Off-Beat/On-Screen: Two Beat Films and Flim Nite Performances

Polly Checkland Harding

Book now

Off-Beat/On-Screen: Two Beat Films and Flim Nite Performances

17 November 2016

Always double check opening hours with the venue before making a special visit.

Image courtesy of The John Rylands Library.
Book now

This special event in The Christie Room at The John Rylands Library combines a screening of two great Beat Poet films with one-off performances from Manchester’s Flim Nite collective.

Pull My Daisy, written by Jack Kerouac and co-directed by Robert Frank, is an oddball 30-minute short film starring Allen Ginsberg and Peter Orlovsky. In it, Ginsberg and Orlovsky go to dinner at the home of a railway brakeman whose wife has invited a Bishop over for dinner. Philosophical questioning of the Bishop ensues, often to comic effect (“is a cockroach holy?”).

Wholly Communion, meanwhile, is the final cut of little more than 40 minutes of total footage taken at an impromptu gathering of poets in front of a 7,000 strong audience at the Albert Hall in London. Organised in just a few days, this semi-spontaneous occasion was filmed by Peter Whitehead, who had little previous experience of filming. The result is a taught, grainy recording of an extraordinary event – and has been hailed as ‘the quintessential document of the event that marked the arrival of the counterculture in England’, according to the BFI.

Flim Nite will be responding to each of the two films with unpredictable, unmissable performances – no doubt in their usual esoteric style. Don’t miss a night that combines the best of the Beat generation with some of Manchester’s most exciting filmic performers.

This screening is part of the programme accompanying The John Rylands Library’s Off Beat: Jeff Nuttall and the International Underground exhibition. Please note: due to adult content this event is not suitable for under 16’s. For more information, or to book, call 0161 306 0555.

Where to go near Off-Beat/On-Screen: Two Beat Films and Flim Nite Performances

City Centre
Restaurant
Gusto

Gusto Manchester is a lavish Italian restaurant just off Deansgate, with 1920s décor and an extensive menu.

Manchester
Restaurant
KAJI

Tokyo meets Manchester in a series of awe-inspiring dishes and drinks at KAJI.

Stow
City Centre
Restaurant
Stow

Stow is a new fire-based restaurant on Bridge Street in Manchester, from the team behind Trof.

Manchester
Restaurant
Honest Burgers

This burger joint focuses on high-quality burgers and sides, homemade using local produce. After a series of pop-ups they’ve found a permanent home on Bridge Street in the centre of Manchester.

What's on: Exhibitions

In a large industrial space filled with dobby looms hangs a blood red textile piece infront of a sheer white backdrop.
Until
ExhibitionsLeeds
Loops at Sunny Bank Mills

‘Loops’ is a new collaborative exhibition of textiles at Sunny Bank Mills, connecting artists from across the Netherlands and Yorkshire.

Free entry

Culture Guides

European Poetry Festival European Camarade
Literature Events in the North

From tongue-twisters to twisty page-turners, we have all kinds of spoken word surprises in the latest literature round-up.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre in the North

Summer signals theatre festivals, world premieres and open-air spectacle - from MIF25 to comedy, outdoor circus and beyond, here’s what we’re looking forward to.

Cloudwater Production One
Tours and Activities in the North

Go forth with wild abandon to dance the pavements, dabble with the paint and down the pints in this month's tours and activities guide.

Star Nhà Ease
Cinema in the North

July's cinema highlights include spotlights on international cinema, a new cult classic, plus a visit from one of our favourite directors.

Exhibitions in the North

Captivating, urgent and intimate - we bring you our top exhibition picks, with even more art festivals, artist-led shows and new venues.

Helena Hauff
Music in the North

Shape-shifting bands, scorched-earth techno, and off-grid festivals. Our latest music picks catch the live scene at its most urgent, inventive and alive.