The Breadwinner (dir: Nora Twomey, 2017, cert 12A)
The Anim18 Celebration of British Animation Festival lands at the mac with this starkly prescient film from Irish director Nora Twomey. Parvana’s father is arrested by the Taliban in Kabul and so begins a dangerous game of cat and mouse with the strict authorities as the plucky Parvana poses as a man to feed her family. An ultimately uplifting film haunted throughout by the dark forces of intolerance and hate.
Mon 2 Jul & Tue 3 Jul at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

The Piano (dir: Jane Campion, 1993, cert 15)
Screening on its 25th anniversary, The Piano is the only female-directed film to have ever won the Palme d’Or at Cannes. Campion’s austere fairy tale set in nineteenth century New Zealand is as gloomy as it is beautiful with Oscar winning performances from both Holly Hunter and Anna Paquin in her film debut.
Fri 6 Jul to Tuie 10 Jul at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

The Shining (dir: Stanley Kubrick, 1980, cert 15)
Kubrick’s punishing methods drew incredibly raw performances from Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, with Duvall in particular suffering at the hands of the director’s will and becoming ill for months afterwards with stress, the emotional pressure the actors endured is palpable. Revered by critics and hated by the source novel’s author Stephen King, The Shining is one of the best psychological horror films ever made with Jack’s descent into murderous ‘here’s Johnny’ madness as unsettling as it is iconic.
Fri 6 Jul 8.30pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £10.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

Coming of Age a New History of British Animation
Anim18 continues at the mac with this wonderful compilation of thirteen animated British films from the second half of the twentieth century stretching from 1952 to 1979. A delightful collection that includes the trippy Transformer (1968) a far out experience from the production team behind The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine and the surreally profound Damon the Mower (1972) from George Dunning.
Sat 7 Jul 2pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

Redemption Song Part 1 & 2  (1991)
The mac’s wonderful season of events themed around the Windrush scandal continues with a rare screening of episodes from the BBC’s 1991 series Redemption Song. The series examined the history of the Caribbean islands and is narrated by renown cultural theorist, and one of the founders of the Birmingham School of Cultural Studies, Stuart Hall. Complementing Redemption Song is a screening of the short film Ten Bob For Winter.
Sat 7 Jul 5pm at mac, Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH £9 macbirmingham.co.uk

*cancelled* The Goat (dir: Buster Keaton, 1921, cert U) + live score *cancelled*
An absolute genius of cinema whose groundbreaking films laid the comedic template for all others to follow, exquisitely executed setups and stunts that still manage to rip the breath right from your body and send collective jaws clattering into the ground in disbelief. We like Buster a lot. The Goat is one of his best two reelers and is a relentless gag fest from start to finish, as our hero gets mistaken for the outlaw Dead Shot Dan. Look out for one of the most iconic images of Keaton. In addition to Keaton’s film, the Laurel & Hardy short Sailors, Beware! (1927) will be screened. Both films will be accompanied by a live score from The Harcourt Players.
Sun 8 Jul 2pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £10.50 www.theelectric.co.uk

The Deer Hunter (dir: Michael Cimino, 1978, cert 18)
Cimino’s great Vietnam War epic is as breathtaking in its scope and vision as the story behind the film’s difficult production is labyrinthine in its complexity. The journey of three Pittsburgh steel workers, a distillation of the one character originally planned, and the pummeling effect of war on their relationship is horribly fraught and layered with a terrible emotional reality that singes the mind. Not everyone approves, the film’s Russian Roulette scenes caused particular controversy with some critics suggesting the whole film was little more than a right wing military fantasy. Whatever the interpretation there is no denying the beautifully realised spectacle of The Deer Hunter.
Sun 8 Jul 4.30pm at Electric, Station Street, Birmingham B5 4DY £10.50 www.theelectric.co.uk