend of outdoor screenings held at Linenhall Car Park in partnership with Chester Race Company.
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3. The Girl With a Bracelet – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema
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4. Park N Party Drive-In Cinema at EventCity
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5. Picnic Cinema/ Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall
Picnic Cinema/ Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall, Cumbria, 4–12 September 2020, from £50.88 - Book now
Picnic Cinema is back this September with a series of extravagant screenings of Withnail & I at Sleddale Hall aka Crow Crag — the cottage from the cult classic film.
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6. I Am Not Your Negro – Streaming on BBC iPlayer
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7. Wasp Network – Streaming on Netflix
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8. Sheffield Doc/Fest
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9. Showroom Summer Season
Showroom Summer Season at Showroom Workstation, City Centre and online, Until 12 August 2020, free entry - Visit now
From Spanish melodrama, to the Japanese studio system, to French coming-of-age cinema, Sheffield’s Showroom presents a series of free weekly film talks from esteemed academics.
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10. You Don’t Nomi – Streaming on BFI Player
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11. MIF 19: Revisit David Lynch’s HOME Takeover
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12. Days of the Bagnold Summer – Streaming on BFI Player
Days of Bagnold Summer, online, Until 31 August 2020, from £9.99 - Book now
Simon Bird’s directorial debut is an affecting take on mother-son relations in British suburbia. Earl Cave and Monica Dolan make for delightful leads, while a supporting cast of Rob Brydon, Tasmin Grieg and Alice Lowe almost steal the show.
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13. Guest of Honour – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema
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14. Grimmfest TV
Grimmfest TV -
15. Infinite Football – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema
Anti-Worlds Infinite Football, online, Until 31 August 2020, from £9.99 - Book now
While football authorities debate the changes necessary to bring the game back, nobody is thinking as radically as wannabe revolutionary Laurentiu Ginghina. Romanian director Corneliu Porumboiu’s documentary raises questions above and beyond the beautiful game.
More in Cinema
Bacurau – Streaming on Mubi
The follow-up to Aquarius from director Kleber Mendonça Filho, this time co-directing and co-writing with long term producer Juliano Dornelles merges sci-fi, the western, Brazilian bandit movies (cangaço) and horror for a highly original and ultra-violent look at a town under siege from a mysterious threat.
Dogs Don’t Wear Pants – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema
Heart surgeon Juha has lived life at an unengaged distance since his wife’s passing. And although it is often debilitating, his grief also throws up some rather surprising sexual urges.
System Crasher – Streaming on Curzon Home Cinema
Controversial from the moment it premiered in Competition at the 2019 Berlin Film Festival, documentarian Nora Fingscheidt’s fiction feature debut portrays the life of a chaotic and troubled young girl.
But I’m a Cheerleader – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
Natasha Lyonne and RuPaul Charles star in Jamie Babbit’s cult 1999 romantic satire.
Marriage Story – Streaming on Netflix
Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson excel as a couple whose once enviable union crumbles under the weight of mounting resentments and divergent needs.
Knives Out – Streaming on Google Play
Rian Johnson (Brick) assembles an all-star cast in this characteristically intelligent whodunit about a famed southern detective who joins forces with local police to investigate a group of eccentric suspects following the murder of a wealthy crime novelist.
Beau Travail – Streaming on Talk Talk TV
Claire Denis’ masterful reworking of Herman Melville is sensual and dangerous.
Zodiac – Streaming on Amazon Prime Video
A relentless serial killer is stalking the streets of San Francisco, leaving citizens in a state of panic and baffling the authorities with the ciphers and menacing letters he leaves at the murder scenes.
Ash is Purest White – Streaming on Google Play
Set in China’s underworld, Jia Zhangke’s tale of love and betrayal follows a self-sacrificial gangster’s moll as she comes out of prison and sets about tracking down her former lover.
Culture Guides
Exhibitions
Art and women’s wrestling, Ancient Akkadian gravesites and invented artefacts – check out this month’s pick of exhibitions from across the north.
Families Online
Need some inspiration for online activities and creative family fun? Look no further than our top picks online for families across Manchester and the North.
Literature
From book launches to readings and open mics to creative writing workshops, Live Literature Land has taken to online activities and events like the proverbial duck to water.
Classical Music in Manchester and the North
We preview the standout classical music events and venues in Manchester.
Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
Lockdown is in full effect but that doesn’t mean we can’t support our favourite bars, restaurants, brewers and food suppliers. Here’s our guide to the best takeaway and delivery Food and Drink in Manchester and the North
Online events
Discover the best things to do online from the organisations we love in Manchester and the North.
Tours and Activities
More online inspiration in this month’s tours and activities guide with French lessons, Life drawing and virtual Tours.
Related Guides
Online events
Discover the best things to do online from the organisations we love in Manchester and the North.
Jazz in Manchester
Some tops picks of weekly live jazz gigs and jam nights from across the city. Whether you’re a jazz player or appreciator, there’s something for everyone.
Nightclubs in Manchester
Manchester today offers such a variety of venues at which to feel young and alive, you’d be a fool not to check out the city’s solid-gold after hours scene.
August Bank Holiday
Looking for things to do over the August Bank Holiday? Near fear, we’ve put together a handpicked list of things to do in Manchester and the North this August Bank Holiday weekend.
Father’s Day
This year’s Father’s Day is Sunday 16th June. Get out and about and spend some quality time with the old man in Manchester.
Music Venues in Cumbria
When the sun goes down and you’ve had your fair share of Cumbria’s great outdoors, head to the area’s music venues to catch folk and jazz sessions, as well as regular performances by touring musicians. We recommend some of our favourites.
Things to do right now
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